The cold, snowy days of winter are the best time to dig into those spring farm plans. Maybe it’s time to draft a crop rotation or plan new infrastructure. Maybe business planning and farmland ownership are both on the to-do list. If farmland ownership is indeed on your to-do list, it could be a good time to explore the idea. This week, USDA updated its microloan program to include farm ownership loans, which can help beginning farmers own farmland for the first time. Farmland ownership is a big step and takes planning, sometimes many years of planning, but the USDA farm ownership microloan program can help you make it happen.
Farm ownership microloans are available up to $50,000 and can be use for:
- making a down payment on a farm,
- building, repairing, or improving farm buildings, or
- joint financing.
You can learn about other ways to use the farm ownership microloan program through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) website.
To get more information, contact your local FSA office and set up an appointment.
To learn more about preparing for and managing agricultural credit, read the RAFI publication, “The Farmer’s Guide to Agricultural Credit.