Other Circulars on Farm Credit Long-Term Credit About That Farm You're Going to Buy, Circular E-29. Federal Land Bank and Land Bank Commissioner Loans, Circular 1. The Credit Road to Farm Ownership, Circular 18. Short-Term Credit Loans by Production Credit Associations, Circular 3. Credit for Cooperatives Loans to Farmers' Cooperatives, Circular 6. General Agricultural Financing Through the Farm Credit Administration, Circular 5. A Financial Plan for Family Living, Circular E-27. The Profitable Use of Farm Credit, Circular E-4. A List of Publications of the Farm Credit Administration, Circular A-17. Copies are available from your local National Farm Loan Association or write to: Director of Information and Extension Farm Credit Administration 'Kansas Cit DEPOSITED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA D 9-24-44 When We Appraise Your Farm ID YOU ever work out as a hired man? If you ever did, you probably learned early that it's just as well for a man to know what kind of a job he's taking before he moves on to a place. You wanted to know how much you were going to be paid, and how much work you were expected to do. You were interested in the kind of stock you were supposed to handle, what kind of machinery you were going to have to run, what kind of crops you were going to be working in. You wanted to know what kind of quarters you were going to live in, and, if the farmer were going to board you, you might have been interested in what kind of a cook his wife was. In other words, you sized up the job before you took it. You may not have thought of it in these terms, but you appraised that job. It was good business both for you and for the farmer you were going to work for that you did, too. As a result you had a job you knew you could handle, and the farmer had a man who did a better job because he knew what was expected and required. When you apply for a Federal Land Bank or Land Bank Commissioner loan, what you actually do is to ask the Land Bank or Land Bank Commissioner to hire out possibly as much as several thousand dollars for you to use in your farm business. It is only good business, then, not only for the Land Bank or the Land Bank Commissioner, but also for you, that your farm be appraised before the money goes to work. Primarily, any lender appraises the security offered for a loan to make sure that security is adequate. There is more than that, however, to an ap praisal for a Land Bank or Land Bank Commissioner loan. This appraisal also makes as reasonably sure as possible that if a loan is made to you it will offer you the maximum service that can be offered. Value of Appraisal to You If the loan is to be of maximum service—if it is to do its job-it is going to make it possible for you eventually to own your own farm, free and clear of debt. That means that it must be a loan you can repay. Ordinarily, the only way farmers can repay, their debts is from the money they take in from the crops or livestock or livestock products they produce. Generally speaking, the money that is available to pay debts is what is left after family living costs, expenses of production, and such regular items as taxes, upkeep, and insurance have been paid. be When the appraiser visits you, then, his aim is to make a fair appraisal. Such an appraisal gives you reasonable assurance that the loan which may made should be within your repayment capacity under conditions you may expect in the future. It means that, unless you suffer more than your share of |