The emergency loan program aims to help family farmers recover from losses resulting from natural disasters. These loans can be used to:

• Repair or replace buildings or other structures
• Purchase livestock and equipment
• Pay essential farm operating and family living expenses
• Refinance debt
• Repair or replace essential household contents damaged in the disaster.

These loans cannot exceed $500,000.

To qualify for an Emergency Farm Loan, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who owns or controls farm/ranch land that has been damaged by a natural disaster (including severe drought) and who has been denied a loan by a commercial lender. Applicants must also have an acceptable credit history, not have received debt forgiveness from the Agency, and not have had any controlled substance convictions. For production loss loans, the applicant must have suffered at least a 30 percent loss in yield. Emergency loans may also be made to replace damaged farm/ranch property.

The repayment period for emergency loans is based on the type of loss and the applicant's repayment ability. In most cases, loans for annual operating expenses must be repaid within 12 months, and loans for losses to equipment, livestock, machinery, etc. cannot exceed seven years. The loan term for losses to real estate cannot exceed 40 years. The interest rate for emergency loans is 3.75 percent.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

http://www.usda.gov/