The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new online application for Direct Loan customers. USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small said the agency is trying to make things more convenient for U.S. producers.
“America’s farmers are working incredibly hard to make sure that we have the food and the fiber and the fuel all across the country,” Small said. “As you may know, about 26,000 producers every year submit direct loan applications to USDA, but often farmers end up leaving incomplete applications on the table or withdrawing their direct loan applications. So, we’ve been digging into how to make those loans more accessible to hardworking farmers.”
In that focus on convenience, Small said this is a great option in particular for farmers who might not have enough free time to visit their local FSA office.
“Folks have different ways they want to go about it,” Small said. “So, farmers can still go into an FSA office, talk with their loan officer, and get the assistance they need there. But if they have trouble finding time to do it during business hours or want to have more time to research on their own, now they have a way to apply for a loan online or through their cell phones. So, this is a tool that allows farmers to go to farmers.gov/loanassistancetool to apply online. It also allows farmers to then track the progress of their loans to see whether and how quickly it will be approved.”
Individual farmers can apply now, and the USDA is rolling out the new application site in stages for different levels of applicants.
“For individual farmers, it is being launched today,” Small said. “Now, it’ll take a little bit of time as FSA works to build out the same opportunity for legal entities or married couples applying jointly, but as of today, an individual farmer is able to apply.”
Again, to start applying for the loan assistance tool, visit farmers.gov/loan-assistance-tool.
