Description:

Credit is the lifeblood of farming. Serious price, production, and weather difficulties almost always become credit problems. The stark and ongoing reality is that mortgaged farms are lost or nearly lost to foreclosure, property pledged as collateral is repossessed, judgment liens are entered— and the livelihood of family farmers is threatened. Credit problems are almost always legal problems. In an ideal world, the law would be clear enough and the legal system fair enough that everyone would be on a more or less even footing in legal matters. Unfortunately, the law can be complicated, and even where the law is simple at its core, legal language is confusing and difficult. Farming without a working knowledge of lending law—or the resources to buy legal assistance— can have devastating results. The aim of this book is to give farmers a basic outline of lending law. Because so few legal situations are exactly the same, this book can only offer a general outline of the law.