26 BULLETIN 1048, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
merely for the purpose of making a crop, but to give him a start in 
efficient production so as to enable him to acquire a working capital 
of his own. When he has accumulated all the capital he himself can 
profitably use, he continues to save a part of his income and at a 
reasonable profit to himself assists in supplying those less advanced 
than himself with the capital that they need. It is only where a 
spirit of energy and thrift prevails in a community, whether agricul- 
tural or industrial, that real progress in prosperity and well-being is 
made — a prosperity that is shared by all whether they are engaged 
in a profession/in trade, or in agriculture. 
One of the greatest defects of bank loans to farmers under existing 
conditions is that credit is not available for such a length of time as 
is frequently needed by the farmer to mature his products and to 
market them in an orderly manner. For the production and market- 
ing of crops, loans for a term of from 8 to 12 months are frequently 
needed, and the producer of live stock, as contrasted with the feeder 
or finisher of such stock, often needs credit for a period of from 1 to 
3 years. To obtain a loan under existing conditions, farmers not 
infrequently are obliged to agree to repay the same at a time prior 
to that at which they have any expectation of being able to meet it, 
and to rely on the hope of being able to renew the loan when it falls 
due. Such a state of affairs is discouraging at the best, and often 
leads to serious results for the borrower. At present, as shown by 
Table 7, the maximum term with nearly half the banks is 6 months 
or less, and only in the case of a very small percentage of the banks 
are loans made for a year or more. Some means must be found for 
providing the crop and live-stock producer with credit running for 
such term as the nature of their business demands. 
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