VIDALIA, La. – At this time of year, most farmers are not doing any planting, but they are busy – applying for loans from local banks, that is.

&uot;Usually, farmers start getting things together (for loans) in late December and through the month of January,&uot; said Concordia Parish County Agent Glen Daniels.

The good news is that no more farmers are asking for money than last year, according to one bank president.

And Daniels believes that is a sign that government payments are helping farmers stay afloat.

&uot;We’re trying to help out as many farmers as we can, since they’re the backbone of the community around here,&uot;&160;said Pat Biglane, president of Concordia Bank. &uot;And we are concerned about the prices of crops as well as prices of gas and other products farmers have to buy.

&uot;Still, we have about the usual number of loans from farmers, about the same as previous years,&uot; he added.

Daniels noted that most farmers are managing to stay in business, thanks to government payments. Concordia Parish farmers received more than $9 million in assistance payments in 2000.

&uot;When you look at the disasters farmers have experienced in recent years, especially with the drought, we would have been in bad shape without that,&uot; Daniels said.

Due to such payments, Concordia Parish should have the same number of farmers during the upcoming growing season as it did last year, Daniels said – about 300, despite the retirement of a few farmers this year.

Also, thanks to government assistance, the amount of money requested from local banks should also stay the same as previous years – about $200,000 to $300,000 in most cases, depending on the number of acres a farmer plants, Daniel noted.

&uot;With the help of those payments, some farmers have enough money to help pay off their existing debt load, too,&uot; Daniels said. &uot;But they’re still not making a profit.&uot;