USDA to offer loan payments for socially disadvantaged agricultural producers
For immediate release
May 28, 2021
The American Rescue Plan to pay loan balances on Direct and Guaranteed Farm Loans and Farm Storage Facility Loans
OKMULGEE, Okla.— The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced, May 21 that eligible borrowers with qualifying direct farm loans may receive debt relief payments under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Section 1005.
The ARPA, Section 1005 includes provisions to pay up to 120 percent of loan balance, as of January 1, 2021 for FSA Direct and Guaranteed Farm Loans and Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL) to any socially disadvantaged producer who has a FSA qualifying loan.
According to the USDA APRA web page socially disadvantaged producers include: “ producers who are one or more of the following: Black/African American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, or Pacific Islander.”
In a USDA press release issued earlier this week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “The American Rescue Plan has made it possible for USDA to deliver historic debt relief to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers beginning in June… [The] USDA is recommitting itself to gaining the trust and confidence of America’s farmers and ranchers using a new set of tools provided in the American Rescue Plan to increase opportunity, advance equity and address systemic discrimination in USDA programs.”
For information about participating in the ARPA please visit: https://www.farmers.gov/americanrescueplan.
For additional information, please check out the following USDA resources:
• FSA Notice of Funding Availability – FSA Socially Disadvantaged Producer Debt Relief
• USDA FAQs on American Rescue Plan
• Sec. Vilsack USA Today Op-Ed: Debt Relief is Major Civil Rights Win