Figure 1. U.S. farm debt market shares (nonreal estate debt only), 1960–2014.

FSA’s Market Share Greatest During 80’s 

Farm Financial Crisis

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

% of US Farm Debt

Calendar Year

FCS Commercial Banks FSA (Direct Operating Loans) All Other Lenders

Source: USDA Economic Research Service
Figure 2. Number of farmers receiving direct operating loans, fiscal year 2011–15 divided by

number of farmers with nonreal estate interest expense in 2012, by area served by FSA county 

office.

Share of Indebted Farmers Receiving DOL

Less than 2.5%

2.5% to 5%

5% to 15%

15% to 25%

Over 25%

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_^ _^

_^ _^

_^ _^

_^

_^ _^ _^

_^

_^ _^ _^

_^

_^

_^

_^

_^

_^

_^

_^ _^

_^

_^

_^

_^

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Gulf of Mexico

Atlantic

Ocean

Pacific

Ocean

Canada

Mexico

_^

_^ _^

_^

_^

_^

_^ _^

_^ Pacific Ocean

_^

Pacific 

Ocean

-160°

20°

Hawaii

Alaska

Source: 2012 Census of Agricuilture and FSA Loan Obligation Database (OBFN), 
Figure 3. Distribution of New DOL Borrowers Receiving Loans by Farm Type and Fiscal Year.
Figure 4. Percent of Direct OL Borrowers in Default or Receiving a Debt Settlement, fiscal year 

1998–2015.

Default and Loss Rates Have Declined

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Percent of All Direct OL Borrowers

Write-Off

Default (90 Day)

Default (30 Day)

Fiscal-Year End

Source: FSA Debt Settlement (DSTH) and R540 Data Files
Figure 5. Dollars of Direct OL Obligations and Number of New DOL Borrowers by Fiscal Year 

through FY15 (in 2015 $). 

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

Borrowers DOL Obligations (real)

Direct OL Obligations and Number of New 

Borrowers Continue to Increase

Borrowers Obligations 

($Mi.)

Source: FSA OBFN Database, 12/31/15
Figure 6. Borrowers reaching DOL term limits as share of total caseload.

Less Than 1.5% of DOL Borrowers Reach 

Term Limit Each Year

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

50,000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

OL Borrower Caseload (12/31)

Calendar-Year End

Reaching term

limts in current

year

Reaching term

limits in earlier

year

Non-term

limited

1.0% 0.9% 0.8% 1.0%

0.9% 0.8% 0.8% 0.8%

1.3%

Sources: USDA FSA R540 calendar year-end and OBFN databases (12/31/2015)

(new term limited borrowers as % of total active DOL borrowers)

0.8%

1.3%
Figure 7. Geographic location of borrowers reaching term limits in current and previous years.

Legend

NewTerm Limited Borrowers-2015

Term Limited Borrowers Prio to 2015

Gulf of Mexico

Atlantic

Ocean

Pacific

Ocean

Canada

Mexico

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_^

_^

_^

_^

_^ _^

_^ _^

_^ _^

_^ _^

_^ _^ _^ _^

_^

_^ Pacific Ocean

Pacific 

Ocean

Hawaii

Alaska
Figure 8. Term Limited Borrowers by Calendar Year and Farm Type.

New Term Limited DOL Borrowers by 

Calendar Year and Farm Type

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Calendar Year

All Other Animal Production

Dairy

Beef

Other crop

Fruits, Nuts, Vegetables

Cotton

Cash Grain & Oilseeds

Wheat

Source: FSA OBFN Database & Farm Business Plan