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Show Utah Fa rmers Meet 1953 Credit Needs Primarily at State Banks Utah farmers and ranchers continued con-tinued to go primarily to the state's banks to meet their credit needs during 1953, according to Kay L. Jacobs, assistant cashier, Bank of Pleasant Grove, who represents rep-resents the Utah Bankers Association Assoc-iation as Utah County Key Banker. Quoting from the thirteenth annual an-nual farm lending survey of the Agricultural Commission of the American Bankers Association, Mr.-Jacobs noted that banks were by far the largest lenders to the State's farmers and stockmen during dur-ing the year. On December 31, 1953, Utah banks had loans totaling total-ing $32,219,000 outstanding to farmers; far-mers; while the Federal Land Banks, the financial agency with the second largest amount of farm loans outstanding, held only $8,-390,000 $8,-390,000 at the same time. In addition addi-tion to their regular lending operations, oper-ations, Utah banks also held $7,-401,000 $7,-401,000 in C.C.C. loans under the government's price-supported program, pro-gram, which is not included in the above figure. "The banks have been encouraging encour-aging farmers and ranchers to make better use of their present acreage through modern methods rather than buy additional land during this period of high land prices," Mr. Jacobs said. "The bulk I of the farm loans held by banks are production loans rather than real estate loans. Production loans include credit to finance growing and marketing of crops; breeding, raising, and fattening of livestock; purchasing of modern equipment, and the like. Banks held $25,195,- 000 of these production loans at the end of 1953, compared with $6,175,000 held by the Production Credit Associations and $3,742,000 held by the Farmers Home Administration." Admin-istration." The remaining $7,054,000 in farm loans outstanding in banks at the beginning of this year were made up of farm and ranch mortgages. All of the $8,390,000 held by the Federal Land Banks were mortgages, mort-gages, with $8,428,000 in mortgages mort-gages being held by the insurance companies and $1,499,000 held by the Farmers Home Administration. Mr. Jacobs reported that all but 1 of the 54 insured commercial banks in Utah served agriculture by making credit available to farmers far-mers and ranchers during 1953. "In this day of mechanized, highly competitive farming, meeting the credit needs of agriculture is one of the most important services of the state's banks," he added. |