USDA offering loans to farmers, ranchers

SPOKANE VALLEY - Underserved or beginning farmers and ranchers who cannot obtain commercial credit from a bank have a resource to turn to - the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA).

FSA is offering two types of direct and guaranteed loans: farm ownership loans and farm operating loans. Repayment terms for the latter are scheduled from 1 – 7 years while financing for the former cannot exceed 40 years, with interest rates for direct loans set by the government's cost of borrowing and rates for guaranteed loans established by the lender.

Farm ownership loans are available fo...