Farm Loan Application Tool
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
In an effort to make it easier for farmers to navigate USDA loan programs, the Farm Service Agency is rolling out a new loan assistance tool. Administrator Zach Ducheneaux says the tool will make it much easier to understand programs and eligibility.
Ducheneaux… “We have a fairly convoluted application process, and it's hard for producers to understand from the outset what the eligibility requirements are, what we might loan money for, and where they fit into the suite of services that we currently offer. The loan assistance tool is really our effort to start reimagining how we're gonna do farm loans into the future. Using the loan assistance tool, a producer can go to the website, click through, and really get a better understanding of what their eligibility is like, what programs we have to offer within our farm loan programs, and how that can help them in their business.”
Ducheneaux says the agency is aware of the need to better serve growers.
Ducheneaux… “The opportunities to get into agriculture are often very time limited. You may never get another opportunity to buy the chunk of land that adjoins you. And if the tool that you need is what the FSA has to offer, and it takes us six months to get an application through the door, that just isn't acceptable. So we need to be able to move in a more timely manner so we can help producers take advantage of opportunity when it does present itself.”
The tool is also designed to counter the high number of incomplete or withdrawn applications, particularly within underserved populations.
