SummaryAgriculture is at a crossroads in terms of how it will be financed. Debt capital as a source of capital to establish farmers will become less important as lenders become more conservative and base their ioan decisions more on real repayment capacity. Very serious questions have to be asked about the relevance of many provincial and federal lending programs for the coming years. A rethinking of the role of government in farm credit is now under way and will continue in the future.New programs must be developed for the farmers of the future which will allow them to become and remain established in a low or deflationary environment.