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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT O^-AQJUCULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 3Sf 
Contribution from the Office of Markets and Bura.1 
Organization, 
CHARLES J. BRAND, Chief 
Washington, D. C. T July 31, 1916 
COSTS AND SOURCES OF FARM-MORTGAGE LOANS 
IN THE UNITED STATES. 
ByC. W. Thompson, 
Specialist in Rural Organization. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Costs for interest and commission 1 
Sources of capital for farm-mortgage loans 9 
Factors which influence the terms on farm- 
mortgage loans 13 
Page. 
The need for improved facilities 14 
Desirability of State and Federal legislation. . 15 
Conclusion 16 
COSTS FOR INTEREST AND COMMISSION. 
The average costs for interest and commission on farm-mortgage 
loans are given in Table 1. The same information is shown graphic- 
ally in Diagram A. The commission figures which have been used 
in making up this table represent the average annual commission, 
or where a single advance commission is paid on a long-term loan, 
the equivalent annual commission. It will be seen that, in general, 
the average costs for interest and commission together are highest 
in the Southern and Rocky Mountain States, and that the lowest 
figures appear in the New England and Middle Atlantic States and 
the more highly developed agricultural sections of the corn belt. 
The average commissions are shown to be especially high in certain 
States, notably North Dakota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Mon- 
tana. 
Note. — The aim of this bulletin is to indicate briefly some of the results obtained from a study bearing 
on interest rates and commissions on farm-mortgage loans and the sources of such loans in the United 
States. 
45830°— Bull. 334—16 
