CropLife 100: Banking On Change
January 12, 2010 Many dealers in the CropLife 100 had their share of issues with banks in 2009. And changing financial conditions have prompted some of them to change their long-time financial partners.
“We saw some of the credit crisis impact our bank’s thoughts, so we changed banks for a lower interest rate, to save some money,” explains Roger Oliver, president of Van Horn Inc., Cerro Gordo, IL. He admits it was a big decision that the move took some four months to complete.
Growers Fertilizer Inc. of Lake Alfred, FL, had been using a large nationwide chain – but the bank tried to increase costs for the company’s line of credit. “So we decided to switch to a locally owned bank,” says Brent Sutton, president and general manager. “We’ve been very happy with their service and what they provided us. They actually gave us a larger line of credit, which – knock on wood – we haven’t had to use very much.” The changeover took about three months.
“The credit market today has incredible pressure on it,” says Dan Kennedy, Ritter Crop Services. “With average margins for retailers, there are going to be a lot of banks that won’t want the risk of the uncertainty of growers and commodity prices staying high.”
Jim Shelton, agronomy manager at Landmark Service Cooperative, Cottage Grove, WI, is also concerned. “The fallout from 2009 is still to be felt,” he says. “Smaller independents and coops will have a hard time getting credit from bankers for 2010.”
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