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Farm storage facility loans available through Farm Service Agency

The Farm Service Agency’s Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program provides low-interest financing to producers to build or upgrade storage facilities.
Producers do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial credit availability to apply. The loans are designed to assist a diverse range of farming operations, including small and mid-sized businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local food and farmers markets, non-traditional farm products and underserved producers.
The funds can be used to build or upgrade permanent facilities to store commodities. Eligible commodities include corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, oats, wheat, barley, minor oilseeds harvested as whole grain, pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas and dry peas), hay, honey, renewable biomass, fruits, nuts and vegetables for cold storage facilities, floriculture, hops, maple sap, rye, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, meat and poultry (unprocessed), eggs and aquaculture (excluding systems that maintain live animals through uptake and discharge of water). Qualified facilities include grain bins, hay barns and cold storage facilities for eligible commodities. 
Loans up to $50,000 can be secured by a promissory note/security agreement and some loans between $50,000 and $100,000 will no longer require additional security.
The maximum principal amount of a loan through the program is $500,000. Participants are required to provide a down payment of 15 percent, with the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) providing a loan for the remaining 85 percent of the net cost of the storage facility, including any permanent drying or handling equipment. Loan terms of seven, ten, or twelve years are available depending on the amount of the loan. Interest rates for each term will be different and are based on the rate which CCC borrows from the U.S. Treasury Department. Current interest rates are between 1.625 and 2.0 percent, depending on the length of the loan.
A Farm Storage Facility Loan must be approved before any site preparation or construction can begin. This is very important since the County Committee is unable to approve a loan request without first obtaining concurrence from the State Committee if either site preparation has begun or materials have been delivered to the site prior to the loan being approved.
To learn more about FSA Farm Storage Facility Loans, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport, or contact the Rock County FSA Office at (507) 283-2369.
 
Enroll Now for 2016 USDA Safety Net Coverage
The Farm Service Agency urges producers who chose one of the safety net programs known as Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) to give the Rock County FSA Office a call at 507-283-2369 to schedule an appointment to complete their 2016 enrollment.
Although the choice between ARC and PLC is completed and remains in effect through 2018, producers must still enroll their farm by signing a contract each year to receive coverage.
If a farm is not enrolled during the 2016 enrollment period, producers on that farm will not be eligible for financial assistance from the ARC or PLC programs should crop prices or farm revenues fall below the historical price or revenue benchmarks established by the program.
Although enrollment will run through Aug. 1, 2016, the FSA Office would like to complete this task before farmers get busy in the spring and before they come into the office to certify their crop acreage. So please contact the FSA Office as soon as possible.
For more information on FSA conservation programs, please visit the Rock County FSA Office, go to www.fsa.usda.gov/conservation, or give us a call at 507-283-2369.

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