Bankers praise farm bill's credit title

The Agricultural Act of 2018 raises FSA loan guarantees to $1.75 million from the current $1.399 million. It also doubles the loan limit for direct farm ownership, or real estate, loans to $600,000 and increases the limit on direct farm operating loans by $100,000 to $400,000. Elfmann said lenders often use a combination of banking products to meet borrowers' needs. With an FSA loan guarantee, the bank or another lender closes the loan and advances the funds to the borrower. In the event the borrower defaults, FSA reimburses the bank. A direct loan is funded by the FSA, which also makes and services the loan.Mark Scanlan, senior vice president of agriculture and rural policy at Independent Community Bankers of America, said the higher limits will help community banks serve more borrowers."There's been a slight decline in the demand for guaranteed farm loans in recent years for a variety of reasons, but one of those reasons is the payment limit. So this will help serve those types of farmers, particularly when we have this continued decline in farm income levels," Scanlan told DTN.Farm incomes have declined since hitting their peak in 2013, and USDA forecasts farm incomes in 2018 will be down 12% from 2017. It's below the average net farm income for the past 17 years.