Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, which currently loans some $2 billion to farmers, sees the potential to triple that number within five years, it told Green Markets last week. Nutrien said at its Investor Day on May 28 that farmers can seamlessly apply for credit on its new digital platform while using the three major tools on the site—farm planning, digital agronomy, and omni-channel (e-commerce).
“We know whoever buys with financing tends to buy a lot more,” Nutrien CFO Pedro Farah told Reuters. “It increases the depth of the relationship (with farmers) and the stickiness.” He said the company has approached credit rating agencies to raise its debt to equity ratio and expand lending.
Nutrien, which has about a 20 percent share of the U.S. retail market, believes it has a lot of room for further expansion, with its sights set on both independents and cooperatives.