This week, I was in Lynchburg, Va., addressing the Farm Bureau Young Farmers’ Convention. It was interesting to see all the former students, spouses, and children. This is one of the enjoyments of teaching over the years.
One former student indicated that his agrilender was doing more credit scoring in approving agricultural loans. He asked me some of the criteria that they use in the evaluation process. While many will differ slightly, here are some of the most popular.
First, they check your credit history. Lenders examine such items as record of repayment and balances on credit cards. They also analyze credit limits on your credit cards because this can be an unsecured line of credit that can be used at your discretion. Some are requesting spouses’ and even children’s credit history. Some business people have used children’s credit cards to gain access to credit.
The number of times creditors check your credit history is a red flag. Be careful of giving permission to check credit over a short period of time. In some credit scoring systems, this can make up 25 to 30 percent of your score.
Other items include repayment capacity and collateral equity, which I will touch on in later columns.
Interesting Note
Class attendance has been around 90 to 97 percent. I asked students at Virginia Tech, University of Florida, and South Dakota State to estimate the attendance; in class, 60 to 70 percent was the common response. This is now starting to show up in the workplace also.
Down on the Farm
My number 2 son lost a good friend last week. He was 16 years old and ran off the road. He overcorrected and hit a truck. A sixteen year old does understand that death is forever. He just never thinks it will be him. Encourage new drivers in your family to drive with one other person, but not a whole carload. We lose them in too many other ways on the farm as it is.
Sports Note
Old Bobby Knight keeps winning at Texas Tech. If only he had a personality that was consistent!
Next week I will be going up North. Even Barbzilla’s aunt is saying they have record low snowfall this year. My e-mail address is:sullylab@vt.edu
Editors' note: Dave Kohl, Soybean Digest Trends Editor, is an ag economist at Virginia Tech. He recently completed a sabbatical working with the Royal Bank of Canada. He is now back at Virginia Tech with his academic appointment, which is teaching, extension, and applied research.
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