Browse Ambrook’s collection of grants, loans, discounts, cost shares, easements, and insurance for risk management.

Application must be completed online at https://bit.ly/CCOF-GRANT.

The Organic Transition program gives $10,000 grants to farmers transitioning their land to organic production. 

When farmers transition their land from conventional to organic, they have to wait three years before achieving certification and selling their products as organic. This&#x2004;three-year period is incredibly risky for farmers—they’re learning new farming techniques, creating new systems for their business, and cultivating a new market for their soon-to-be-organic products, all while growing food without earning the price premiums afforded to certified organic goods. Organic Transition grants eliminate the financial barrier for farmers who want to make the leap to organic production. 

Program participants receive grants, mentorship, and technical support in agronomy, business and financial literacy, marketing, and market development over a three-year period. 



The Organic Transition program gives $10,000 grants to farmers transitioning their land to organic production. 
When farmers transition their land from conventional to organic, they have to wait three years before achieving certification and selling their products as organic. This three-year period is incredibly risky for farmers—they’re learning new farming techniques, creating new systems for their business, and cultivating a new market for their soon-to-be-organic products, all while growing food without earning the price premiums afforded to certified organic goods. Organic Transition grants eliminate the financial barrier for farmers who want to make the leap to organic production. 
Program participants receive grants, mentorship, and technical support in agronomy, business and financial literacy, marketing, and market development over a three-year period. 

- Be farming or ranching on the California Central & Southern Coasts and Central Valley (Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Colusa, Glenn, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tulare, Yolo, and Yuba Counties)
- Already be practicing organic production methods
- Have a business plan for transitioning to certified organic production or have identified a means to develop a plan for how they will transition or expand organic acreage on their farm or ranch
- Demonstrate financial need
- Reside and farm/ranch in the United States (this includes U.S. territories)
- Have a minimum of five years of agricultural production experience
- Have at least two years of running or owning their business and/or equivalent experience
- Be willing to conduct an interview as part of the application process
- Submit a Letter of Reference with your application 
- Submit a yearly report and a final report at the end of the grant period

A lump sum of money for a specific purpose that does not need to be paid back.

Grant

Succession

Distribution

Diversification

Events

Trade Show

Certified Organic

Trade Relief

Legal & Finance

Certification

Marketing

Conservation

Research

Compliance

One of the clearest deals in the library — a fixed grant paid annually across the whole three-year organic transition window, plus support.

- Grant amount: "Grant Amount: $10,000 per year for three years, for a total of $30,000."
- No match or cost-share is published.
- What comes with the money: "Program participants receive funding, 1:1 organic technical assistance, access to mentorship, and business training opportunities over a three-year period."
- The point of the design: it covers the three years between starting organic practices and earning certification, when you are farming organically without earning organic premiums.

Strings attached
- "Submit a yearly report and a final report at the end of the grant period."
- "All grantees will be required to track, retain, and be able, if requested, to submit all records and/or grant funding expenditures."
- "Grantees will be required to cooperate with the CCOF Foundation to provide information related, but not limited to certification, acreage, crops, land mapping, and organic transition plans."

Status: "Applications currently closed. Check back in Fall 2026." Current OTP grantees need not re-apply. Questions: grants@ccof.org or (831) 346-6324.

Geographic and experience gates are real: you must farm on the California Central & Southern Coasts or Central Valley (20 named counties), already be practicing organic methods, have at least five years of agricultural production experience and two years running or owning the business, and demonstrate financial need.

Apply at your county FSA office. There is no online application for a commodity loan.

The route, in FSA's own words: "To apply for Marketing Assistance Loans, producers must complete and submit a loan application to their local FSA office. The application process includes providing documentation of the eligible commodity, production records, and proof of compliance with program requirements. Detailed enrollment instructions and deadlines are available through the local FSA office."

A farmer looking for FSA's "Apply for a Loan" button should know it leads to the online farm-loan application, which is a different product line — commodity loans are not filed there. Go to the office.

Find your office. FSA's own "Find Your FSA Location" link: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/office-locator. To book a visit, the USDA Service Center locator is https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator.

Timing is per-commodity, not one national date. "Applications must be submitted by the final loan availability date for the commodity." FSA publishes no single program deadline — the final availability date differs by commodity, so ask your county office or check FSA's national deadlines page at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/news-events/national-deadlines. This is not rolling year-round intake: each commodity's window closes.

What to bring:
- Documentation of the eligible commodity — the crop is the collateral, so quantity, quality and storage all have to be evidenced.
- Production records.
- Proof of compliance with program requirements. Eligibility runs through "conservation and wetland protection requirements," certified through FSA.
- Proof you still own the crop. "For a commodity to be eligible for a marketing assistance loan or a loan deficiency payment (LDP), the producer must have beneficial interest in the commodity in addition to other eligibility requirements." Once you have sold it or given up control, it can no longer be pledged — so apply before you market the crop, not after.

Decide two things with the county office at the same time. First, loan or LDP: "in lieu of securing a MAL, producers may elect to receive an LDP" — the LDP is a payment instead of a loan, and it is not available for ELS cotton. Second, term: "MALs provide short-term loans with terms up to nine months," so the maturity date and your marketing plan should line up.

Who to ask. FSA routes application questions to the county office rather than a national line and publishes no farmer phone number for this program — use the locator above. For background before the visit, FSA links a "Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments" fact sheet and the 8-LP MAL and LDP Handbook from the program pages.

Marketing assistance loans provide producers interim financing at harvest time to meet cash flow needs without having to sell their commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows.

[Read more about Commodity Loans](https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/price-support/commodity-loans/index)



Marketing assistance loans provide producers interim financing at harvest time to meet cash flow needs without having to sell their commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows.
Read more about Commodity Loans

Individual producers qualify — this is a farmer-facing loan, taken out at your county FSA office. FSA's own eligibility statement: "Eligible applicants include producers of designated commodities who meet conservation and wetland protection requirements and provide sufficient documentation of their commodities. Producers must comply with all program requirements to qualify for a loan."

The binding tests:

1. You must have grown or sheared an eligible commodity. FSA's published list: barley, canola, chickpeas (large and small), corn, cotton (upland and extra-long staple), crambe, dry peas, flaxseed, grain sorghum, honey, lentils, mohair, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, rapeseed, rice (long and medium grain), safflower seed, sesame seed, soybeans, sunflower seed, wheat, and graded and ungraded wool. Unshorn pelts and sugar are also carried under the commodity-loan umbrella.

1. You must still own the crop. "For a commodity to be eligible for a marketing assistance loan or a loan deficiency payment (LDP), the producer must have beneficial interest in the commodity in addition to other eligibility requirements." If you have already sold the crop or given up control of it, you cannot pledge it.

1. You must be in conservation compliance — highly erodible land and wetland protection provisions, certified through FSA.

1. You must document the commodity — quantity, quality and storage — because the crop itself is the collateral.

Crop quality decides which loan you get, not whether you qualify: "Recourse Marketing Assistance Loans are loans for which the commodity offered as collateral does not meet the quality eligibility requirements according to U.S. grading standards." Recourse loans must be repaid in cash and the commodity cannot be forfeited to CCC; commodities that meet grading standards get non-recourse loans and the forfeiture option.

Geography: national, no state restriction. Loans are available "beginning upon harvest or shearing," and "applications must be submitted by the final loan availability date for the commodity" — the deadline is per-commodity, so ask your county office.

Not published on these FSA pages: any dollar cap per producer, any farm-size or income limit, any acreage minimum, and any audience restriction (beginning, veteran, socially disadvantaged). Statute extends the program "through crop year 2031."

A payment that must be returned to the provider following specified terms of repayment and interest rate.

Loan

Weekly Commodity Rates
- Pulse Crop LDP Rates (Excel)
- Peanut LDP Rates (Excel)
- Wool and Mohair LDP Rates (Excel)
- Cotton LDP Rates (Excel)
- Rice LDP Rates (Excel)
- Monthly CCC Honey Survey Prices (pdf)


Business Plan

Cash Rent

Refinancing

Transition

This is short-term harvest financing, not a grant. You pledge your stored crop as collateral and FSA advances you the national loan rate per unit. FSA: marketing assistance loans "provide producers interim financing at harvest time to meet cash flow needs without having to sell their commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows."

2026 National Average Loan Rates (per unit) published by FSA:
- Wheat $3.72/bu; Corn $2.42/bu; Grain sorghum $2.42/bu; Barley $2.75/bu; Oats $2.20/bu; Soybeans $6.82/bu
- Rice: long grain $13.21/cwt; medium/short $11.79/cwt
- Oilseeds (canola, crambe, flaxseed, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame, sunflower) $11.10/cwt
- Dry peas $6.87/cwt; lentils $14.30/cwt; small chickpeas $11.00/cwt; large chickpeas $15.40/cwt
- Graded wool $1.15/lb; non-graded wool $0.55/lb; mohair $5.00/lb; honey $1.50/lb
- Upland and ELS cotton, peanuts and sugar: "To Be Announced"
County loan rates differ from these national averages, and premiums/discounts apply by quality grade.

How repayment works: most loans are non-recourse — "the commodity is pledged as loan collateral and producers have the option of delivering the pledged collateral to the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) in satisfaction of the repayment of the outstanding loan." You also get marketing-loan relief: "Market loan repayment provisions specify, under certain circumstances, that producers may repay loans at less than principal plus accrued interest and other charges." Instead of taking a loan you can elect a loan deficiency payment (LDP) — except for ELS cotton, where "LDP provisions do not apply and ELS cotton marketing assistance loans must be repaid at the loan rate plus interest."

Recourse loans (collateral that fails U.S. grading standards) "must be repaid at principal plus interest" and the commodity cannot be forfeited to CCC.

Not published on the FSA pages: the interest rate charged on commodity loans, the loan maturity period, service fees, and any dollar cap per producer. Eligibility requires beneficial interest in the commodity. Loan rates are reissued annually, so check the current-year PDF before budgeting.

No public application route is published — financing is arranged by inquiry. FIDA's page on the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture site sets out its loan categories and interest rates in detail but publishes no application form, no portal, no submission address, no document checklist and no deadline. It names who may ask for each product without saying how: for the regular loan, "pueden solicitar los agricultores, las agro empresas, agro industrias, cooperativas agrícolas y empresas de valor añadido" (farmers, agribusinesses, agro-industries, agricultural cooperatives and value-added enterprises may apply). So the realistic first step is to call FIDA and ask to be assessed; expect eligibility and terms to be worked out case by case against FIDA's internal regulation, which is not published on the site.

One trap on that page. The only FIDA form published there is the "Formulario para Talleres Educativos de FIDA" — a sign-up sheet for FIDA's educational workshops, asking for your farm name, region and which courses you want. It is not a loan application, and submitting it does not start a financing request.

The two document requirements the page does state. For financing a Corporación de Seguros Agrícolas (CSA) crop-insurance premium at 5.75%: "Entre los requisitos, presentar evidencia de pago administrativo y endoso de póliza a favor de FIDA" — evidence of the administrative payment, plus an endorsement of the policy in FIDA's favour. For the small-transaction tier: agricultural financing "que no exceda de los $10,000 se necesitará la aprobación del director(a) y cumplir con el reglamento de FIDA" — director sign-off under FIDA's own regulation. Nothing else in the way of paperwork is published for any category.

Timing — none published. No round, cycle, sign-up window or deadline appears anywhere on the page. Treat intake as open-ended and driven by your own inquiry.

Who to ask. FIDA is a public subsidiary of the Autoridad de Tierras de Puerto Rico, and the Authority is the reachable front door: switchboard (787) 723-9090, Ave. Fernández Juncos #1311, Santurce PR 00907 (postal Box 9745, Santurce 00908-9745), per the PR.gov agency directory. The Department of Agriculture takes general enquiries through https://www.agricultura.pr.gov/contactanos and publishes eight regional offices with named directors, emails and phones — for example Región de Ponce, regionponce@agricultura.pr.gov, (787) 842-5210; Región de Mayagüez, regionmayaguez@agricultura.pr.gov, (787) 832-5022; Región de Arecibo, regionarecibo@agricultura.pr.gov, (787) 878-2028. Those regional offices are the department's published local contact points; the site does not say they process FIDA loans, so ask them to route you to FIDA rather than expecting to file there.

Autoridad de Tierras de Puerto Rico — FIDA

FIDA (Fondo de Innovación para el Desarrollo Agrícola), a public subsidiary of the Autoridad de Tierras under the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture, provides direct loans to farmers, agro-businesses, and cooperatives for equipment, infrastructure, project development or expansion, raw materials, and livestock replacement.



Puerto Rico farmers, agro-businesses, and cooperatives. A Young Agroentrepreneurs category is reserved for applicants age 35 or under.

HVAC

Lighting

Repairs

Buildings

Construction

Fencing

Greenhouse

High Tunnel

Irrigation

Storage

Loan categories: Regular (6–10% interest); Young Agroentrepreneurs (age ≤35, 5.75%, $5,000–$35,000); Small Transactions (≤$10,000); and financing of CSA crop-insurance premiums (5.75%).

Apply via ISDA's online form accompanied by the FSA-578 (Report of Commodities). Pre-enrollment for the 2026 crop opened December 15, 2025. The program has reached funding capacity for 2026 and is not currently accepting applications; enrollment is expected to reopen for the next crop year.

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), The Nature Conservancy, and USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) offer first-time cover-crop users a $5-per-acre discount on the following year's crop-insurance premium for up to 750 acres that are enrolled and verified. The discount is tied to the acre, not the person (two landowners split the $5), and applies only to cover-crop acres not already enrolled in another state or federal cover-crop incentive. The discount is applied through the normal crop-insurance premium process via USDA-RMA.



Indiana producers planting cover crops on eligible acres located fully within a covered watershed (see the annual county coverage map), targeted to first-time cover-crop users. Up to 750 acres per crop-insurance ID/number. Fields enrolled in another cost-share program are not eligible; full-width fall tillage/termination of the cover crop is not allowed (spring management per USDA-NRCS termination guidelines).

A payment that requires some percentage of matching contributions by the recipient.

Cost Share

Regenerative

Soil Health

Carbon Capture

This is a per-acre rate, not a lump-sum award: "$5 per acre on verified acres," delivered as a premium discount on the following year's crop insurance invoice rather than as a payment from the state.

Cap: "750-acre cap per crop insurance ID/number."

The discount is tied to the acre, not the person — "example: two land owners must split $5 discount."

How it is paid: "Funding will be provided through RMA as an additional insurance premium discount through normal crop insurance processes." Confirmed applications are forwarded to USDA-RMA for processing on the crop insurance premium invoice. The premium reduction is applied based on the acreage report filed for federal crop insurance, so "ensuring the field designations match is mandatory to receiving the premium discount."

Exclusions: "Only acres in cover crops (absent other state or federally incentivized cover crops) will be eligible for the premium discount"; fields not enrolled in another cost-share program are eligible.

Status: "The program has reached its funding capacity for 2026. Applications are no longer being accepted."

Apply online at this online portal. Account creation is required.

Crop insurance in an integral part of the farm safety net that provides protection for farmers after bad weather impacts their crops. Cover crops can help prevent erosion and improve water quality and soil health, among other benefits.

The&#x2004;Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and partners worked with the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) to establish a project aimed at expanding usage of cover crops in Iowa. 

Through this project IDALS will provide up to $5/acre for cover crops to eligible applicants. Funding will be provided through USDA-RMA as an additional insurance premium discount through normal crop insurance processes. The premium reduction will be available for fall-planted cover crops with a spring-planted cash crop. Some policies may be excluded, such as Whole-Farm Revenue Protection or those covered through written agreements. Participating farmers must follow all existing good farming practices required by their policy and work with their insurance agent to maintain eligibility.

Farmers are encouraged to wait to apply until their cover crop seeding has been completed. Please note that cover crop acres currently enrolled in state and/or federal programs are not eligible for this program. 



Crop insurance in an integral part of the farm safety net that provides protection for farmers after bad weather impacts their crops. Cover crops can help prevent erosion and improve water quality and soil health, among other benefits.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and partners worked with the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) to establish a project aimed at expanding usage of cover crops in Iowa. 
Through this project IDALS will provide up to $5/acre for cover crops to eligible applicants. Funding will be provided through USDA-RMA as an additional insurance premium discount through normal crop insurance processes. The premium reduction will be available for fall-planted cover crops with a spring-planted cash crop. Some policies may be excluded, such as Whole-Farm Revenue Protection or those covered through written agreements. Participating farmers must follow all existing good farming practices required by their policy and work with their insurance agent to maintain eligibility.
Farmers are encouraged to wait to apply until their cover crop seeding has been completed. Please note that cover crop acres currently enrolled in state and/or federal programs are not eligible for this program. 

Applicants must be located in Iowa, and plant an eligible cover crop on federally insured acreage.

A reduction or waiving of fees for meeting a certain criteria.

Discount

Cover Crop

Row Crops

Alfalfa

Amaranth Grain

Barley

Buckwheat

Canola

Corn

Einkorn

Emmer

Grains

Guar

Indigo

Kenaf

Khorasan

Millet

Mustard

Oats

Oilseeds

Peanuts

Quinoa

Rapeseed

Rice

Safflower

Sorghum

Soybeans

Speltz

Sugar

Sugar Beets

Sunflowers

Teff

Triticale

Wheat

Malting Barley

Sweet Corn

Grain Corn

Crambe

Sesame

Sunflower Seeds

Industrial Rice

Japonica Rice

Long Grain Rice

Medium Grain Rice

Sweet Rice

Wild Rice

Raw Sugars

Refined Sugars

Sugarcane

Durum Wheat

Hard Red Spring Wheat

A crop insurance premium discount, not a cash payment. "Eligible applicants will receive up to a $5/acre insurance premium discount on the following year's crop insurance invoice for every acre of cover crops enrolled and verified in the program." The benefit is delivered by USDA-RMA "as an additional insurance premium discount through normal crop insurance processes," applied against the acreage report you file for federal crop insurance — "Ensuring the field designations match is mandatory to receiving the premium discount."

Conditions:

- No per-farm acre cap is published — the discount is per verified acre.
- No stacking. "The program is offered for acres of cover crops installed outside of state/federal program incentives (WQI, IFIP, state cost share, EQIP, CSP, etc.)," and "Only acres in cover crops (absent other state/fed incentivized cover crops) will be eligible for the additional $5/acre premium reduction."
- Practice requirements. Fall-planted cover crop followed by a spring-planted insurable cash crop. "To ensure practice achieves the desired results, no full width tillage/termination of the cover crop in the fall is allowed. Management/termination must be done in the spring in accordance with the most recent version of the NRCS Cover Crop Termination Guidelines." Seeding should follow NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 340 (Cover Crops).
- Some policies are excluded, "such as Whole-Farm Revenue Protection or those covered through written agreements." You must keep following the good farming practices your policy requires and coordinate with your insurance agent.
- Records and access. "Applicants must maintain documentation cover crops have been seeded (seed bills, etc.)" and grant IDALS "ingress/egress to the property enrolled if necessary to verify cover crop establishment."
- Sign-up needs your crop insurance policy number(s), acres seeded, and farm/tract/CLU-field numbers — reference your FSA-578.

Status: "Signup is closed. Signup will open again in December 2026." The prior round covered cover crops seeded in fall 2025 for a 2026 insurable crop, with applications due January 23, 2026.

Apply through a participating Kentucky lender. Contact Bill McCloskey, (502) 382-6093 or kafc@ky.gov.

Bill McCloskey

The Horticulture Incentives Loan Program (HILP), offered by the Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation (KAFC), assists specialty crop producers with access to working capital.


KAFC will loan up to 50% of the project cost, not to exceed $250,000. If the applicant has existing agricultural debt with the participating lender and/or FSA, that debt can be used as match so that KAFC can participate up to 100% of project costs; otherwise KAFC is limited to 50%.



The Horticulture Incentives Loan Program (HILP), offered by the Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation (KAFC), assists specialty crop producers with access to working capital.

KAFC will loan up to 50% of the project cost, not to exceed $250,000. If the applicant has existing agricultural debt with the participating lender and/or FSA, that debt can be used as match so that KAFC can participate up to 100% of project costs; otherwise KAFC is limited to 50%.

- Specialty crop producers seeking working capital.
- Borrower must be a Kentucky resident, evidenced by a Kentucky driver's license or other valid documentation.
- The primary operation must be located in Kentucky.
- Priority consideration is given to borrowers with agricultural education or experience in agriculture.
- Must borrow through a participating lender that is a financial institution with offices in Kentucky.
- Must have a commitment from the participating lender to help capitalize the initial investments in the business plan.
- Must submit a business plan showing a reasonable return and the ability to repay the KAFC debt.
- New vegetable producers must have a contract with a buyer for the produce; this is waived after three years of vegetable production.
- Must carry NAP, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection, Micro Farm, or another KAFC Board-approved specialty crop insurance.
- Loan must be secured by real estate, fixed assets, or equipment with a personal guarantee so that the combined loan-to-value is no greater than 85%.
- If the operation is an entity, all partners must be listed as co-applicants.
- A household or operation may hold no more than a $250,000 balance in the Horticulture Incentives Loan Program.
- Borrowers are limited to 10 years of lifetime eligibility in the program.
- Applicants with a credit score below 600 or no credit score are reviewed by the KAFC Loan Review Committee before a funding recommendation.

The interest rate on the KAFC portion is fixed at 2% a.p.r. for the life of the loan; the lender services the loan for no more than 0.75% (75 basis points). The KAFC maturity date is December 31st of the year the application was submitted. Borrowers are limited to 10-year lifetime eligibility of the program and to a $250,000 balance in HILP. The loan must be secured with real estate, fixed assets, or equipment (and the specialty crop), with a combined loan-to-value no greater than 85%. Borrowers must submit a business plan and carry NAP, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection, Micro Farm insurance, or other approved specialty crop insurance; new vegetable producers must have a contract with a buyer (waived after 3 years of production). There is no prepayment penalty. Eligible projects include seasonal working capital and other agricultural investments at the discretion of the KAFC Board.

Claim on the Louisiana state income tax return; LDAF determines the credit amount administered to producers. Contact LDAF Commodity Promotion and Research for details.

Michelle Estay

Director of Commodity Promotion and Research

Dollar-for-dollar&#x2004;Louisiana state income tax credit for Louisiana milk (dairy) producers, created by Act 461 of the 2007 Louisiana Legislature. Triggered when the USDA Uniform Price drops below the announced production price in a quarter. Individual producers may receive credits ranging from $3,600 to $21,600 per year; total statewide credits are capped at $1.8 million per year. Per-producer amount depends on total claims against the $1.8M cap, milk production, milk prices, production costs, and number of qualifying quarters. Administered by LDAF with the LA Dept of Revenue, LSU AgCenter, and the Federal Milk Market Administrator.



Dollar-for-dollar Louisiana state income tax credit for Louisiana milk (dairy) producers, created by Act 461 of the 2007 Louisiana Legislature. Triggered when the USDA Uniform Price drops below the announced production price in a quarter. Individual producers may receive credits ranging from $3,600 to $21,600 per year; total statewide credits are capped at $1.8 million per year. Per-producer amount depends on total claims against the $1.8M cap, milk production, milk prices, production costs, and number of qualifying quarters. Administered by LDAF with the LA Dept of Revenue, LSU AgCenter, and the Federal Milk Market Administrator.

Louisiana commercial milk (dairy) producers.

Form: a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit, not a payment. LDAF: "Created by ACT 461 of the 2007 Louisiana Legislature, this income tax credit is a direct dollar-for-dollar reduction against dairy producers' income tax for the taxable year that is filed with the state."

Per-producer range: "Louisiana dairymen may be eligible to receive tax credits ranging from $3,600 to $21,600."

Statewide ceiling: "The total amount of the tax credit that may be given to Louisiana milk producers is limited to $1.8 million dollars per year." That is the program pool — your individual credit shrinks as more producers claim against it.

How your amount is set: "The amount of tax credit is based upon the total claims made to the $1.8 million dollar cap allotment, milk production during the year, milk prices, production costs, and the number of quarters in a year that the USDA Uniform Price drops below the announced production price." So the credit only triggers in quarters when the USDA Uniform Price falls below the announced production price, and the amount is not knowable in advance.

Who computes it: "Through the combined efforts of the Louisiana Department of Revenue, LSU AgCenter, Department of Health and Hospitals, and the Federal Milk Market Administrator for Federal Milk Order #7, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry will then determine the amount of tax credit that will be administered to producers."

No match, fee, interest, or contract term applies. No carry-forward or refundability rule is published on the LDAF page.

File a claim with LDAF. For the active Hansen-Mueller event, submit to hmclaims@ldaf.state.la.us; general fund questions to Agro-Consumer Services.

Agro-Consumer Services (ACS) Office

State indemnity fund (LA R.S. 3:3412.1) that compensates Louisiana producers for losses when a licensed grain dealer or cotton merchant becomes insolvent and fails to fully pay for delivered grain/commodities. Financed by mandatory assessments (0.0004%, i.e. 1/25 of 1%) on the value of commodities sold to licensed dealers/merchants. This is an INDEMNITY (triggered by dealer insolvency), not a competitive grant. Currently active: on Nov 20, 2025 the Louisiana Agricultural Commodities Commission declared Hansen-Mueller Co. insolvent and opened the fund; producers not fully paid may file claims, with priced/delivered grain prioritized.



Louisiana producers who delivered grain or agricultural commodities to a licensed dealer/merchant that became insolvent and did not fully compensate them per the sale.

An indemnity payout tied to what the producer is actually owed — not a fixed award and not a competitive grant. LDAF states that "when a producer has not been fully paid for their agricultural commodities due to a dealer's insolvency, the fund can pay the producer any compensation owed." No per-producer cap, percentage of loss, or deductible is published on the program page, the press release, or the claim packet.

Eligibility is triggered by the dealer's failure to pay: "In accordance with La. R.S. 3:3412.1(F), a producer shall be eligible to receive indemnity payments from the GCIF if the licensee, Hansen - Mueller Co., did not fully compensate the producer in accordance with a sale of agricultural commodities." For the open Hansen-Mueller event, "claims for delivered and priced grain will be prioritized."

What producers pay in: the fund is financed by a mandatory assessment on their own sales, not by an application fee. "These assessments are a percentage of the value of all agricultural commodities grown in Louisiana and sold to licensed dealers and merchants. The assessment rate is 0.0004% (1/25 of 1%)."

The condition most worth knowing before filing: accepting fund money assigns your claim against the dealer to the state. The sworn Proof of Loss reads, "I acknowledge that receipt of funds from the Grain and Cotton Indemnity Fund requires subrogation of claims I may have against the licensee in favor of the Louisiana Agricultural Commodities Commission pursuant to La. R.S. 3:3412.1(L). I understand that if I receive payment from the licensee following receipt of GCIF funds, I shall remit the payment to the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry to reimburse the Grain and Cotton Indemnity Fund." The Proof of Loss must be notarized and accompanied by a worksheet and supporting documentation.

Contact your crop insurance agent to enroll. If you do not have a crop insurance agent, a list of crop insurance agents is available on the RMA website by using the RMA Agent Locator at www.rma.usda.gov/Information-Tools/Agent-Locator.

RMA National Office

Margin Protection provides you coverage against an unexpected decrease in your operating margin (revenue less input&#x2004;costs). Margin Protection is area-based, using county-level estimates of average revenue and input costs to establish the amount of coverage and indemnity payments. Because Margin Protection is area-based (average for a county), it may not reflect your individual experience. A payment may be made when the harvest margin for the county is lower than the trigger margin due to a decrease in revenue and/or an increase in input costs. Margin Protection will cover a portion of that shortfall.



Margin Protection provides you coverage against an unexpected decrease in your operating margin (revenue less input costs). Margin Protection is area-based, using county-level estimates of average revenue and input costs to establish the amount of coverage and indemnity payments. Because Margin Protection is area-based (average for a county), it may not reflect your individual experience. A payment may be made when the harvest margin for the county is lower than the trigger margin due to a decrease in revenue and/or an increase in input costs. Margin Protection will cover a portion of that shortfall.

Margin Protection can be purchased by itself, or in conjunction with a Yield Protection or Revenue Protection policy purchased from the same Approved Insurance Provider that issued the Margin Protection policy. If you buy a Yield Protection or Revenue Protection policy, you will receive a Margin Protection premium credit to reflect that indemnity payments from one policy can offset payments from the other. You may buy any optional coverages or endorsements available for the base policy, except the Supplemental Coverage Option and Enhanced Coverage Option are not allowed on the crop if you purchase Margin Protection.

A price safety net or insurance on a product that might face situational changes.

Insurance

Sales closing date: "The MP sales closing date for corn, soybeans, and spring wheat is September 30 of the calendar year prior to the insured crop year. The MP sales closing date for rice is the same as the sales closing date for other rice policies. All sales closing dates are shown on the Actuarial Information Browser."

Margin Protection is a federal crop insurance product purchased through a crop insurance agent, not a grant. Availability is by crop and county — check RMA's Actuarial Information Browser (https://aibpf-rma.fpac.usda.gov/apps/ActuarialInformationBrowser) for the dates and terms applying to a specific crop and county.

All multi-peril crop insurance, including CAT policies, are available from private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA service centers and on the RMA website at www.rma.usda.gov/Information-Tools/Agent-Locator-Page.

Risk Management Agency

Nursery Value Select (NVS) is a pilot program that allows nursery producers to select the dollar amount of coverage that best fits their risk management needs. NVS, which is an asset-based form of insurance, covers damage due, but not limited, to the following: adverse weather conditions; fire, provided weeds and undergrowth near the insured plants or the buildings in which the insured plants are grown are&#x2004;controlled by chemical or mechanical means; and wildlife (refer to the Crop Provisions for a complete list). NVS is available in all states and counties.


Beginning with the 2026 crop year, NVS will replace the Nursery Field Grown and Container (FG&C) crop insurance program. Nursery FG&C will no longer be available for producers to purchase after the 2025 crop year. Producers should contact a local crop insurance agent to learn more about NVS and how they can apply for coverage for the 2026 crop year.


NVS is an inventory-based nursery crop insurance program with the following benefits:

- Simple application and annual policy renewal process;

- Allowing nursery producers to select the dollar amount of coverage that best fits their risk management needs;

- Coverage tailored by individual practice (container or field grown); and for additional levels of coverage, coverage tailored by any of 10 potential plant categories;

- Simple loss adjustment process that determines plant values by placing greater reliance upon actual sales receipts;

- Reliance on producer's inventory records;

- Plant category naming conventions familiar to the nursery industry;

- Tailored program dates, including two sales closing dates of May 1 (Gulf Coast, East Coast, and West Virginia) or September 1 (all other states);

- An Occurrence Loss Option (OLO) moving the deductible from a unit level to a plant level for an additional premium (only available for buy-up policies); and

- A new Peak Endorsement Pilot, which allows producers to increase coverage during a designated peak period when the inventory value may be higher than the selected value.



Nursery Value Select (NVS) is a pilot program that allows nursery producers to select the dollar amount of coverage that best fits their risk management needs. NVS, which is an asset-based form of insurance, covers damage due, but not limited, to the following: adverse weather conditions; fire, provided weeds and undergrowth near the insured plants or the buildings in which the insured plants are grown are controlled by chemical or mechanical means; and wildlife (refer to the Crop Provisions for a complete list). NVS is available in all states and counties.

Beginning with the 2026 crop year, NVS will replace the Nursery Field Grown and Container (FG&C) crop insurance program. Nursery FG&C will no longer be available for producers to purchase after the 2025 crop year. Producers should contact a local crop insurance agent to learn more about NVS and how they can apply for coverage for the 2026 crop year.

NVS is an inventory-based nursery crop insurance program with the following benefits:
- Simple application and annual policy renewal process;
- Allowing nursery producers to select the dollar amount of coverage that best fits their risk management needs;
- Coverage tailored by individual practice (container or field grown); and for additional levels of coverage, coverage tailored by any of 10 potential plant categories;
- Simple loss adjustment process that determines plant values by placing greater reliance upon actual sales receipts;
- Reliance on producer's inventory records;
- Plant category naming conventions familiar to the nursery industry;
- Tailored program dates, including two sales closing dates of May 1 (Gulf Coast, East Coast, and West Virginia) or September 1 (all other states);
- An Occurrence Loss Option (OLO) moving the deductible from a unit level to a plant level for an additional premium (only available for buy-up policies); and
- A new Peak Endorsement Pilot, which allows producers to increase coverage during a designated peak period when the inventory value may be higher than the selected value.

NVS is available in all states and counties.

Nursery Crops

Cactus

Christmas Trees

Floriculture

Nursery Trees

Turfgrass Sod

Cut Flowers

Cut Greenery

Fruit Trees

Nut Trees

- Nursery Value Select Press Release
- Nursery Value Select Fact Sheet
- Nursery Value Select Crop Provisions
- Nursery Value Select Pilot Crop Insurance Standards Handbook
- Nursery Value Select Pilot Loss Adjustment Standards Handbook
- Nursery Value Select Pilot Loss Adjustment Standards Handbook (Slipsheets Only)
- Nursery Value Select Frequently Asked Questions


The Nursery Value Select Program is an insurance program with detailed terms regarding coverage and loss. Review the Fact Sheet for full terms.

PRF policies can be bought from a crop insurance agent by the sales closing date shown for each county in the actuarial documents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA service centers and on the RMA website at the Agent Locator.

The Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) Pilot Insurance Program is designed to provide insurance coverage on pasture, rangeland, or forage acres. The PRF program utilizes a rainfall index to determine precipitation for coverage purposes, and does not measure production or loss of products themselves. The Rainfall Index uses National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center (NOAA CPC) data, which utilizes a grid system to determine precipitation amounts within an area. Each grid is 0.25 degrees in&#x2004;latitude by 0.25 degrees in longitude, which translates to approximately 17 by 17 miles at the equator. Acres will be assigned to one or more grids based on the location to be insured.

The Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage insurance was designed to help protect a producer’s operation from the risks of forage loss due to the lack of precipitation. It is not designed to insure against ongoing or severe drought, as the coverage is based on precipitation expected during specific intervals only.



The Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) Pilot Insurance Program is designed to provide insurance coverage on pasture, rangeland, or forage acres. The PRF program utilizes a rainfall index to determine precipitation for coverage purposes, and does not measure production or loss of products themselves. The Rainfall Index uses National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center (NOAA CPC) data, which utilizes a grid system to determine precipitation amounts within an area. Each grid is 0.25 degrees in latitude by 0.25 degrees in longitude, which translates to approximately 17 by 17 miles at the equator. Acres will be assigned to one or more grids based on the location to be insured.
The Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage insurance was designed to help protect a producer’s operation from the risks of forage loss due to the lack of precipitation. It is not designed to insure against ongoing or severe drought, as the coverage is based on precipitation expected during specific intervals only.

PRF is available in the 48 contiguous states with the exception of a few grids that cross international borders.
Check the Actuarial Documents to see the deadline for buying PRF policies in your county.

- PRF Decision Tools
- PRF Fact Sheet
- PRF Actuarial Documents
- Agent Locator

Weather

Disaster Relief

Emergency

Coverage and Claims
Coverage is based on a producer’s selection of coverage level, index intervals, and productivity factor. The index interval represents a two-month period, and the period selected should be the one when precipitation is most important to a producer’s operation. Policyholders can select a coverage level from 70 to 90 percent. The rainfall index does not measure direct production or loss. The producer is insuring a rainfall index that is expected to estimate production.
Producers select a productivity factor to match the amount of protection to the value of the production that best represents the operation and the productive capacity of the producer’s acres. Producers do not have to insure all acres. However, producers cannot insure more than total number of insurable acres.
Insurance payments are determined by using NOAA CPC data for their grid(s) and index intervals that were chosen to insure. When the final grid index falls below the policyholder’s “trigger grid index”, the producer may receive an indemnity. This insurance coverage is for a single peril -- lack of precipitation. Coverage is based on the experience of the entire grid. It is not based on individual farms or ranches or specific weather stations in the general area.
Tools
Producers need to make several choices when insuring their grazing or hay production, including coverage level, index intervals, irrigated practice, productivity factor, and number of acres. Producers should work with their crop insurance agent to view the Grid ID Locator map and index grids for their area, and assign acreage to one or more grids based on the location and use of the acreage to be insured. RMA encourages the use of the Grid ID Locator, historical indices tool, and decision support tools available on RMA’s website to help decide whether PRF is the right insurance coverage for a producer’s operation.

Enroll by April 30, 2027 via https://practicalfarmers.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5ySWYYDIOF9WFnM. After enrolling, talk with a PFI agronomist, sign an agreement and FSA release of information by May 31, 2027, apply the reduced nitrogen, attend a soil-health learning event, and complete a wrap-up survey/field questionnaire by Dec. 10, 2027. Payments are processed by April 30, 2028.

Chelsea Ferrie

Crop Nutrition Systems Manager

The N Rate Risk Protection Program helps corn farmers find their optimal, economical nitrogen rate. Participants receive $5 per acre for every enrolled acre with a reduced-nitrogen plan; if yield drops below 95% of the farm's ten-year average after lowering nitrogen, an additional $30 per acre warranty payment is issued (up to $35/acre total). Participants also receive a complimentary one-year PFI membership.



- Farm in eligible counties in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota or Wisconsin.
- Willing to reduce nitrogen application by at least 20 lbs N/acre (smaller/already-reduced rates may still qualify).
- Acres must be conventionally managed; certified organic acres are not eligible.
- Acres cannot overlap with any privately funded cost-share/carbon program (Indigo, SWOF, TruCarbon, PivotBio N-OVATOR, etc.).
- Acres must already be insured with a Multi-Peril Crop Insurance Revenue or Yield Protection policy at minimum 65% coverage, and crops must be certified through the local FSA office.

Fertilizer

Waste & Manure Management

Weeds

Inputs

Nutrient Management

This program is only partially a cost-share: it pays $5/acre for all enrolled acres with a reduced-nitrogen plan, plus a $30/acre warranty payment only if yield drops below 95% of the farm's ten-year average production history following the nitrogen reduction plan. The warranty is voided if the participant didn't follow the agreed plan, or if a multi-peril/hail/wind insurance claim was paid for the same yield loss.

The farmer works through their local lender. If the lender agrees to make a mortgage loan to the applicant, the lender and the applicant jointly complete the RFA Application for Loan Participation (Basic Farmer / Seller Assisted / Restructure II) and the lender submits it to the RFA. Participating lenders can be searched by county on the MDA's List of Participating Lenders. Questions: RFA loan programs, 651-201-6004, RFA.Loans@state.mn.us.

Rural Finance Authority Office
Loan Programs

Minnesota Department of Agriculture - Rural Finance Authority

Mary Gritzmacher

The Restructure II loan program is designed to help farmers who remain in good credit standing with their local agricultural lender but are having trouble with cash flow due to adverse events. Only debt of an agricultural nature is eligible for refinancing.


The RFA purchases a participation interest in a qualifying restructuring loan made by the farmer's local agricultural lender, which retains the balance of the loan.



The Restructure II loan program is designed to help farmers who remain in good credit standing with their local agricultural lender but are having trouble with cash flow due to adverse events. Only debt of an agricultural nature is eligible for refinancing.

The RFA purchases a participation interest in a qualifying restructuring loan made by the farmer's local agricultural lender, which retains the balance of the loan.

An applicant must meet the following requirements:

- Be a resident of Minnesota, a Minnesota domestic family farm corporation, or a family farm partnership.
- Be the principal operator of the farm.
- Not be a current or previous participant in an RFA farm debt reorganization program.
- Have a total net worth that does not exceed $2,269,500 in 2026 (indexed annually for inflation).
- Have received 50 percent of their gross income from farming over the past three years.
- Have expenses that do not exceed 95 percent of income.
- Meet with a local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) official.

Only debt of an agricultural nature is eligible for refinancing. Participation is restricted to loans that do not exceed 80 percent of the appraised value of the real estate comprising the collateral.

- Rural Finance Authority (RFA) program hub
- List of RFA Loans
- List of Participating Lenders
- RFA Loan Brochure (PDF)
- Loan Comparison Chart
- Approved Farm Business Management Programs

- The RFA will participate on 45 percent of a qualifying loan, up to a maximum of $625,000. The agricultural lender retains the balance of the loan.
- Participation is restricted to loans that do not exceed 80 percent of the appraised value of the real estate comprising the collateral.
- The participation term may be up to a maximum of 10 years. Terms of the loan are determined by the type of debt being restructured. The loan may have a balloon.
- Collateral for the loan must include a first mortgage on farm real estate.
- The interest rate on the RFA portion of the loan is fixed — call the RFA for the current rate. The RFA's published current rate for Restructure II is 5.00% with no origination fee. Participating lenders are allowed to charge either a fixed or adjustable rate.
- There is a $50.00 non-refundable application fee on all loans. The lender may collect normal closing costs.

You can buy Whole-Farm Revenue Protection from a crop insurance agent by the sales closing date shown for each county in the actuarial documents at
webapp.rma.usda.gov/apps/actuarialinformationbrowser/. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA service centers and on the RMA website at www.rma.usda.gov/en/Information-Tools/Agent-Locator-Page.

Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on the farm under one insurance policy and is available in all counties nationwide. This insurance plan is tailored for any farm with up to $17 million in insured revenue, including farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets.



Eligibility for WFRP coverage requires you to:
- Be eligible to receive Federal benefits;
- Be a U.S. citizen or resident;
- File either a Schedule F tax form or other farm tax form that can be converted to a Substitute Schedule F for a specified number of years;
- Have no more than $17 million in insured revenue, which is the farm revenue allowed to be insured under the policy multiplied by the coverage level you select (see table above)
    - Coverage of expected revenue from animals and animal products is limited to $2 million;
    - Coverage of expected revenue from greenhouse and nursery is limited to $2 million;
- Have no more than 50 percent of total revenue from commodities purchased for resale;
- Have ‘buy-up’ coverage levels on any Federal crop insurance plans you choose in addition to the WFRP insurance plan;
- Meet the diversification requirements of the policy by having two or more commodities if a commodity you are raising has revenue protection or actual revenue history insurance available; and
- Meet the diversification requirements of the policy by having two or more commodities if there are potatoes on the farm.


- 2023 Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Pilot Handbook (Reissued)
- Whole-Farm Revenue Protection
- RMA Announces Changes to Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Policy for 2020
- Aquaculture Fact Sheet (Oysters, Clams, WFRP)
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Producer Perspectives
- Introduction to WFRP Pilot PowerPoint

WFRP is an insurance program with detailed terms regarding coverage and loss. Review the Fact Sheet for full terms.

First-come, first-served. Applications for the 2026/27 program are expected to be available December 2026.

Wisconsin DATCP — Cover Crop Insurance Rebate

A Wisconsin DATCP rebate that reduces a farmer's crop-insurance premium bill by up to $5 per acre for verified cover-crop acres.



Wisconsin farmers with verified cover-crop acres who carry crop insurance. Acres already enrolled in EQIP, CSP, or another state cover-crop cost-share program are ineligible.

Up to $5 per acre rebate on the crop-insurance premium bill. Program pool is roughly $800,000 per year, covering about 160,000 acres.

List of Agricultural Funding for Risk Management