Today is the day when I will finally own my own farm, or at least I will own my own mortgage for my own farm. In amongst all of the hullaballoo in the government with deadlines and balancing the budget sat my SDA loan. Once all of the balancing was done and government agencies were funded, my loan was funded along with another new farmer in our county.
These loans are part of the farm budget and ensure that both established and new farmers can obtain loans for farming. My specific situation is aided by the fact that in the 80’s virtually every woman who applied for a farm loan through both banks and the USDA was denied access to funds for any and all farming opportunities. With a huge class action law suit still looming against the USDA there is now a special class for people like me. SDA, Socially Disadvantaged Applicants. And what makes me so “socially disadvantaged”? I am a woman who wants to farm.
I encourage anyone who wants to farm but can not obtain funds in conventional ways to contact your local FSA (Farm Services Agency) office. The staff is amazingly helpful and really wants to see more farmers farming land. They will walk you through the process and help you to fill out the necessary paperwork but what was most helpful to me was their insistence on a financial farm plan for the next 5 years. Actually, you can’t get your loan without it.
I tend to be a “fly by the seat of my pants” kind of gal and this was a very good exercise for me. I am big on charts and graphs and seeing where I’ve been but not so good at forecasting. They know their business and they know farming and they want to help you. Although my situation was new to them they went out of their way to understanding our operation and really did an amazing job at adapting all the forms and paperwork to my farming situation. I am certain that Tracy wanted me to get this loan just as much as I wanted it and I am certain that she worked harder to obtain the loan than I did.
If you have any questions about obtaining a loan through FSA please feel free to contact me and I would be happy to get you headed in the right direction.