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Young, Beginning and Small Farmers

Young, beginning and small farmers are vital to the economic health of our rural communities and at Farm Credit, we know that they represent the future of agriculture. We have adopted several programs to assist young, beginning and small farmers in entering and remaining in the farming profession. 

Who are Young, Beginning or Small Farmers?

Our special programs are designed for customers who meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • Young - 35 years of age or younger
  • Beginning - Less than 10 years agricultural experience
  • Small - Farm production is less than $250,000 annually

Unique programs offered to young, beginning and small farmers 

  • Special Underwriting Program for young and beginning farmers - Farm Credit has created special underwriting standards on loans for agricultural purposes to young and beginning farmers
  • FSA Loan Guarantee Reimbursement for young or beginning farmers - Farm Credit waives our origination fee and reimburses young or beginning farmers for 50% of the Farm Service Agency guarantee fee.
  • Continuing Education Program for young or beginning farmers - Young or beginning farm customers will be reimbursed up to $500 (one time only) when they attend business, production, financial management or agricultural leadership development programs that will help them in their farm business.

These unique programs are available for young, beginning and small farmers in our service territory of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.  Contact your office today to see if you can qualify.

Association Statistics

FCS has almost 105,000 loans in our portfolio representing through 2006 (some may fall into more than one category). Here's how we stack up in serving young, beginning and small farmers:

# of Loans % of Portfolio
Young 26,709 25.45%
Beginning 37,641 35.86%
Small 79,995 76.21%

System Statistics

Across the nation in 2006, Farm Credit System entities made more than 46,000 new loans totaling almost $5.5 billion to young farmers, or those under the age of 35.  Those with 10 or fewer years of farming experience received $9.3 billion in financing from System entities.  Click here to read the complete report.