Farm Ownership Loans may help you:

• Purchase or enlarge a farm or ranch.
• Construct a new or improve an existing farm or ranch building.
• Pay closing costs.
• Pay for soil and water conservation and protection.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides guaranteed and direct loans. Under a guaranteed loan, a commercial lender makes and services the loan, and FSA guarantees it against loss up to a maximum of 90 percent in most cases. If you don’t yet meet the qualifications for a commercial lender, FSA also makes direct loans. These are serviced by an FSA official.

FSA is responsible for providing you with credit counseling and supervision as a direct borrower. They do this by making a thorough assessment of your farming operation.

To qualify, you must meet all loan eligibility requirements including:

• Be a family farmer.
• Have a satisfactory credit history.
• For direct farm ownership loans, you must have taken part in the business operations of a farm for at least three out of the 10 years prior to the application date.
• Be a citizen, non-citizen national, or legal resident alien of the U.S., including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and certain former Pacific Trust Territories.
• Be unable to get credit elsewhere at reasonable rates and terms to meet actual needs.
• Have legal capacity to take on loan obligations.
• Have no overdue federal debt, and
• Have caused no FSA loss through debt forgiveness (certain exceptions apply), and
• Be the owner-operator of a family farm after loan closing.

Other criteria apply and can be found on the FSA website in the FSA Farm Loans Guide. Or you may contact FSA directly.

To apply for a direct operating loan, you must submit application form FSA-2001, Request for Direct Loan Assistance and all required documentation to your local USDA Service Center or FSA County Office.

Please read the FSA Fact Sheet “How to Complete an FSA Loan Application.”

You can find forms on the Farm Loan Application Forms page.

To apply for a guaranteed loan, talk with your lender and they will make the arrangements.