Hello Again!
Planting season is in full swing and many of you are now finishing up those last few acres. Sun-drenched days will soon find us out and about everywhere, whether it’s finishing planting, doing yard work, fishing, biking or golfing.
It won’t be long before the fields come to life with emerging crops. Spring is a busy time of the year and now is when you should consider increasing your storage capacity.
The benefits derived from increasing your on-farm storage are vast. Having a place to store your crop immediately after harvest will provide you the opportunity to sell your crop at a later date, when crop prices tend to be higher.
The Farm Service Agency has a low interest (2.375 percent for May) loan program that will enable you to do just that. This loan program will provide you with two years of storage capacity for corn, wheat, soybeans, oats and/or barley.
Eligible storage structures consist of grain bins, cribs, upright silos, oxygen-limiting silos, flat storage and bunker-type horizontal or open silos.
Also included in the loan amount are the costs for permanently affixed handling equipment, drying equipment, perforated floors, electrical equipment, inside and outside ladders, cleaners, moisture testers, heat detectors, concrete foundation, aprons, site preparation and labor.
We will also loan on the remodeling costs of existing storage. The loan is a seven-year term with annual installment payments at 85 percent of the total eligible costs, not to exceed $100,000 per “person.”
If you plan on applying for a facility loan, please remember that you cannot accept delivery of materials, begin site preparation or begin upgrading your existing storage structure until approved to do so.
Contact your local FSA office today and start the process of improving your cash-flow by increasing your storage capacity.
That’s all for now,
FSA Andy
