The Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers farm operating loans to family farmers and ranchers who are temporarily unable to get private, commercial credit at reasonable rates and terms.

You may use operating loans to:

• Buy items like livestock and feed, machinery and equipment, fuel, farm chemicals, and insurance.
• Pay family living expenses, refinance eligible farm debt, and general farm operating expenses.
• Make minor improvements or repairs to buildings and fencing.

FSA also provides Microloans. These are direct operating loans designed to meet the unique financial operating needs of many farm types. These include:

• Socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers
• Niche farms
• Small family farms
• Farms serving local and regional food markets, including urban farms

The maximum loan amount for a Microloan is $35,000.

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.

The goal of FSA’s farm loan programs is to help you get to commercial credit. Once you as a farmer are able to get credit from a commercial lender, the agency’s mission is complete.

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

• Be a family farmer.
• Have a satisfactory credit history.
• Show sufficient farm management experience through education, on-the-job training, or general farm experience (for operating loans).
• 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.
• Be able to take on legal loan obligations.
• Have no overdue federal debt, and
• Have caused no FSA loss through debt forgiveness (certain exceptions apply), and
• Be the tenant-operator or owner-operator of a family farm after loan closing.

To learn more about FSA loans:

• Visit the Farm Loan Programs page.
• See the FSA Farm Loans Fact Sheet.
• 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.