Wall Street financial institutions are once again showing that when the going gets tough, they head for the exits. After ramping up lending when times were good, as just reported by Reuters, the nation’s largest banks have shrunk their agricultural lending portfolios amid the current conditions in the farm economy. This exodus of capital not only harms farmers and agricultural enterprises, but also the local businesses, hospitals, schools and rural municipalities that support the agricultural economy.

Fortunately for rural America and the citizens who call it home, the nation’s communit...