Bremen farmer ‘scrimping in every way we can’

For many small farmers, the shuttering of the bank’s borrowing window is not so big a deal, said Bryan Hager, co-owner of the Crager-Hager Farm in Bremen.

Hager produces fruit and vegetables for local farmers markets — so even in good times, bankers don’t knock each other aside to lend him money.

Enlarge this image

Special

Bryan Hager, co-owner of the Crager-Hager Farm in Bremen.

ECONOMIC CRISIS:
RELATED STORIES
• How some metro Atlantans are coping with the credit crunch
• Credit problems send chills across business spectrum
• Main Street blues: Times get tougher for many • Trying to save money? Here's help

As president of the Farmers Fresh Food Network, a 4-year-old farmer-owned cooperative, Hager sees scores of his peers who tap into their personal finances when they need money.

“For our type of activity, it’s very hard for us to get a loan anyway,” he said. “Our members borrow money by taking out second mortgages. We can’t get a standard business loan.”

But Hager and his wife are surely affected by the financial crisis. For working capital, Hager and his wife have been siphoning from savings.

“We had a bunch of money that we had put away and we’ve been using it a little at a time. Now we are watching those savings get whittled away by the market,” Hager said.

“We are scrimping in every way that we can right now.”