USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced in April that their Farm
Storage Facility Loan program can now help finance portable storage
structures, portable equipment, and storage and handling trucks in addition to
continuing its longstanding capacity to finance stationary crop and cold storage
on-farm facilities. This expansion of the low-interest loan program will help
FSA better serve fruit and vegetable farmers and others who need to get crops
safely and efficiently to local farmers’ markets, schools, restaurants, food
hubs, and retail stores.
The program also offers a new "microloan" option,
which allows applicants seeking less than $50,000 to qualify for a reduced down
payment of five percent and no requirement to provide three years of production
history. Farms and ranches of all sizes are eligible. The microloan option is
expected to be of particular benefit to smaller farms and ranches, and specialty
crop producers who may not have access to commercial storage or on-farm storage
after harvest. These producers can invest in equipment like conveyers, scales or
refrigeration units and trucks that can store commodities before delivering them
to markets.
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