PIERRE, S.D. – A USDA loan program makes it possible for ranchers and farmers to store everything from hay to grain to semi’s and freezers.
While often referred to as the grain bin loan program, the Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) is available for a broad range of uses.
“It’s not just grain bins,,” says Steve Dick, state executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency in South Dakota. “It can [be] grain handling equipment, whether it’s an auger or a grain bagger, grain cart, semi-trailer; we’ve even had some producers utilize it for freezer space to buy freezers if they are doing direct marketing of their beef.”
He added, “So, any commodity that a South Dakota farm and ranch family produces would qualify for FSFL for storage or handling. We’ve had people that are commercial hay producers use it for hay sheds. They’re storing a commodity that they produce; they would qualify for this loan.”
The loan interest rate is likely to be lower than what is offered commercially, said Dick. “Consistently FSA’s (Farm Service Agency’s) rates have been a little bit lower than the private sector.”
Aside from the opportunity to capture what could be a better grain and soybean market months after harvest, Dick points out that harvest itself is what he calls a mad rush to gather the crop in a timely fashion.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had some dry falls in South Dakota the last couple years, however sometimes that harvest window gets very, very narrow,” explained Dick, “and rather than sitting in line at the grain elevator or the ethanol plant, this allows producers to have that storage facility on their farm to speed up the harvest.”
