I run a farm or ranch. What money is there for farms?
USDA farm loans and grants, supplier credit, and finance for machinery and buildings, cheapest first.
Farms need land, buildings and machinery that cost a lot up front, and much of their income comes in once or twice a year. So the main options are long loans for land and buildings, finance for equipment, and borrowing for a season that is repaid at harvest.
USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) lends to family farms directly, or guarantees a loan from a bank or other lender. Its direct loans are for farmers who cannot get enough credit elsewhere, including beginning farmers, and its guarantees help a lender say yes. Farm Credit System lenders, overseen by the Farm Credit Administration, exist to lend to creditworthy and eligible people in agriculture and rural America.
7 routes to look at, cheapest first
Compare the first 4 side by side- L0
Free or nearly free
Little or no cash cost, though most take time and admin. Some bring money in, and a few have small fees.- Own cash and no-cost
Supplier trade credit
Your suppliers let you pay for goods or services some time after you receive them, often 30 or 60 days later. Usually free if you pay on time, but giving up an early-payment discount can make it expensive.
Weeks - Grants, tax credits and prizes
Business tax breaks (section 179, bonus depreciation and credits)
Federal tax rules that let you deduct the cost of equipment in the year you buy it, and credits for things like offering staff health insurance. They cut the tax you owe, so they help only if the business has taxable profit or tax to pay, and they come after you have spent the money.
6 months or more - Grants, tax credits and prizes
USDA grants for rural businesses and farmers
Competitive USDA Rural Development grants that pay part of a project's cost: the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for renewable energy and energy savings at rural small businesses and farms, and Value-Added Producer Grants for farmers turning their crops or livestock into new products. Neither was open to new grant applications on October 20, 2026.
6 months or moreUp to $500k
- Own cash and no-cost
- L1
Very cheap or subsidised
Borrowing on better terms than the market, usually because a public body, community lender or large buyer is involved.- Government-backed and community lending
Industrial revenue bonds (small issue bonds)
A state or local issuer sells tax-exempt bonds and lends the money to a manufacturer for a new plant or equipment. Bond buyers pay no federal tax on the interest, so the rate can be lower than a bank loan, but only for manufacturing projects of up to $10 million, and with public approval, legal work and fees.
6 months or moreUp to $10mPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
USDA farm loans (Farm Service Agency)
Loans for family farms and ranches from USDA's Farm Service Agency, or from a bank that FSA guarantees. For land, buildings, equipment, livestock and a season's costs. Direct loans have fixed rates set by FSA and go to farmers who cannot get credit elsewhere; guaranteed loans go up to $2,558,000.
MonthsUp to $3.2m
- Government-backed and community lending
- L2
Mainstream secured debt
Standard borrowing from banks, credit unions and mainstream lenders, often secured on assets or backed by a personal guarantee.- Bank and mainstream debt
Equipment leasing and sale-leaseback
Paying to use equipment that a lessor owns, with options to buy it at the end, or selling equipment you already own to a lessor and leasing it back to raise cash. Little or no deposit, but you may pay more in total and own nothing at the end.
Weeks - Bank and mainstream debt
Equipment loans and finance agreements
A loan or finance agreement to buy machinery, vehicles or other equipment now and pay for it over time. The equipment itself usually secures the deal, and tax rules can let you write off much of the cost in the first year.
Weeks
- Bank and mainstream debt
Worth knowing
- If banks have turned you down, talk to your local FSA office. It can also help you find a lender willing to make an FSA-guaranteed loan.
- Keep your last 3 years of farm financial and production records, including tax returns. A full FSA application asks for them, with a farm operating plan.
- FSA schedules a loan for a year's costs to be repaid when that year's income comes in. Ask other lenders whether their repayments can follow your seasons too.
- Find a Farm Credit lender near you with the Farm Credit Administration's lender locator.
Sources
- USDA Farm Service Agency: Farm Ownership Loans · checked October 20, 2026
- USDA Farm Service Agency: Guaranteed Farm Loans (including help finding a lender) · checked October 20, 2026
- 7 CFR part 764: direct loan making (application, credit elsewhere, finding a guaranteed lender, operating loan terms) · checked October 20, 2026
- Farm Credit Administration: About us · checked October 20, 2026
Facts about each route are sourced on its own page.