US: Microloans now available for young and beginning farmers

Earlier this week, USDA announced the start of an exciting new loan program that will better meet the credit needs of small farms of all types, including especially young farmers and those serving local and regional food markets, including urban farmers.

The final rule for the proposed microloan program was published this week, and the Farm Service Agency (FSA), which is USDA’s credit lending arm, intends to begin making these smaller loans effective immediately.

NSAC and several member organizations, including the National Young Farmers Coalition, California FarmLink, and others, spearheaded initial efforts to encourage USDA to develop a more streamlined loan program that specifically targets smaller and less-established producers who typically have smaller credit needs. We continue to be big supporters of the FSA credit programs for family farms in general and for beginning farmers and socially disadvantaged farmers in particular. The new microloan program helps fill an additional, important niche within the overall FSA loan portfolio.

NSAC is very pleased with USDA’s responsiveness and with the new lending option. We also continue to pursue further improvements through the farm bill process in Congress.

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Source: NSAC