Farmers Bet on Rates as MetLife Battles Rural Lenders: Mortgages
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John Harder, a 65-year-old farmer with 7,500 acres in Iowa, said he’s taking out new loans almost every month as profits surge and land prices reach records.
“If I can get the rate right and buy the property right, I’d borrow millions every day,” said Harder, who is expanding his corn and soybean plots with a 3.35 percent, variable-rate loan from a U.S. Farm Credit System bank. “I’m kind of a gambler anyway or else I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.”