From wright.1128 at osu.edu Fri Apr 12 14:00:39 2024 From: wright.1128 at osu.edu (Wright, Nicole) Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:00:39 +0000 Subject: [Aqua-ohio] USDA Offers Financing for Storage & Handling Equipment and Vehicles Message-ID: Information from USDA about Farm Storage Facility Loans USDA Offers Financing for Storage & Handling Equipment and Vehicles Competitive financing is available for farmers, ranchers, and market gardeners who want to invest in equipment used for the storage and handling of their produce. Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFLs) are historically associated with grain bins, silos, and structures used by farmers to store their end-of-year harvest to strengthen their marketing position. But did you know that FSFLs can also be used to finance other storage and handling investments for your operation? If you're looking at purchasing a new or used truck or van to transport your produce or equipment to store, move, and handle your crops, consider visiting your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Office to see if you can get financing through the FSFL Program. FSFLs can be up to $500,000 per loan, with a minimum down payment of 15 percent. Approved loans are required before purchasing, building, and accepting delivery of equipment. This includes getting approval before any site preparation and/or construction can be started. The producer is reimbursed after the loan closing. Producers can finance multiple pieces of equipment under a single loan. There is also a microloan option that may be of interest to beginning farmers as well as farmers who have smaller operations. Microloans can be up to $50,000 and require a lesser down payment of 5 percent. Loans up to $50,000 can be secured by a promissory note/security agreement and loans between $50,000 and $100,000 may require additional security. Loans exceeding $100,000 require additional security. Eligible Commodities The range of commodities that are eligible for FSA's FSFL program includes: * Honey; * Fruits and Vegetables; * Nuts; * Flowers; * Maple sap and syrup; * Milk, cheese, butter, and yoghurt; * Eggs; * Unprocessed meat and poultry, including meat cured, sliced, smoked or ground for storage; * Aquaculture, including finfish and shellfish; * Hemp; * Wool Storage and Handling Equipment FSFLs can be used to finance storage and handling equipment. Because the range of commodities is so diverse, the list includes equipment specific to individual commodities, such as bale accumulators for hay, bottling systems for honey, and grain dryers for cereals. The list includes, but is not limited to: * Back-up generators for storage facilities; * Bottling systems, excluding containers; * Boxers; * Brush polishers; * Bulk bin tippers; * Case palletizers; * Cold dip tanks; * Conveyors; * Dump carts; * Food safety-related equipment; * Forklifts; * Freezers; * Hydrocoolers; * Quality graders; * Rack systems; * Refrigeration units and systems; * Safety equipment meeting OSHA requirements; * Sorting bins and tables; * Skid steers; * Washers for produce; * Weight graders; * Weight scales; Loans can be for new or used equipment, but the equipment must have a useful life for the entire term of the loan. Single-use items or consumed supplies, such as bottles, single-use containers, or bale bags, are not eligible for FSFL financing. Storage and Handling Trucks You can utilize FSFLs to finance vehicles used to store, handle, and transport eligible commodities that you produced. FSFLs can finance for new or used vehicles, and the terms of the loans depends on the cost of the truck and whether it is new or used, but generally range from 3 to 7 years for new vehicles and 3 to 5 years for used vehicles. You can finance: * Refrigerated, cold storage trucks and vans; * Flat-bed trucks that have open bodies for easy loading and unloading; * Box trucks, box vans, and straight trucks; * Semi-trucks and truck-tractors Pick-up trucks and dump trucks are not eligible for FSFL financing. If you have an FSFL on a vehicle, you must hold full automobile insurance coverage (comprehensive and collision) for the term of the loan. Who Is Eligible? Any producer who is a landowner, landlord, leaseholder, tenant, or sharecropper that produces an eligible commodity is potentially eligible for a Farm Storage Facility Loan. Interested applicants must be able to show repayment ability, and other requirements may need to be met to qualify for a loan. Producers do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial credit availability to apply. The loans are designed to assist a diverse range of farming operations, including small and mid-sized businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local food and farmers markets, non-traditional farm products, and underserved producers. Contact your local FSA Service Center for more details! How to Apply FSFL applications should be filed after having a discussion with the staff at your local USDA Service Center. The application should be filed in the administrative county office that maintains the record for the farm where the commodity the equipment or vehicle will be used for is grown. All applications require a $100 nonrefundable application fee. Additional Information If approved, producers are required to have all-peril insurance on the equipment or full automobile insurance on a vehicle. Producers may also be required to acquire flood insurance if the property where the automobile or equipment is stored is within a flood plain. Producers may also be required to maintain multi-peril crop insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Program, dairy insurance, or Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program coverage depending on the commodity. Equipment and vehicles financed by FSFL must be used to store, handle, or transport eligible commodities. Once disbursed, producers must use the FSFL collateral for the intended purpose for which it was initially requested. Producers must request in writing for approval to use financed vehicles or equipment to store or handle anything other than an eligible FSFL commodity. For More Information For more information about the program, visit the FSFL webpage. And contact your FSA County office. [The Ohio State University] Nicole Wright Aquaculture Extension Educator and LEARN Coordinator Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory School of Environment and Natural Resources Heffner Building, 352 W. Dodridge St., Columbus, OH 43202 Phone: 330-202-3594 wright.1128 at osu.edu / ohioseagrant.osu.edu Pronouns: she/her/hers -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 3605 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: