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FSA hopes loan backlog will ease

While the U.S. farm economy has been strong over the last several years, a Farm Service Agency official tells lawmakers not all farmers and ranchers have benefited.

Chris Beyerhelm, FSA deputy administrator for farm loan programs tells a House Ag subcommittee that an increase in feed grain production is expected to drive farm income down and the slowdown in ag real estate values is already happening, “Our livestock and dairy producers and dairy operations are still recovering from extended periods of high feed costs and drought and input costs for ALL are expected to remain at near or high record levels of recent years.  Finally, considering all of these events combined with interest rates creeping up, lenders and their regulators are closely scrutinizing agriculture credits making some producers unable to get credit.”

Beyerhelm says producers unable to get credit are able to turn to the FSA loan program – but – since 2009, loan requests have reached record levels and there is a backlog of approved and unfunded loans. He says President Obama’s 2015 Fiscal Year budget has requested lending authority to increase to $6.4 Billion dollars to meet the demand.

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