Credit crunch for farm renters compounds stress on US growers

Washington

AMERICAN farmers who expanded production using rented land during the commodity boom a few years ago are now struggling to repay loans.

A crop glut has eroded prices and sent profit to a 14-year low, but rents have barely budged and debt levels are the highest in more than three decades, government data shows. Bankers are cutting back on loans that aren't secured by land, so more farmers are tapping a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) programme designed to be the lender of last resort. And it's almost out of money.