Farming Tradition

The tradition of agriculture is strong in North Dakota. Farming operations are often passed from one generation to the next. This holds true for one young farmer in eastern North Dakota as he looks to purchase land from his father. To fund the venture, the farmer turned to the same program his father used to originally purchase the land nearly two decades ago.

Bank of North Dakota’s (BND) Beginning Farmer Real Estate Loan Program is available for agricultural real estate purchases up to $500,000. An applicant for a Beginning Farmer Real Estate Loan must be a North Dakota resident, have a net worth of less than $750,000 and cannot have owned any farmland greater than 30 percent of the average farm size for the county in which the parcel is located.

The farmer and his family have a longstanding business relationship with a local loan officer and received a strong recommendation for the program. Between BND and a local lender, the young farmer was able to obtain financing needed to purchase land from his father.