D is for Debt (Farm Debt) an A to Z Series about Agriculture

When it comes down to the letters I’m using, I have to admit that I’m going with my gut on a day-to-day basis. The letter for today was one that I thought I had settled. I had in mind ditches. I know, it’s not a glamorous word but having lived in areas that are rain-fed most of my life, I have been accustomed to the need to get water off a field and in a place where it can continue to feed the groundwater table.

Then, one of my friends who knows a lot about water-holding capacity since her husband is a rice farmer suggested debt be the word of the day. She stopped me in my tracks. I hadn’t thought of that one at all. And it is something that every farmer I know has to deal with whether they are small or large and no matter what production practices they employ.