Farm loans are a great way for farmers to buy farmland, operate their farm, and expand it. They offer liquid cash to new startups and also provide monetary help to established farms to settle seasonal challenges. Crop, livestock, and equipment financing are the common forms of these loans, and the funding you can secure usually varies depending on your farm size, collateral, financial history, and whether you are eligible for an FSA loan program or a farm loan from a commercial lender.
But the question is where you can find reliable funding for your farm property? Here we have a few options you might want to consider.
Farm Loan Discovery Tool
The farm loan discovery tool is the government resource that can help you learn about different USDA farm loans and make the right pick for you.
Using this tool, you’ll be pointed in the right direction to secure finance for your farm and fulfill your agricultural needs, like:
- Livestock, equipment, and any other improvements
- Seed, feed, and inputs
- Conservation – loans are available to assist with financing your part of conservation practices that are supported by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of USDA.
- Value-Added Processing – SBA or USDA loans may offer financial help to further process your products or aggregate them with others. For instance, you may want to turn the cucumbers from your farm into pickles or make jams and jellies with fruits from several producers. In either case, finances can be secure from SBA or USDA loans.
- Cost Share – you may be able to use FSA financing to get help with the capital required for different other USDA programs needing a cost-share like the ones on offer from Rural Development or NRCS.
Work With The SBA
It is also a good idea to explore options from other agencies that fund food and agriculture businesses. Quite often, it is a more reliable option to combine funding from a couple of sources.
To get things started with the SBA, visit a lending institution or a local bank that takes part in SBA programs. Use LINC in order to connect with SBA lenders and fill their short, online questionnaire. It helps connect interested lenders with prospective borrowers.
Seek Help From Other Sources
You can also rely on private lenders to fund your farm property. Like unitedfarmmortgage.com, for instance, offers loans for starting, expanding, improving, strengthening, marketing, or transitioning your family farm or ranch operations. No matter what the operation size may be, the funding can be secured if it makes a reasonable yearly income and the amount of the loan is over $250,000.
With these loans, you can start farming as a women farmer, racially underprivileged farmer, or an ethnic minority. You may also use these loans for enabling your siblings to maintain your farm operations. These loans will even benefit you if you are into organic farming or want to increase the efficiency of your direct sales.
Start exploring these options now to secure the right farm loans for your specific needs!
