The Minnesota House passed legislation this past week appropriating $50 million bond funds for the Rural Finance Authority (RFA), a state entity that offers low-interest loan programs to farmers.
This comes due to existing funds being nearly depleted and there is an urgent need to replenish the account to guarantee more loan availability.
Many Minnesota groups are in support of this bill such as MN farmers Union, MN Farm Bureau, and MN Department of Agriculture.
More than $289.7 million has been invested in 3,094 loan participations by the RFA, having a strong record of success.
In the last couple of years, the RFA has seen an increase in the participation of Beginning Farmer programs and an increase in a number of bond-funded loans issued.
The increase may be due to the very low interest rated RFA is able to offer, as well as the outreach efforts about these loans which are appealing to farmers and lenders during difficult economic times due to the low-interest rates which make it easier to cash flow.