Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL)
This is a free guide, not financial or legal advice. Rates change monthly. Always verify with your local FSA office. Report an error
The short version
For November 2026, Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) rates run from 4.875% (3-year) to 5.250% (12-year). The rate is set the month the loan is approved and stays fixed for the whole term. FSFL can finance grain bins, hay barns, bulk milk tanks, cold storage, drying and handling equipment, and storage and handling trucks. FSA makes the loans for the Commodity Credit Corporation. Loans can go up to $500,000 for storage facilities and $100,000 for trucks, with terms of 3 to 12 years.
The regular down payment is 15%. A microloan (total FSFL balance up to $50,000) needs 5% down and can skip the usual three-year production history. FSA has to approve the loan before you buy or build; anything you start beforehand is at your own risk.
Who to contact: Your FSA county office, the one that keeps your farm records. Find it at farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator.
November 2026 rates
| Loan term | Interest rate |
|---|---|
| 3 years | 4.875% |
| 5 years | 5.000% |
| 7 years | 5.125% |
| 10 years | 5.125% |
| 12 years | 5.250% |
These apply to loans approved during November 2026. FSFL rates follow Treasury securities of comparable term, so they change monthly; FSA posts the new month's rates on its FSFL page. Once your loan is approved, its rate stays the same for the whole term.
What it can finance
Commodities: grains, oilseeds, peanuts, pulse crops, hay, hemp, honey, renewable biomass, fruits and vegetables, floriculture, hops, maple sap and syrup, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, eggs, unprocessed meat and poultry, rye and aquaculture.
Facilities and equipment: grain bins and cribs, upright silos and bunkers, flat storage with a permanent concrete floor, hay barns built to land-grant or NIFA design guidelines, bulk tanks, cold storage, drying and handling equipment, and storage and handling trucks. New or used, permanent or portable, can all qualify.
Costs that can be included: the purchase price, sales tax, delivery, site preparation, concrete pads and foundations, electrical wiring and motors, required safety equipment, and quality monitoring equipment such as moisture testers and heat detectors.
Not eligible: temporary structures that rely on the stored crop to hold their shape, such as bags or fenced piles, and structures that aren't suited to the commodity you need to store.
Loan terms
| Maximum loan | $500,000 per loan for storage facilities; $100,000 for storage and handling trucks |
| Loan amount | Up to 85% of net cost (regular); up to 95% of net cost for microloans, with total FSFL balance up to $50,000 |
| Down payment | 15% regular; 5% microloan. Cash, which you may borrow from another lender. Trade-ins, rebates and credits don't count. |
| Terms | 3, 5, 7, 10 or 12 years. Which terms you can choose depends on the loan amount and type of facility; used equipment loans may be limited to 3 or 5 years. |
| Rate | Fixed for the term, set from Treasury rates the month the loan is approved |
| Security | The facility itself. Loans over $100,000 also require a real estate lien. At $100,000 or less, a lien is generally not required, though FSA may require one for loans over $50,000 in some states. |
| Application fee | Non-refundable, at least $100 per borrower |
| Time to build | The facility must be complete and inspected within 6 months of approval; the FSA state committee can extend up to 18 months total |
Example (hypothetical): a hay barn with a net cost of $100,000. A regular FSFL could lend up to 85%, or $85,000, with a $15,000 down payment. A microloan on a $40,000 bulk tank could lend up to 95%, or $38,000, with $2,000 down.
Who qualifies
Owners, landlords, operators, tenants and sharecroppers who produce an eligible commodity can apply. Under 7 CFR 1436.5 you need to:
- Have satisfactory credit and show you can repay, using a financial statement prepared within 90 days of applying
- Have no disqualifying delinquent federal debt
- Show a need for more storage (microloan applicants may self-certify where the state and county committees allow it)
- Carry crop insurance on insurable crops of economic significance, and crop insurance or NAP, if available, on every commodity stored in the facility
- Be in compliance with highly erodible land and wetland conservation rules
- Meet local zoning and building codes, and carry all-peril insurance on the structure (and flood insurance if FSA requires it)
How storage need is figured for most commodities: your average share of acres over the last 3 years, times a yield the county committee considers reasonable, times two (two years of production), minus the storage you already have. If the facility is bigger than that need, the eligible cost is prorated.
How to apply
- Call your FSA county office before you sign a contract with a dealer or builder. Ask what documents they need and what the current month's rates are.
- Get cost estimates for the facility and related work (foundation, electrical, delivery).
- Complete the application, form CCC-185, with a current financial statement and the application fee.
- Wait for approval before delivery, site work or construction. Starting early is at your own risk.
- Build and request inspection. FSA can make one partial disbursement during construction and a final one after the facility is complete and inspected.
Common mistakes
Ordering the bin before approval. Submitting an application doesn't guarantee a loan, and anything delivered or built before approval is at your own risk.
Confusing the two microloans. The FSFL microloan (storage, up to $50,000 total balance, 5% down) is separate from the FSA operating microloan. See FSA Farm Loans for the operating side.
Dropping crop insurance. Proof of crop insurance (or NAP) is required every year the loan is outstanding, not just at approval.
What to do
If you're pricing a bin, barn or tank this winter: Call FSA before you commit to a dealer. Say: "I'm looking at a Farm Storage Facility Loan for a [bin/barn/tank]. What does my application need, and what's this month's rate?"
If the project is under $50,000: Ask whether the microloan's 5% down payment and self-certified storage need are available in your state.
If you need more than storage: FSA operating and ownership loans are covered in the FSA loans guide.
On a $40,000 tank, 5% down is $2,000; at the regular 15% it would be $6,000. The microloan only covers a total FSFL balance up to $50,000, so know which loan you're asking for before you call.
- FSA Farm Loans: operating, ownership and microloans
- Beginning farmer programs
- Are USDA payments taxable?
Sources
- Eligible commodities and facilities, $500,000 and $100,000 limits, 3 to 12 year terms, microloan and down payments: FSA Farm Storage Facility Loan Program page
- November 2026 rates: FSA monthly lending rates news release
- Eligibility, eligible equipment and costs, terms, security, loan amount (85% / 95%), storage need, approval period, down payment, disbursements, interest and fees: 7 CFR part 1436 (eCFR)
- Application form: CCC-185
November 2026 rates from FSA's release, effective November 1, 2026. Other FSA pages and the eCFR checked October 21, 2026.
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