ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the origins of the financial information needed for credit applications and, in many cases, the dubious value of this information for networks. The supply of credit is a scarce resource like all other production inputs. Farm Credit Services and regional feed companies are notable for the number of loans made to family corporations. In an industry where capital is a crucial barrier to entry and expansion, access to regional and international sources of credit and the creation of a network of contract producers appears to provide an explanation for Murphy's rise to the top. The biggest challenge for the producer networks may be to build the kinds of interlocking credit connections that Murphy has created. The use or credit as a regulator of entry and expansion in the swine industry is similar to the role of a network organizer as a regulator of information in a network of farmers.
