Running a successful small agricultural business isn’t easy. Between dealing with the production, marketing, and distribution of your products, and completing the endless list of daily operations at the farm, squeezing in the time to find the perfect agricultural finance plan to grow your business can be tough.
Together with expenses covering machinery, land, labor, etc., the idea of funding the growth of a farming business can seem scary impossibility.

Discover New Farm Business Financing Options

Thanks to alternative lenders like National, there are plenty of agricultural finance options available to farmers with goals of growing their businesses quickly and easily—without spending all their time, energy and resources. 

2 Great Agricultural Finance Strategies to Grow Your Farm Business

Every agricultural business is unique, and so each will benefit most from different financial strategies. Read through to find the best agricultural financing option that best fits your farm’s specific business model.

  1. Expand Your Capacity to Sell
    The more you produce, the more you sell, the more money you make. With high demand and low prices, increasing the amount of units you’re able to sell is crucial. Yes, this is painfully obvious—but if done without a solid agricultural finance plan, increasing production could prove fatal to your farm. This is especially true for agricultural businesses such as commodity farms that make most of their income by selling their products to large markets.

    To expand your capacity, you’re going to need access to capital in order to purchase the land, livestock, machinery, irrigation systems, and everything else needed to produce more products. Don’t worry—this isn’t as hard as it sounds. Alternative lenders like NBC offer specialized loans made specifically for agricultural finance purposes, with terms that make getting a full return on investments a fast and easy process.

    The key focus here should be on becoming capable of selling more product to the same few customers. It is not necessary—and often detrimental—to restructure the business model of your farm to accommodate to more markets than you already have. At least until you grow into the newfound success of your farm, focus your investments on selling more to the markets you already have connections to in order to maximize your ROI sooner than later. That being said, for those that want to grow even further…
  2. Expand Your Product Line
    With great variety, comes great opportunity. While adding new kinds of products to be produced and sold by your business may not be the agricultural finance plan of choice for those who specialize in producing a select few specialty products, or those who sell specific commodities to large markets, farms that integrate new products into their business model have the chance to multiply their profits many times over.

    The chance to sell more products to a broader customer base, and spread the name of your brand to a wider audience makes this a hugely beneficial agricultural finance strategy for farm businesses seeking additional sources of revenue.

    However, with great variety… also comes great investment. To produce more products, chances are you’re going to need to purchase more land, tools, machinery, materials, hire more workers—the list goes on. While this is happening, you also need to make sure that the usual operations at the farm are running smoothly, and that the way you’re financing these changes aren’t hurting your business more than it helps.

    Make sure you explore all agricultural business loan options available to find a funding option with terms that perfectly match your needs. Or, if you don’t have the time, contact NBC’s business financing advisors and ask them to explore their global marketplace of over 75 lenders, and help you find and compare the best financing option to help you get everything you need to grow a wider variety of products.

Next Steps

Dwight D. Eisenhour once said, “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and your a thousand miles from the corn field.” So true, Ike. Running a farm business is hard enough. Finding the time to finance the growth of one is a whole ‘nother story.
Contact National at (877) 482-3008 to ask a business advisor how their alternative financing options may be right for you, and how much time and money they’ll save your business in the process. Fill out a 1-page, 1-minute application online to get approved within 24 hours.