WE HAVE MANY GOOD QUALITY LOAN OPPORTUNITIES AT FSA TO HELP FARMERS AND RANCHERS
At FSA, our main goal is to help as many farmers and ranchers as we can to be successful in their agricultural operation. One way that we help producers is by offering a wide range of agricultural loan opportunities to help give them some, much needed, financial assistance. There are basically two types of loans that FSA provides. The first is called a GUARANTEED LOAN which is made by a bank and is guaranteed by FSA. The second type of loan is a DIRECT LOAN which is both made and backed by FSA. Let me take a few minutes and review some of the specific loans that FSA offers for agricultural producers.
FARM OWNERSHIP LOAN—This loan is designed to help with the purchase or expansion of farmland, farm structures, or to pay closing costs. The maximum amount of this type of loan is $600,000.
FARM OPERATING LOAN—This loan is a good resource for either starting, maintaining, or strengthening a farm. This loan can cover many costs of operating a farm such as purchasing farm vehicles, equipment, livestock, seed, feed, fertilizer, rent, utilities, etc. The maximum amount for this loan is $400,000.
MICRO LOAN—These are normally smaller scale loans for farm ownership or farm operating. They provide for flexible access to credit and are designed for beginning operations, production of specialty crops, and community support type operations. The maximum amount for these types of micro loans is $50,000 for Farm Ownership and $50,000 for Farm Operating Loans.
EMERGENCY FARM LOAN—These loans help a farm operation recover sustained losses from severe weather and other occurrences when a Natural Disaster is declared for an area by either the President, Secretary of Agriculture or FSA Administrator. To be eligible for this loan, a farm must suffer at least a 30% production loss from the designated disaster.
FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOAN—This loan option provides low interest financing for producers who wish to build or upgrade either permanent or portable storage facilities or equipment. These facilities may be used for the storage of almost any type of farm grown grain or hay and the loans normally range from 3 to 12 years in length. The maximum amount for a Farm Storage Facility Loan is $500,000.
OTHER LOAN OPPORTUNITIES—All of FSA’s loan opportunities have specially designated funds for Beginning Farmers, Veterans, Socially Disadvantaged Producers. We also strive to support our youth in agriculture by offering Youth Loans to further their agriculture projects.
As I stated, FSA wants to help as many agricultural producers as possible through loans and other assistance programs. There are numerous positive features about FSA loans including: (1) Normally Low Interest Rates—right now most of our farm loan rates are a little above 5%; (2) Flexible Loan Payment Plans—we can often be creative and set up a flexible payment plan that is designed to meet the needs and payment ability of the producer; (3) Extend loans Out For Many Years—We can extend the time to pay off a loan for up to 40 years, which can help to keep each payment at a relatively low level.
One unique feature to FSA Loans is: we often make loans to producers who, for one reason or another, might not be able to secure a bank loan. We are not in the business of trying to compete with banks, in fact we normally work very closely with most banks. My recommendation would be that if you need a loan, visit both your favorite bank and your local FSA office, and see where you can get the deal that best meets your needs.
CLICK HERE to view this month's What's Happening Today in Missouri FSA with Joe Aull, Missouri State Executive Director, as he discusses FSA farm loan opportunities with Jason Azdel, Missouri FSA Farm Loan Chief.
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Contact your service center today!
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is encouraging dairy producers to enroll by April 29, 2024, for 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), an important safety net program that helps offset milk and feed price differences. This year’s DMC signup began Feb. 28, 2024, and payments, retroactive to January, began in March 2024. So far, DMC payments triggered in January and February of 2024 at margins of $8.48 and $9.44 respectively.
2024 DMC Coverage and Premium Fees FSA revised DMC regulations to extend coverage for calendar year 2024, which is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024, and to provide an adjustment to the production history for dairy operations with less than 5 million pounds of production. In previous years, smaller dairy operations could establish a supplemental production history and receive Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage.
For 2024, dairy producers can establish one adjusted base production history through DMC for each participating dairy operation to better reflect the operation’s current production.
For 2024 DMC enrollment, dairy operations that established supplemental production history through Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage for coverage years 2021 through 2023, will combine the supplemental production history with established production history for one adjusted base production history.
For dairy operations enrolled in 2023 DMC under a multi-year lock-in contract, lock-in eligibility will be extended until Dec. 31, 2024. In addition, dairy operations enrolled in multi-year lock-in contracts are eligible for the discounted DMC premium rate during the 2024 coverage year. To confirm 2024 DMC lock-in coverage or opt out in favor of an annual contract for 2024, dairy operations having lock-in contracts must enroll during the 2024 DMC enrollment period.
DMC offers different levels of coverage, even an option that is free to producers, minus a $100 administrative fee. The administrative fee is waived for dairy producers who are considered limited resource, beginning, socially disadvantaged or a military veteran. To determine the appropriate level of DMC coverage for a specific dairy operation, producers can use the online dairy decision tool.
Congress passed a 2018 Farm Bill extension requiring these regulatory changes to the program. DMC is also authorized through calendar year 2024.
DMC Payments DMC payments are calculated using updated feed and premium hay costs, making the program more reflective of actual dairy producer expenses. These updated feed calculations use 100% premium alfalfa hay.
More Information DMC is a voluntary risk management program providing protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. In 2023, DMC payments triggered in 11 months including two months, June and July, where the margin fell below the catastrophic level of $4.00 per hundredweight, a first for DMC or its predecessor Margin Protection Program.
USDA also offers other risk management tools for dairy producers, including the Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) plan that protects against a decline in milk revenue (yield and price) and the Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) plan, which provides protection against the loss of the market value of milk minus the feed costs. Both DRP and LGM livestock insurance policies are offered through the Risk Management Agency. Producers should contact their local crop insurance agent for more information.
For more information on DMC, visit the DMC webpage or contact your local USDA Service Center.
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting offers for specific conservation practices under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Continuous Signup.
In exchange for a yearly rental payment, farmers enrolled in the program agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and to plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. The program’s long-term goal is to re-establish valuable land cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and reduce loss of wildlife habitat. Contracts for land enrolled in CRP are 10-15 years in length.
Under continuous CRP signup, environmentally sensitive land devoted to certain conservation practices can be enrolled in CRP at any time. Offers for continuous enrollment are not subject to competitive bidding during specific periods. Instead, they are automatically accepted provided the land and producer meet certain eligibility requirements and the enrollment levels do not exceed the statutory cap.
To ensure CRP acreage enrolled does not exceed the statutory limitation, FSA announced continuous non-CREP offers would be batched and accepted on a non-competitive first come, first serve basis with signup beginning January 12, 2024. Below are dates for the next Continuous CRP batching periods:
Batching
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April Batch
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May Batch
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Enrollment Type
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Start Date
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March 18
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April 15
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All non-CREP continuous offers
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End Date
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April 12
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May 10
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All non-CREP continuous offers
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Continuous Signup 61 Deadlines: July 31st, 2024 - Deadline for producers to submit an offer for new or re-enrolled land or combination of new and re-enrolled land for continuous CRP signup 61.
August 7, 2024 - Deadline for producers to request a conservation plan from NRCS.
For more information, including a list of acceptable practices, contact your local County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov/crp.
The term “sodbusting” is used to identify the conversion of land from native vegetation to commodity crop production after December 23, 1985. As part of the conservation provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985, if you’re proposing to produce agricultural commodities (crops that require annual tillage including one pass planting operations and sugar cane) on land that has been determined highly erodible and that has no crop history prior to December 23, 1985, that land must be farmed in accordance with a conservation plan or system that ensures no substantial increase in soil erosion.
Eligibility for many USDA programs requires compliance with a conservation plan or system on highly erodible land (HEL) used for the production of agricultural commodities. This includes Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan, disaster assistance, safety net, price support, and conservation programs; Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation programs; and Risk Management Agency (RMA) Federal crop insurance.
Before you clear or prepare areas not presently under production for crops that require annual tillage, you are required to file Form AD-1026 “Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification,” with FSA indicating the area to be brought into production. The notification will be referred to NRCS to determine if the field is considered highly erodible land. If the field is considered HEL, you are required to implement a conservation plan or system that limits the erosion to the tolerable soil loss (T) for the predominant HEL soil on those fields.
In addition, prior to removing trees or conducting any other land manipulations that may affect wetlands, remember to update form AD-1026, to ensure you remain in compliance with the wetland conservation provisions.
Prior to purchasing or renting new cropland acres, it is recommended that you check with your local USDA Service Center to ensure your activities will be in compliance with the highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions.
For additional information on highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation compliance, contact your local USDA Service Center.
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Looking for ways to do business with USDA that saves you time? Look no further than farmers.gov.
When you create a farmers.gov account for the farmers.gov authenticated site, you have access to self-service features through a secure login. Managing your business with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is faster than ever. From e-signing documents, viewing, printing, and exporting maps and receiving notifications of payment disbursements, a farmers.gov authenticated account makes doing business with USDA easy and secure.
What can you do with your farmers.gov account?
- Submit a Direct Farm Loan application. This tool and other process improvements allow farmers and ranchers to submit complete loan applications. Helpful features include an electronic signature option, the ability to attach supporting documents such as tax returns, complete a balance sheet, and build a farm operating plan.
- View NRCS Disbursements and Farm Loans financial activity from the past 180 days.
- View, print and export detailed farm records and farm/tract maps.
- Export common land unit (field) boundaries as ESRI and GeoJSON file types.
- Import precision agriculture planting boundaries, create labels containing crop information, and print both on farm tract maps.
- Use the draw tools to determine acres in an area of interest that can be printed on a map and provided to a third party or exported as a feature file for use in other geospatial applications.
- View, upload, download and e-sign NRCS documents.
- Request conservation and financial assistance, including submitting a program application.
- Access information on current and past conservation practices, report practice completion and request practice certification
- View detailed information on previous and ongoing contracts, including the amount of cost- share assistance received and request contract modifications.
- View Farm Loan Program loans: View Farm Loan principal and interest balances, payment history, loan terms, and download interest statements.
How do you create a farmers.gov account?
To create a farmers.gov account you will need:
- A USDA individual customer record - A customer record contains information you have given to USDA to do business with them, like your name, address, phone number, and any legal representative authority relationships.
- A login.gov account – Login.gov is a sign-in service that gives people secure online access to participating government programs.
- Customers who are new to USDA should visit Get Started at Your USDA Service Center, then go to gov/account to create a farmers.gov account.
In addition to the self-service features, farmers.gov also has information on USDA programs, farm loans, disaster assistance, conservation programs and crop insurance.
The USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Direct Farm Ownership loans can help farmers and ranchers become owner-operators of family farms, improve and expand current operations, increase agricultural productivity, and assist with land tenure to save farmland for future generations.
There are three types of Direct Farm Ownership Loans: regular, down payment and joint financing. FSA also offers a Direct Farm Ownership Microloan option for smaller financial needs up to $50,000.
Joint financing allows FSA to provide more farmers and ranchers with access to capital. FSA lends up to 50 percent of the total amount financed. A commercial lender, a state program or the seller of the property being purchased, provides the balance of loan funds, with or without an FSA guarantee. The maximum loan amount for a joint financing loan is $600,000, and the repayment period for the loan is up to 40 years.
The operation must be an eligible farm enterprise. Farm Ownership loan funds cannot be used to finance nonfarm enterprises and all applicants must be able to meet general eligibility requirements. Loan applicants are also required to have participated in the business operations of a farm or ranch for at least three years out of the 10 years prior to the date the application is submitted. The applicant must show documentation that their participation in the business operation of the farm or ranch was not solely as a laborer.
For more information about farm loans, contact your local county USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts hundreds of surveys every year and prepares reports covering virtually every aspect of U.S. agriculture. NASS is committed to providing timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. The Census of Agriculture is conducted every five years, providing the only source of consistent, comparable, and detailed agricultural data for every county in America.
MISSOURI DATA: The statewide summary indicates that Missouri boasts nearly 88,000 farms with an average farm size of 308 acres, which shows a six-acre average increase from the 2017 data. 96% of all Missouri farming operations are considered family farms. As of December 2022, over four million cattle and calves were reported in inventory and nearly nine million acres were reported for combined soybean and corn planted acres. Missouri agriculture production contributes to 3% of all United States agricultural sales.
COUNTY DATA: 2022 agriculture profile statistics and survey results can be found here by selecting the county you would like to view.
NASS protects the privacy of all respondents and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified. To learn more about NASS frequently asked questions or more information, visit the National Agricultural Statistics Service website.
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2022 Census of Agriculture. Data available at www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.
If you receive a survey questionnaire, please respond quickly and online if possible.
The results of the surveys help determine the structure of USDA farm programs, such as soil rental rates for the Conservation Reserve Program and prices and yields used for the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs. This county-level data is critical for USDA farm payment determinations. Survey responses also help associations, businesses and policymakers advocate for their industry and help educate others on the importance of agriculture.
NASS data is available online at nass.usda.gov/Publications and through the searchable Quick Stats database. Watch a video on how NASS data is used at youtube.com/watch?v=m-4zjnh26io&feature=youtu.be.
Navigating filing taxes can be challenging, especially if you are new to running a farm business, participating in disaster programs for first time, or trying to forecast the farm’s tax bill. Receiving funds from USDA through activities such as a conservation program payment or a disaster program is considered farm income that includes a tax liability for farm businesses. USDA technical assistance is free and creates no tax implications.
At the end of the tax year, USDA issues tax forms 1098 and 1099 forms for farm loans, conservation programs administered by the Farm Service Agency and Natural Resource Conservation Service including the Conservation Reserve Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program, crop disaster payments, and the Market Facilitation Program. USDA also issues tax forms for recipients of assistance for distressed borrowers, including through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act.
If you have received tax forms related to your operation, USDA cannot and does not provide tax advice but wants you to be aware of options that may help manage your tax liability. USDA has partnered with experts to provide resources to help you make the right tax decisions for your operation. Monthly webinars are available for registration and to view on demand at https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/taxes.
The Tax Estimator Tool is an interactive spreadsheet that producers can download to estimate tax liability. It is for informational and educational purposes and should not considered tax or legal advice. Producers may need to work with a tax professional to determine the correct information to be entered in the Tax Estimator Tool.
We encourage you to visit https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/taxes for more information on how to find and work with a tax preparer as well as instructions on how to request copies of USDA documents and links to other helpful tax resources.
A multi-agency guide for USDA assistance for underserved farmers and ranchers is now available. If you are a farmer or rancher and are a minority, woman, veteran, beginning, or limited resource producer, you can use this booklet to learn about assistance and targeted opportunities available to you. This includes programs offered through the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Risk Management Agency. Download the guide here. The guide is also available in Spanish, Hmong, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese on farmers.gov/translations.
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A multi-agency guide for USDA assistance for underserved farmers and ranchers is now available. If you are a farmer or rancher and are a minority, woman, veteran, beginning, or limited resource producer, you can use this booklet to learn about assistance and targeted opportunities available to you. This includes programs offered through the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Risk Management Agency. Download the guide here. The guide is also available in Spanish, Hmong, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese on farmers.gov/translations.
FSA is cleaning up our producer record database and needs your help. Please report any changes of address, zip code, phone number, email address or an incorrect name or business name on file to our office. You should also report changes in your farm operation, like the addition of a farm by lease or purchase. You should also report any changes to your operation in which you reorganize to form a Trust, LLC or other legal entity.
FSA and NRCS program participants are required to promptly report changes in their farming operation to the County Committee in writing and to update their Farm Operating Plan on form CCC-902.
To update your records, contact your local county USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that most farm loan borrowers will soon be able to make payments to their direct loans online through the Pay My Loan feature on farmers.gov in early February. Pay My Loan is part of a broader effort by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to streamline its processes, especially for producers who may have limited time during the planting or harvest seasons to visit a local FSA office; modernize and improve customer service; provide additional customer self-service tools; and expand credit access to assist more producers.
On average, local USDA Service Centers process more than 225,000 farm loan payments each year. Pay My Loan gives most borrowers an online repayment option and relieves them from needing to call, mail, or visit a Service Center to pay their loan installment. Farm loan payments can now be made at the borrower’s convenience, on their schedule and outside of FSA office hours.
Pay My Loan also provides time savings for FSA’s farm loan employees by minimizing manual payment processing activities. This new service for producers means that farm loan employees will have more time to focus on reviewing and processing new loans or servicing requests.
The Pay My Loan feature can be accessed at farmers.gov/loans. To use the payment feature, producers must establish a USDA customer account and a USDA Level 2 eAuthentication (“eAuth”) account or a Login.gov account. This initial release only allows individuals with loans to make online payments. For now, borrowers with jointly payable checks will need to continue to make loan payments through their local office.
FSA has a significant initiative underway to streamline and automate the Farm Loan Program customer-facing business process. For the over 26,000 producers who submit a direct loan application annually, FSA has made various improvements including:
- The Online Loan Application, an interactive, guided application that is paperless and provides helpful features including an electronic signature option, the ability to attach supporting documents such as tax returns, complete a balance sheet, and build a farm operating plan.
- The Loan Assistance Tool that provides customers with an interactive online, step-by-step guide to identifying the direct loan products that may be a fit for their business needs and to understanding the application process.
- A simplified direct loan paper application, which reduced loan applications by more than half, from 29 pages to 13 pages.
The new LIP tool and the farm loan informational video resources were developed in partnership with FarmRaise and USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).
The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) today unveiled a new, online Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) Decision Tool and farm loan resources available to agricultural producers and cooperators who help producers access USDA disaster assistance, farm loans and other federal farm programs. The new LIP tool and the farm loan informational video resources were developed in partnership with FarmRaise and USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). These tools are now available at www.farmraise.com/usda-fsa.
Current FarmRaise Tools and Resources FarmRaise, Inc. has created an online, educational hub -- called Farm Service Agency 101 – comprised of videos, and resources that enable cooperators and the agricultural producers they serve to learn about and access major FSA programs.
The newly launched LIP Decision Tool assists livestock producers who suffered losses from eligible adverse weather events and other causes of loss as well as cooperators who are helping disaster-impacted livestock producers navigate available federal disaster assistance programs. The optional decision tool gives producers guidance on what is needed to gather and submit required loss documentation, reducing the amount of time needed to complete applications and enabling FSA county office staff to deliver much-needed assistance faster. Using this tool, however, is not an application for benefits or a determination of eligibility.
Through use of the LIP tool, livestock producers can provide supporting documentation, inventory numbers, and loss numbers to FSA county offices. Doing so, in advance of the initial county office visit, will help FSA staff serve customers more effectively and efficiently. Producers will also need to complete an application for LIP assistance and, upon request, may be asked to provide additional supporting documentation.
LIP offers payments to livestock producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by qualifying adverse weather events. LIP also covers losses due to eligible diseases and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law. This includes attacks by wolves and predatory birds.
In addition to the new LIP Decision Tool, the FarmRaise educational hub offers several, easily navigated farm loan programs how-to videos designed to introduce producers to FSA’s many farm loan programs options and guide them through the application process.
More FSA program resources and tools will soon be added to the FarmRaise educational hub. Cooperators and agricultural producers are encouraged to visit the FarmRaise educational hub often to access all available resources.
About the Partnership USDA cooperators are organizations on the frontlines of access and often are the first point of contact connecting farmers to USDA programs. The partnership between FarmRaise, Inc. and FSA, through a cooperative agreement, aims to improve producer participation and customer experience in USDA programs through education and technical assistance to young, beginning, and small-scale to mid-sized producers, producers with disabilities, and veterans.
By developing a digital educational hub that delivers free, user-friendly, producer and cooperator-tested resources USDA and FarmRaise, Inc. will help FSA expedite program delivery to agricultural producers. The hub offers how-to videos and visual aids that educate producers about FSA programs and prepares them for submitting applications for program participation.
More Information For more information about FSA farm and farm loan programs, visit fsa.usda.gov or contact your local USDA Service Center - farmers.gov/service-center-locator. To learn more about FarmRaise, visit Farmraise.com.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking subject matter experts to serve as peer reviewers to evaluate grant applications for the FY24 grant cycle.
Current Programs Seeking Peer Reviewers:
Reviewers should have knowledge or experience in agricultural systems, including but not limited to marketing, processing, distribution, and/or local and regional food systems. Producers and those with first-hand experience in food and farm businesses are encouraged to participate. Reviewers should be able to analyze grant applications against specific criteria and explain their evaluation.
Reviewers participate on a panel that evaluates applications against the published criteria in each grant programs’ Requests for Applications (RFA). The review is conducted remotely. Selected reviewers should expect to commit approximately 60 hours to the required training, review and discussion process over the course of six weeks. Reviews will take place during summer 2024.
Upon successful completion of all review responsibilities, non-federal reviewers will receive $200 for each assigned application evaluation. Non-federal panel chairs will receive an additional, one-time, flat payment for their role.
For additional information and to apply, visit How to Become an Application Reviewer.
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