Where to borrow money to buy a farm
Posted by Preston Bristow on May 8th, 2007 filed in Farm Financing
Conventional loan sources for home buyers are often not available for buying a farm, and many banks today are reluctant to make loans for farm purchases. Some Vermont banks like Chittenden Bank, National Bank of Middlebury, and Lyndonville Savings Bank have agricultural loan specialists and make farm loans, but about half of the agricultural lending in Vermont now is handled by Yankee Farm Credit.
I’m a fan of Yankee Farm Credit. They’re a cooperative in which borrowers become members. They make not only real estate loans but also equipment loans and operating loans. And they serve a wide variety of people including part-time and full-time farmers, small farms and big farms, nursery and greenhouse operators, processors of value-added agricultural products, and even country home owners.
Two other major players in making agricultural loans are the Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation (VACC) and the federal Farm Services Agency (FSA). However, because government is not in the business of taking business away from private lenders, VACC and FSA often join with Yankee Farm Credit or a bank to provide a larger loan than the private lender could by themselves.
To get started, go the the Yankee Farm Credit website, below!
P.S. And if you’re young, beginning, or seeking to start a small farm, be sure to check out their “Young, Beginning and Small Farm Program”!
May 30th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Do you know if there are any funding opportunities for farm related businesses? not just buying a farm.
cheers.
g.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Thanks for inquiring! I do have some ideas, and I will share them shortly in a follow-up entry on this blog.