The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it will begin providing additional, automatic financial assistance for qualifying guaranteed Farm Loan Programs (FLP) borrowers who are facing financial risk.
The announcement is part of the $3.1 billion to help certain distressed farm loan borrowers that was provided through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The financial assistance included in today’s announcement will provide a fresh start for distressed borrowers with guaranteed farm loans and will give them the opportunity to generate long-term stability and success.
The guaranteed loan must not have been paid in full prior to Aug. 11, 2023.Payments on certain deferred amounts on qualifying FLP guaranteed loans, not to exceed $100,000, for guaranteed borrowers who received a deferral or another type of payment extension, for at least 45 days, between March 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2022, from their guaranteed lender on that qualifying guaranteed loan in response to COVID-19, disasters, or other revenue shortfalls.
The Inflation Reduction Act payment amount will be the lesser of the most recent deferral or extension amount on the qualifying FLP guaranteed loan, or the amount required to pay that loan in full.
The guaranteed loan must not have been paid in full prior to Aug. 11, 2023.This assistance is only available for FLP guaranteed loan borrowers who did not or will not receive an initial payment on the same FLP guaranteed loan under Inflation Reduction Act assistance announced in October 2022.Distressed guaranteed borrowers qualifying for this assistance will receive a United States Department of the Treasury check that is jointly payable to the borrower and the lender.
These borrowers will also receive a letter from FSA informing them of Inflation Reduction Act assistance they will receive as well as instructions to make an appointment with their lender to process the payment and apply it to their qualifying guaranteed loan accounts.
Any distressed guaranteed borrowers who qualify for these forms of assistance and are currently in bankruptcy will be addressed using the same case-by-case review process announced in October 2022 for complex cases.
Guaranteed borrowers who qualify for this assistance will have their federal debt paid automatically by FSA and will receive a letter informing them of the payment made on their federal debt.
All letters to qualifying guaranteed loan borrowers will contain instructions for opting out of assistance if a borrower chooses to do so.
