FSA Guaranteed Farm Operating Loan

USDA Farm Service Agency, through a commercial lender: Up to $2,558,000 for FY2027; guarantee of up to 90%, or 95% for beginning farmers or land under Tribal jurisdiction. Any time, through a participating lender; beginning-farmer funds are targeted until April 1 each fiscal year.

Verified Oct 14, 2026 against fsa.usda.gov · Report a change

What it pays

Up to $2,558,000

Up to $2,558,000 for FY2027; guarantee of up to 90%, or 95% for beginning farmers or land under Tribal jurisdiction. EZ Guarantee for loans up to $100,000.

You pay first

5% match

Lender terms; a guarantee fee of 1.5% on the FY2026 chart (FY2027 fee not confirmed). · not confirmed

Buy before approval?

Ask

Loan proceeds must match the conditional commitment; a purchase made first would be refinancing. · not confirmed

Drones

Ask the agency

"Farm equipment" is listed, drones are not; the lender's credit judgment comes first, then FSA.

Who can apply

The lender is FSA's customer; you must be the operator of a family farm who cannot get the loan without the guarantee.

What it covers

Livestock, farm equipment, feed, seed, fuel, farm chemicals, insurance and other operating expenses; minor improvements; refinancing.

Drones: ask the agency before you count on it

"Farm equipment" is listed, drones are not; the lender's credit judgment comes first, then FSA.

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 Guaranteed Farm Operating Loan, and what would you need from me to decide?"

Money and timing

Up to $2,558,000 for FY2027; guarantee of up to 90%, or 95% for beginning farmers or land under Tribal jurisdiction. EZ Guarantee for loans up to $100,000. Lender terms; a guarantee fee of 1.5% on the FY2026 chart (FY2027 fee not confirmed). · not confirmed

Item	What the record says
Opens	Not stated
Deadline	None; apply through a lender any time. · not confirmed
When money arrives	Set by the lender. The lender closes the loan and advances funds after FSA issues a conditional commitment; FSA issues the guarantee after closing.
Repayment	Repaid with interest on the lender's terms; the lender's rate is capped (SOFR plus 6.75% for short fixed rates, or the 5-year Treasury plus 5.5%).
Equipment origin rules	None in FSA texts. · not confirmed

Any time, through a participating lender; beginning-farmer funds are targeted until April 1 each fiscal year.

Paperwork

The lender's application plus FSA's guarantee forms; the EZ Guarantee uses a streamlined financial package. · not confirmed

Still open

Which NE Oregon and SE Washington lenders currently write guaranteed operating loans for equipment?
FY2027 guarantee fee.

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	Guaranteed Farm Loans	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
Agency	Farm Service Agency	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
Kind of help	FSA will guarantee farm loans through a commercial lender up to $2,558,000.	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
Who can apply	With a guaranteed farm loan, the lender is FSA's customer, not the loan applicant.	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
Who can apply	be unable to obtain a loan without an FSA guarantee	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
Who can apply	For an Operating loan, the producer must be the operator of a family farm after the loan is closed.	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
What it covers	purchase livestock, farm equipment, feed, seed, fuel, farm chemicals, insurance, and other operating expenses	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
What it pays	FSA will guarantee farm loans through a commercial lender up to $2,558,000.	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
What it pays	The EZ Guarantee is available for loan applications up to $100,000 for farm operating or farm ownership purposes.	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
Repayment	The Guaranteed loan interest rate and payment terms are negotiated between the lender and the applicant and may not exceed the maximum rates established by FSA.	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
Repayment	The prior business day's SOFR plus 6.75%.	fsa.usda.gov · capture 176	Oct 14, 2026
Repayment	The prior business day's 5 Year Treasury note rate plus 5.5%.	fsa.usda.gov · capture 176	Oct 14, 2026
Repayment	Operating Loans are normally repaid within 7 years	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
Drones	purchase livestock, farm equipment, feed, seed, fuel, farm chemicals, insurance, and other operating expenses	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
Buy before approval?	The Service Center issues the lender a conditional commitment outlining the terms of the loan guarantee and indicating that the loan may be closed.	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
When money arrives	The lender closes the loan and advances funds to the applicant, after which the Service Center staff issues the guarantee.	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026
Official page	Guaranteed Farm Loans	fsa.usda.gov · capture 167	Oct 14, 2026

Record fsa-guaranteed-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.