Banks still see dairy as safe bet for 100% loans

You can still get 100% loans — if you are a dairy farmer.

At the National Dairy Show in Millstreet last Saturday, Donal Whelton, AIB agri-adviser confirmed his bank is lending the full cost of farm development or land purchase to top farmers.

But he dispelled fears that farming could be the next over-borrowed boom and bust area, by explaining that loans taken out by Irish farmers equal only about 5% of the value of their assets — in sharp contrast to some other EU member states where average farmer borrowing equals 50% of assets.