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FSA is now accepting requests for 2022 MALs for all eligible commodities after harvest. Requests for loans shall be made on or before the final availability date for the respective commodities.
Marketing Assistance Loans are low-interest grain loans that are made on grain being stored by a producer, either on the farm, or in commercial storage. These loans are intended to give farmers cash flow flexibility without being forced to market their crop sooner than they would like. The interest rate on these loans is currently 4.625% and remains fixed for the life of the loan with the exception of a one-time adjustment to the January interest rate after the first of the year. Loans mature 9 months after disbursal, at the end of the month, so any loans made in October will mature July 31, 2023.
The timeframe for Marketing Assistance Loan loans are very short and can typically be approved fairly quickly. Loans are available for the 2022 crop through May 31st of 2023. To be eligible for a Marketing Assistance Loan, you must have produced the crop that will be placed under loan, you must be in compliance with FSA eligibility and acreage reporting requirements, and you must still have beneficial interest in the crop, which means you must still have control of and title to the crop.
FSA would like to encourage producers to vote in the upcoming FSA county committee election. Carroll Hoffman has been nominated in LAA1 (Canton and Union Townships), for the Lewis County FSA County Committee, to serve a 3-year term beginning January 1, 2023.
Carroll Hoffman was born and raised in Lewis County and has resided in LAA1 his entire life. In 1968 while still in high school, Carroll started his farming career raising hogs and planting row crops. Carroll has now been farming for over 50 years, purchasing his first farm in 1971. Over the years Carroll has also experienced employment off the farm, his first job being with the construction of the new highway 61 in the middle 70s. He last worked for and retired from the Missouri Department of Transportation – MODOT. Carroll continues to be devoted to farming by raising row crops and operating a cow/calf herd. Carroll and his wife Marsha have 3 children and 5 grandchildren.
Carroll Hoffman is looking forward to serving as an active member of the Lewis County FSA County Committee if elected. Carroll is currently serving for LAA 1, under his first elected 3-year term.
Farmers and landowners based in these townships will be receiving election ballots in the mail in early November. The ballots must be filled out and signed and then either dropped off at the office or postmarked by December 5, 2022, in order to be counted. Write-in candidates can also be submitted, although any write-in candidate would have to be eligible and willing to serve on the county committee in order to be elected. The county committee election will take place on Wednesday, December 14th at 9:00 am. If your farm is based in one of the townships listed and you do not receive a county committee ballot, please contact the office.
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds producers that FSA offers targeted farm ownership and farm operating loans to assist underserved applicants and beginning farmers and ranchers.
USDA defines underserved applicants as a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their identity as members of the group without regard to their individual qualities. For farm loan program purposes, targeted underserved groups are women, African Americans, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, Hispanics and Asians and Pacific Islanders.
Underserved or beginning farmers and ranchers who cannot obtain commercial credit from a bank can apply for either FSA direct loans or guaranteed loans. Direct loans are made to applicants by FSA. Guaranteed loans are made by lending institutions who arrange for FSA to guarantee the loan. FSA can guarantee up to 95 percent of the loss of principal and interest on a loan. The FSA guarantee allows lenders to make agricultural credit available to producers who do not meet the lender's normal underwriting criteria.
The direct and guaranteed loan program provides for two types of loans: farm ownership loans and farm operating loans. In addition to customary farm operating and ownership loans, FSA offers Microloans through the direct loan program. Microloans focus on the financing needs of small, beginning farmer, niche, and non-traditional farm operations. Microloans are available for both ownership and operating finance needs. To learn more about microloans, visit fsa.usda.gov/microloans.
To qualify as a beginning producer, the individual or entity must meet the eligibility requirements outlined for direct or guaranteed loans. Individuals and all entity members must have operated a farm for less than 10 years. Applicants must materially or substantially participate in the operation.
For more information on FSA’s farm loan programs and targeted underserved and beginning farmer guidelines, contact our office or visit fsa.usda.gov/farmloans.
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