High electricity costs have made Farmer Corporation's chicken-plucking machine economically worthless. Only two machines are available to replace it. The International Plucking Machine (IPM) model is available only on a lease basis. The lease payments will be $80,000 for five years, due at the beginning of each year. This machine will save Farmer $29,000 per year through reductions in electricity costs. As an alternative, Farmer can purchase a more energy-efficient machine from Basic Machine Corporation (BMC) for $365,000. This machine will save $32,000 per year in electricity costs. A local bank has offered to finance the machine with a $365,000 loan. The interest rate on the loan will be 10 percent on the remaining balance and will require five annual principal payments of $73,000. Farmer has a target debt-to-asset ratio of 67 percent. Farmer is in the 34 percent tax bracket. After five years, both machines will be worthless. The machines will be depreciated on a straight-line basis.

a. Should Farmer lease the IPM machine or purchase the more efficient BMC machine?

b. How much debt is displaced by this lease?