COLUMBUS — According to Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray, the application process for the 2008 Agricultural Linked Deposit program will opened Jan. 7 and will close at 5 p.m. March 14.
The program allows Ohio farmers to receive loans at reduced interest rates through their local banks or farm credit agencies in order to offset the high cost of borrowing operating funds.
Farmers can save up to $4,000 a year with the interest-rate reduction.
The Ag-Link program allocates $125 million of the Ohio Treasury’s portfolio for the purchase of reduced-rate certificates of deposit from banks. The lenders then pass along the interest rate reduction — up to 4 percent for a one-year period — to farmers who have been approved for loans.
Qualifying
In order to qualify, farms must be for-profit with their headquarters and more than half of their operations maintained in Ohio.
Additionally, the farm must have a documented need for the reduced interest rate and may request the reduction for up to the first $100,000 of a loan.
To apply, the farm must apply and be approved for an operating loan or line of credit from its Farm Credit System lender or a participating bank.
After approval, the farm may apply for an interest-rate reduction from the Ohio
Treasury
The treasury does not restrict how the farmer spends the loan funds, but priority for the rate reduction will be given to farmers using the funds for feed, seed, fertilizer and fuel.
Applications must be received in the Ohio Treasurer’s offices no later than 5 p.m. March 14. Those postmarks and faxes marked March 14 arriving after the deadline are not acceptable.
Notification. Written notification of the status of each application will be mailed no later than April 7. The treasurer will announce the amount of money invested in each county in early April.
Funding will be available as early as April 9 to assist with spring planting.
Applications and a list of participating lenders are available on the Ohio Treasury Web site.
