Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2021

By KRIS KOTH
Clinton County Executive Director
Cedar County Acting Executive Director
Farm Service Agency
kris.koth@usda.gov
EASTERN IOWA FARMER
FSA offers
loans to help
producers with
storage needs
Last year we saw a derecho come
through and destroy fields and
building sites. The derecho
damage didn’t just limit itself to
buildings and fields; it also destroyed
countless grain bins. Because of the
derecho damage, a producer’s on-site storage
may be limited, and a producer is now left
wondering “What can I do?”
Maybe you didn’t have derecho damage to
grain storage. Maybe higher yields this year
have your grain storage at capacity, and you
are wondering “What should I do for storage?”
The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Farm
Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program provides
low-interest financing to help you build
or upgrade storage facilities and to purchase
portable (new or used) structures, equipment,
and storage and handling trucks.
The following new/used facilities and upgrades
are eligible:
n Conventional bins
n Electrical equipment and handling equipment
n Equipment to improve, maintain or monitor
the quality of stored grain
n Concrete foundations, aprons, pits and
pads, including site preparation
n Renovation of existing farm storage
facilities
n Grain handling and grain drying equipment
n Structures that are bunker-type, horizontal
or open silo structures, with at least two
concrete walls and a concrete floor
n Structures suitable for storing hay built
according to acceptable design guidelines
n Structures suitable for storing renewable
biomass
n Bulk tanks for storing milk or maple sap
n Cold storage buildings, including prefabricated
buildings that are suitable for
eligible commodities.
n Storage and handling trucks, including
semi-trailers, wagons, and auger carts
A quick overview of the FSFL program: an
eligible producer may borrow up to $500,000
per loan, with a minimum down payment of
15 percent. Loan terms are up to 12 years,
depending on the amount of the loan.
Producers must demonstrate storage needs
based on three years of production history.
FSA also provides a microloan option that,
while available to all eligible farmers and
ranchers, also should be of particular interest
to new or small producers where there
is a need for financing options for loans up
to $50,000 at a lower down payment with
reduced documentation. Applicants for all
loans will be charged a nonrefundable $100
application fee.
The interest rates for July were between
0.500% with 3-year loan terms and 1.500%
with a 12-year loan term. If last year’s
derecho left you without enough storage or
higher yields have you wondering what to
do for storage, call your local FSA office
and inquire about the Farm Storage Facility
Program. n
If you have
any questions,
please contact
your local
FSA Office.
Cedar County
205 W. South St.,
Ste. 3, Tipton, IA
52772
(563) 886-6061
Clinton County
1212 17th Ave.,
DeWitt, IA 52742
(563) 659-3456
Dubuque County
210 Bierman
Road, Epworth, IA
52045
(563) 876-3328
Jackson County
601 E. Platt St.,
Maquoketa, IA
52060
(563) 652-3237
Jones County
300 Chamber Dr.,
Anamosa, IA
52205
(563) 462-3517
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