Price Support

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FARM SERVICE AGENCY FACT SHEET

November 2017

Farm Storage Facility Loans

OVERVIEW

Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFLs) provide low-interest 

financing for producers to store, handle and/or transport 

eligible commodities they produce. This includes the 

following:

• Acquire, construct or upgrade new or used, portable 

or permanently affixed, on-farm storage and handling 

facilities;

• Acquire new or used storage and handling trucks; and

• Acquire portable or permanently affixed storage and 

handling equipment.

The program is administered by the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA).

A 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.

MICROLOANS

Producers who select the microloan option can borrow up 

to $50,000, with the minimum down payment reduced to 

5 percent and shorter loan terms. Producers can self-certify 

the storage needs of the eligible commodity and are not 

required to demonstrate storage needs based on production 

history.

ELIGIBLE COMMODITIES

The following commodities are eligible:

• Corn, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats, peanuts, 

wheat, barley or minor oilseeds harvested as whole 

grain;

• Corn, grain sorghum, wheat, oats or barley harvested 

as other-than-whole grain;

• Other grains (triticale, speltz and buckwheat);

• Pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas and dry peas);

• Hay;

• Honey;

• Renewable biomass;

• Fruits (includes nuts) and vegetables - cold storage 

facilities;

• Floriculture;

• Hops;

• Malted small grains;

• Maple sap;

• Maple syrup;

• Milk;

• Cheese;

• Butter;

• Yogurt;

• Eggs;

• Meat/poultry (unprocessed);

• Rye; and

• Aquaculture.

ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION 

REQUIREMENTS

These loans must be approved by the local FSA state 

or county committee before any site preparation and/or 

construction can be started.

All loan requests are subject to an environmental 

evaluation. Accepting delivery of equipment, starting any 

site preparation or construction before loan approval may 

impede the successful completion of an environmental 

evaluation and may adversely affect loan eligibility.

ELIGIBLE FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT AND 

UPGRADES

The following types of new/used facilities and upgrades are 

eligible and must have a useful life for at least the term of 

the loan:

• Conventional cribs or bins;

• Oxygen-limiting structures and remanufactured 

oxygen-limiting structures;

• Flat-type storage structures;

• Electrical equipment and handling equipment, 

excluding the installation of electrical service to the 

electrical meter;

• Safety equipment, such as interior and exterior ladders 

and lighting;

• Equipment to improve, maintain or monitor the quality 

of stored grain;

• Concrete foundations, aprons, pits and pads, including 

site preparation, off-farm labor and material, essential 

to the proper operation of the grain storage and 

handling equipment;
FACT SHEET

Farm Storage Facility Loans November 2017

• Renovation of existing farm storage facilities, 

under certain circumstances, if the renovation is for 

maintaining or replacing items;

• Grain handling and grain drying equipment 

determined by the Commodity Credit Corporation to 

be needed and essential to the proper operation of a 

grain storage system (with or without a loan for the 

storage facility);

• Structures that are bunker-type, horizontal or open 

silo structures, with at least two concrete walls and a 

concrete floor;

• Structures suitable for storing hay built according to 

acceptable design guidelines;

• Structures suitable for storing renewable biomass;

• Bulk tanks for storing milk or maple sap;

• Cold storage buildings, including prefabricated 

buildings that are suitable for eligible commodities. 

Also may include cooling, circulating and monitoring 

equipment and electrical equipment, including labor 

and materials for installation of lights, motors and 

wiring integral to the proper operation of a cold 

storage facility; and

• Storage and handling trucks, including refrigerated 

trucks.

Other examples of equipment include but are not limited to the following:

• baggers

• boxers

• brush polishers

• bulk bin tippers

• case palletizers

• cement flooring

• circulation fans

• cold dip tanks

• conveyors

• drying tunnels

• dumpers

• electrical equipment

• food safety-related equipment

• hoppers

• hydrocoolers

• hydrolifts

• ice machines

• quality graders

• refrigeration units or systems

• roller creepfeeders

• roller spray units

• safety equipment meeting 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration requirements 

• sealants

• sizers

• sorting bins and/or tables

• storage and handling trucks

• washers

• waxers

• weight graders

Notes:

• Eligible storage structures and handling equipment, having a useful life for the entire term of the loan, may be 

permanently affixed or portable.

• Facilities built for commercial purposes and not for the sole use of the borrower(s) are not eligible for financing.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

An eligible borrower is any person who is a landowner, 

landlord, leaseholder, tenant or sharecropper. Eligible 

borrowers must be able to show repayment ability and meet 

other requirements to qualify for a loan. Contact an FSA 

office for more details.

WHERE TO FILE THE APPLICATION

Loan applications should be filed in the administrative FSA 

county office that maintains the farm’s records.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

This fact sheet is provided for informational purposes; 

other eligibility requirements or restrictions may apply. 

For more information about FSFLs, visit 

www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport or contact your local 

FSA office. To find your local FSA office, visit 

http://offices.usda.gov.

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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and 

institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including 

gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or 

retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines 

vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) 

should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. 

Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_

cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, 

call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or

3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.