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FSA Direct Farm Operating Loan
USDA Farm Service Agency: Up to $400,000 per loan at 5.375% (October 2026 rate). Applications are accepted any time; loans are funded in date order when a year's money runs out.
Verified Oct 14, 2026 against fsa.usda.gov · Report a change
What it pays
Up to $400,000
Up to $400,000 per loan at 5.375% (October 2026 rate).
You pay first
100% up front
No down payment; FSA takes security worth 100% to 125% of the loan instead.
Buy before approval?
No
No explicit rule in the texts; a drone bought before the loan could only be reached by refinancing a non-USDA debt. Ask before you buy. · not confirmed
Drones
Ask the agency
"Farm equipment" is an allowed purpose.
Who can apply
Operators of family farms who cannot get credit elsewhere at reasonable rates and terms; one year of farming experience or the equivalent; U.S. citizens, nationals or qualified aliens.
What it covers
Livestock, poultry, farm equipment, feed, seed, fuel, farm chemicals, insurance and other operating expenses; family living expenses; minor improvements; refinancing certain debts.
Drones: ask the agency before you count on it
"Farm equipment" is an allowed purpose. The words drone, UAS and unmanned do not appear in 7 CFR 764 or FSA Handbook 3-FLP. The loan officer decides whether a drone is essential and proportionate to your operation.
What that means for you: equipment is an allowed purpose and drones are not named. Nobody can promise approval. If you plan to ask, describe the exact use and tie it to a practice the agency already recognizes.
Question to send USDA Farm Service Agency (copy and edit)
"I farm [acres, crop] in [county]. Would a [make, model] agricultural drone used for [spot spraying / variable-rate fertilizer / cover-crop seeding] be considered eligible under FSA Direct Farm Operating Loan, and what would you need from me to decide?"
Money and timing
Up to $400,000 per loan at 5.375% (October 2026 rate). No down payment; FSA takes security worth 100% to 125% of the loan instead.
| Item | What the record says |
|---|---|
| Opens | Not stated |
| Deadline | None; apply any time. · not confirmed |
| When money arrives | FSA aims to complete processing within 60 days of a complete application; loan funds go to the purchase, not to you after the fact. |
| Repayment | Repaid with interest over the useful life of the equipment or 7 years, whichever is less; longer for some purposes. |
| Equipment origin rules | None in FSA texts. Whether the American Security Drone Act reaches a loan is unresolved. · not confirmed |
Applications are accepted any time; loans are funded in date order when a year's money runs out. Half of direct operating loan funds are reserved for beginning farmers until September 1 each year.
Paperwork
Three years of production and financial records and tax returns, an operating plan with cash flow, and the credit-elsewhere certification (form FSA-2001). · not confirmed
Still open
- Would a county loan officer accept a spray drone as essential and proportionate equipment?
- What useful life would FSA assign to a drone?
- Does the American Security Drone Act screen apply to direct loans?
Where this comes from
Every quoted line below was copied from the official page the research harness captured, and checked again against that capture when this site was built. Lines marked "not confirmed" elsewhere on this page have no quote yet.
| Fact | Official wording | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program name | Farm Operating Loans | fsa.usda.gov · capture 161 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Agency | Farm Service Agency | fsa.usda.gov · capture 161 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Kind of help | Direct Operating Loans: Provided directly by the FSA, up to $400,000. | fsa.usda.gov · capture 161 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Who can apply | the inability to obtain credit elsewhere at reasonable rates and terms | fsa.usda.gov · capture 161 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| What it covers | Purchase livestock, poultry, farm equipment, feed, seed, fuel, farm chemicals, insurance, and other operating expenses. | fsa.usda.gov · capture 161 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| What it pays | Direct Operating Loans: Provided directly by the FSA, up to $400,000. | fsa.usda.gov · capture 161 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| What it pays | Farm Operating Loans (Direct): 5.375% | fsa.usda.gov · capture 159 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| You pay first | All loans must be secured by assets having a security value of at least 100 percent of the loan amount | fsa.usda.gov · capture 157 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| You pay first | An additional amount of security will be required, if available, to reach a 125 percent security margin. | fsa.usda.gov · capture 157 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Repayment | Repayment terms vary but typically range from one to seven years, depending on the loan purpose. | fsa.usda.gov · capture 161 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Repayment | In no event will the term of the loan exceed 7 years from the date of the note. | fsa.usda.gov · capture 157 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Drones | Purchase livestock, poultry, farm equipment, feed, seed, fuel, farm chemicals, insurance, and other operating expenses. | fsa.usda.gov · capture 161 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| When money arrives | Within 60 calendar days after receiving a complete loan application, the Agency will complete the processing of the loan request | fsa.usda.gov · capture 157 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Official page | Farm Operating Loans | fsa.usda.gov · capture 161 | Oct 14, 2026 |
Record fsa-direct-farm-operating-loan v2, approved; automatic checks run Oct 15, 2026.
Ask about this program
Answers come only from the verified program records on this site. Every answer shows the agency's own words and the date we checked them. When the records don't say, it tells you to ask USDA Farm Service Agency.
Not live yet: the assistant is being built. Until then, use the program pages and the contact on each one.