Agricultural Development and Farm Loans (1919)

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Agricultural Development and Farm Loans (1919)

Page Title: Agricultural Development and Farm Loans (1919) | Slug: agricultural-development-farm-loans-1919

(Full Newspaper Front Page Context)

The County Record October 30 1919 Front Page

(Article Clipping)

Article Clipping: Federal Land Bank

Brief Overview

This report from the October 30, 1919, issue of The County Record discusses the role of the Federal Land Bank of Columbia in stimulating agricultural development. It details how the bank provided long-term credit to farmers in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, aiming to promote land ownership and cooperative success among local farmers.

Archival Transcription

OPERATES IN FOUR SOUTHERN STATES
Federal Land Bank Stimulating Agricultural Development In South Carolina

The Federal Land Bank of Columbia operates in the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. According to a statement by the secretary of this bank, Mr. Arnold, to a class in Rural economics in the University of South Carolina, 354 national farm loan associations have been organized to date in these four States. Ninety-seven of these are in South Carolina.

The total loans to farmers in South Carolina from this Federal Land Bank now amounts to $4,750,000.

The largest loan association in the district is that in Anderson. Through this approximately $275,000 has been loaned to the farmers constituting its membership.

These federal land banks are organized on the principle of ultimate ownership by the farmers patronizing them. Their establishment in March, 1917, marked one of the most forward steps in recent years towards placing the farmer on a sound financial basis.

These banks are established “to lower and equalize loans with the privilege of repayment in installments through a long or short period of years at the borrower’s option; to assemble the farm credits of the nation, to be used as a security for money to be employed in farm development; to stimulate cooperative action among farmers; to make it easier for the landless to get land; and to provide safe and sound long term investments for the thrifty.”

They stimulate farm ownership for energetic young men of limited means and provide capital at the reasonable rate of five and one-half per cent. interest for farm improvement by thrifty farmers. In addition to this they discourage absentee landlordism in that those who rent their lands entirely are not allowed loans.

The flexibility of the farm loan act makes these banks practically unlimited in the extent of their possible usefulness along the lines of farm ownership and improvement. It is encouraging to note that so many communities in the State are becoming alive to the available opportunity.

Historical Significance

Archival Note: The Federal Land Bank system was a transformative effort to stabilize rural economies by providing farmers with access to affordable, long-term credit. This article illuminates the era’s focus on professionalizing farming and curbing the influence of absentee landlords.

Archival Citation

“Operates in Four Southern States: Federal Land Bank Stimulating Agricultural Development in South Carolina,” The County Record (Kingstree, S.C.), October 30, 1919.
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