The deadline to request Marketing Assistance Loans for corn, soybeans, and sunflowers is Thursday, May 31st.
Marketing assistance loans provide producers interim financing to meet cash flow needs without having to sell their commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows. Allowing producers to store production at harvest facilitates more orderly marketing of commodities throughout the year.
To be eligible for marketing assistance loans producers must:
1. Comply with conservation and wetland protection requirements;
2. Report how they use their cropland acreage on the farm;
3. Have beneficial interest in the commodity on the date the loan is requested and, in the case of a loan, retain beneficial interest while the loan is outstanding; and
4. Ensure that the commodities meet Commodity Credit Corporation’s minimum grade and quality standards.
For more information on Marketing Assistance Loans or other farm programs, contact the Aitkin-Itasca Farm Service Agency at 218-927-2912 or the Crow Wing-Cass Farm Service Agency at 218-829-5965. Or visit the Farm Service Agency Web site at http://www.fsa.usda.gov.