Farmers seeking a loan should not wait until March or April to submit their loan application packets, advises Kathleen Mazzanti, farm loan specialist at Farm Service Agency in Lake Village.
She told famers at a USDA Farm and Rural community Development Program Workshop recently that loan application packets should be submitted in November and December.
“This insures that farmers will have money in hand when they are ready to plant,” she said.
Once harvest is complete, farmers should be getting their records together. Her advice echoes that of Henry English, director of the Small Farm Program at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
One of the reasons that loans are denied is because of the producer’s credit history. If farmers know or even think they will be applying for a loan, the first thing they should do is check their credit history. Each person is allowed one free report a year from the www.annualcreditreport.com website. If credit needs to be rebuilt, farmers can contact a UAPB Small Farm Extension associate for help.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The first step in getting a direct loan from FSA is to pick up a loan application packet at a local FSA office.
“This packet contains a cover letter that provides an itemized list of the forms and other information that needs to be included in the completed packet,” said English.
Once a complete packet, is submitted, FSA has 60 days to respond, but they try to respond within two weeks.
English advises farmers to be sure their packets are complete. Farmers can contact any Extension associate for a packet review to insure that the packet is complete.
Producers needing help in completing their USDA/FSA loan application packet can also get help from a UAPB Extension associate, who will help growers complete and understand the two major FSA forms: the Balance Sheet Form and the Income and Expense Form. Associates will also check that all other forms are complete.
Associates can also conduct an analysis of a producer’s previous year’s operation. Most of the information will then be made available to the producer as a computer printout which can be submitted along with the loan application.
Associates and the areas served are Arlanda Jacobs (870) 714-5531 – Lee, Phillips, St. Francis, Arkansas and Monroe counties; Carolyn Prowell (870) 489-5585 – St. Francis, Crittenden, Woodruff and Cross counties; Janet Breckenridge (870) 489-2336 – Chicot, Drew, Ashley and Desha counties; Kandi Williams (870) 774-0446 – Howard, Little River, Miller, Hempstead and Lafayette counties; and Stephan Walker (870) 575-7237 – Jefferson, Desha, Lincoln and Pulaski counties. Those elsewhere can contact Dr. English at (870) 575-7246.