Ozarks farmers are facing their own struggles with a downturn in the nation's economy. Many of us are concerned about our financial well-being, and many hope the bailout bill passed on Friday will help the financial industry as planned. Farmers are already struggling, and hoping things will soon improve. They're hoping the current economic conditions won't make things even worse.

Folks came to check out the latest in livestock breeds and farm equipment at the Ozark Fall Farmfest, but for nearly all of the farmers and ranchers, money is a concern. "Farming is either doom or gloom, or good times are here, and I'm not hearing anybody say just how good they are right now," says Elkland farmer, Bill Harry.

And along with their own, they're following Wall Street's money problems. "There's a lot of talk about this bill, and of course, nobody liked it," says John Donald, of Donald Farm and Lawn.

Keith Baxter farms near Rogersville and says, "I'm having some trouble paying bills on time myself, and no one's come to give me money yet."

Congressman Roy Blunt knows many taxpayers don't like the bailout bill, but he hopes they'll be confident enough to spend their money, not hide it away like some stories he's heard: "people coming into banks and taking their money over the insured amount out in cash, obviously, just to take it home and hide it somewhere," Blunt says. He says that would only make the economy worse. "It's not available to anybody who wants to borrow money."

And farmers know borrowing money is often a necessity. A tractor can cost as much as a house. "Oh, anywhere from 30 to 100 thousand dollars, depending on how nice and how many bells and whistles you want, and we have five years to pay that off," says Baxter.

So, is it getting harder for farmers to borrow? It depends who you ask.
"We haven't heard that, and John Deere, I don't think, has tightened up on theirs," says Donald. But Baxter says, "If you don't have an established relationship with a creditor, the odds of you just walking in and borrowing any sum of money, especially on something that can- if it don't rain, it won't grow, or if it can fall over dead- they're tightening down."

Farmers say they aren't sure yet how the recent credit crisis will affect them, but they dow know the prices of things like fertilizer and fuel have been continuous strains on their budgets. "I didn't fertilize this year, but you can only do that one time," says Baxter. And Harry says, "My input is so much higher than it was, due to fuel and the economy."

They say at this rate, they aren't making much of a profit, and some farmers are getting out while they're still ahead. Dealers we spoke to at the Farmfest, told us business seemed pretty good, so perhaps farmers aren't backing away from spending money. But a common theme we heard is how little farmers are profiting, with such high input costs- due to the energy crisis.