Where to get a farm loan?

[Robert_in_NY]

Ok, I have been looking to expand my farming operation for quite a while with the goal of being 100 acres in vineyards total and still continue my haying operation. I have plenty of hay ground but am only at 9 acres of grapes. I can buy another farm that will add another 85 acres of vineyard on some of the best ground available. The total farm is around 225 acres and is valued around $275k with the asking price of near $300k. I am 100% disabled from my back injury and as a result I can't work a normal job of any sort so my only options are to either live off the system or expand my farm as farming is about the only thing I can do anymore because it allows me to work while managing my health problems as I need to. I have help for those days I can't work but still need work done on the farm. I am 32 years old (well till April 15th at least) and I know I need to add at least one new vineyard tractor to help out with this new farm ($40k for the proper tractor). Even figuring the numbers low I know I can earn enough profit in 5 years time to pay back the loan and tractor but I would like to find a 10-15 year loan that will enable me to pay it off early once I have built up enough capital to help me cover my yearly expenses.

I hope I have explained my situation properly but if anyone needs to know anything else just ask. I just don't know who to really talk to about a loan that would fit my situation properly. The local banks don't give loans for farm ground. I have a FSA office and a Farm Credit office but since I just learned about this property today I am trying to do my homework ahead of time and try to find out if there is a place more suitable for me to talk to about a loan. Thanks for everyones time.

 

[jlsmith]

Check out Agriland Farm Credit. Thats all they do. My father retired from there and my brother now works for one here in Tx. They are all over the USA.
I can try to get you a number if you like.
Jeremy

 

[smstonypoint]

I have a FSA office and a Farm Credit office but since I just learned about this property today I am trying to do my homework ahead of time and try to find out if there is a place more suitable for me to talk to about a loan.

Robert,

As I understand it, the FSA loans are available only to those who can not obtain credit through commercial banks or the Farm Credit System. I would check with your local FSA office, but I think they will tell you that you will have to apply to Farm Credit first.

Way back in time (early 1970s), I was a field representative for a life insurance company that made loans on farm land. I'm not sure whether any of the insurance companies still have farm mortgage divisions. You might want to check with local realtors that handle farm land -- they may know if any of the insurance companies are still in the farm mortgage business.

Good luck.

Steve

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Check out Agriland Farm Credit. Thats all they do. My father retired from there and my brother now works for one here in Tx. They are all over the USA.
I can try to get you a number if you like.
Jeremy

Thanks, is Agriland a local branch of the Farm Credit company? The local Farm Credit office is 25 mintues away and I plan to research the property and the requirements for a loan before I head to talk to anyone. I am trying to get as much information gathered ahead of time so that I can hopefully answer any questions asked properly without having to play phone tag or make multiple visits. Thats what this thread is about, trying to find out if there are any other places that deal with farm loans and to gain insight from others that may help me.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Robert,

As I understand it, the FSA loans are available only to those who can not obtain credit through commercial banks or the Farm Credit System. I would check with your local FSA office, but I think they will tell you that you will have to apply to Farm Credit first.

Way back in time (early 1970s), I was a field representative for a life insurance company that made loans on farm land. I'm not sure whether any of the insurance companies still have farm mortgage divisions. You might want to check with local realtors that handle farm land -- they may know if any of the insurance companies are still in the farm mortgage business.

Good luck.

Steve

I know FSA offers a variety of loan options and I am going to explore everything they offer and find out their requirements ahead of time. Thanks for the advice about the realtor, a friend of ours is a reealtor and has sold quite a few vineyards over the years. I will talk to him and ask what he thinks would be a good option for me.

 

[art]

Farm Credit is a good source for you to obtain the funding you need. Many of the people that we work with use them and they do seem to have competitive rates even on farm machinery till you get to the zero percents!

 

[jayste]

I've had good service out of Farm Credit. They're easy to work with and have payment options of monthly or annually depending on the loan and purpose. They'll need some fairly detailed information on your plans and objectives for your operation but it appears you've got that nailed. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

farm credit services has been great to deal with in our area

 

[radman1]

Like others have said, Farm Credit Services are probably the easiest to work with and will have the best rates. I have purchased 2 different tracks of land in the past 10 years with them. My last 160 acres was about 2 years ago. The interest rates dropped over that time and FCS allowed me to refinance at a lower rate. They actually sent me a letter, stating I could refinance, the closing costs and the savings over the length of the loan. The amount of interest saved in 1 year covered the new closing costs. How many loan companies would do that? FCS will typically required 20% down. I also compared rates to different banks and FCS was typically a couple of % pts less. However, my local bank only required 10% down.

 

[bdeboer]

farm credit services has been great to deal with in our area

Same here.