FSA Emergency Loans
FSA Emergency Loans — Emergency loans are provided to help cover production and physical losses in counties declared as disaster areas by the President or the Secretary of Agriculture. Generally, producer eligibility is triggered by a qualifying physical loss, or a production loss of at least 30 percent in any essential farm or ranch enterprise. Producers are only eligible for an emergency loan if they cannot obtain commercial credit. The loan limit is 100 percent of actual loss with a maximum loan amount of $500,000. Unfortunately, the emergency loan program has been an effective tool for only a few farmers because substantial assistance is needed to truly recover losses.
NASDA urges the creation of a new emergency loan program, similar to assistance provided to small businesses, that provides measurable assistance to agricultural producers in disaster situations. The program should contain appropriate loan amount caps with broadened eligibility to assist producers not currently eligible under current emergency loan requirements. Further, NASDA recommends the program's review process for loan approval determinations be simplified.