By — Anna Shoup Anna Shoup Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/north_america-july-dec09-banking_iowa_12-09 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Patchwork Nation: A Different View on Banking in ‘Tractor Country’ Economy Dec 9, 2009 12:00 AM EDT Farm equipment, the machinery that makes modern agriculture go, is not cheap. A single tractor can cost up $250 thousand and during harvest time, farmers often want more than just one to keep operations running. But farmers like those in Sioux Center, Iowa have managed to keep debt down. “We don’t have a vicious cycle coming at us,” said Eric Walhof, president of the Sioux Center First National Banks. “We’ve made very good money in the past few years and now it’s time to spend some of our rainy day money.” Patchwork Nation took a look at the different perspective towards debt in this small agricultural town, a Tractor Country community. With video contributions from Malcolm Brown. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Anna Shoup Anna Shoup
Farm equipment, the machinery that makes modern agriculture go, is not cheap. A single tractor can cost up $250 thousand and during harvest time, farmers often want more than just one to keep operations running. But farmers like those in Sioux Center, Iowa have managed to keep debt down. “We don’t have a vicious cycle coming at us,” said Eric Walhof, president of the Sioux Center First National Banks. “We’ve made very good money in the past few years and now it’s time to spend some of our rainy day money.” Patchwork Nation took a look at the different perspective towards debt in this small agricultural town, a Tractor Country community. With video contributions from Malcolm Brown. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now