USDA Farm Service Agency | »Farm Loan Programs | Farm Assistance Programs | Record Keeping
FSA Farm Loan Programs
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides Direct and Guaranteed farm ownership and operating loans for farmers and ranchers of all kinds. By providing access to credit, FSA’s Farm Loan Programs offer opportunities to family-sized farmers and ranchers to: start, improve, expand, transition, market, and strengthen family farming and ranching operations. For more information, visit https://www.fsa.usda.gov
FSA loan types include the following:
Microloans
Microloans offer more flexible access to credit and serves as an attractive loan alternative for smaller farming operations, like specialty crop producers and operators of community supported agriculture.
Farm Operating Loans
Operating Loans are a valuable resource to start, maintain, and strengthen a farm or ranch business. For new agricultural producers, FSA direct operating loans provide an essential gateway into agricultural production by financing the cost of operating a farm.
Farm Ownership Programs
FSA direct farm ownership loans are a valuable resource to help farmers and ranchers become owner-operators of family farms, improve and expand current operations, increase agricultural productivity, and assist with land tenure to save farmland for future generations.
Guaranteed Farm Loans
FSA guaranteed loans provide lenders (such as banks, Farm Credit System institutions, credit unions) with a guarantee of up to 95 percent of the loss of principal and interest on a loan. Farmers and ranchers apply to an agricultural lender, which then arranges for the guarantee.
Emergency Loans
The Emergency Loan Program can help eligible farmers and ranchers rebuild and recover from sustained losses due to natural disasters.These loans help producers who suffer qualifying farm related losses directly caused by the disaster in a county declared or designated as a primary disaster or quarantine area.
Youth Loans
FSA makes loans to eligible individual youths ages 10 to 20 to start and operate income-producing projects of modest size in connection with their participation in 4-H clubs, FFA, tribal youth groups, or similar agricultural youth organizations. The Youth Loan application requires a sponsor to supervise the loan applicant.