Ag Stimulus Spending To Begin Shortly

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said USDA will begin making $145 million in direct operating loans to farmers as one of the first steps in distributing the $28 billion earmarked for the Department in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Southwest Farm Press reports.

Vilsack said the $145 million will go out almost immediately to 2,042 farmers as the first installment of $173 million designated for USDA’s direct operating loan program. He said 50% of the recipients are beginning farmers and 10% are socially disadvantaged producers.

“These loans will be used to purchase items such as farm equipment, feed, seed, fuel and other operating expenses and will stimulate rural economies by providing American farmers funds to operate,” he said.

Specifics of the funding include:

▪ USDA Rural Development Agency will initially provide nearly 10,000 rural families with $14.9 million ($1.17 billion in loan guarantees) for home ownership financing, creating or saving more than 5,000 jobs.

▪ USDA Rural Development will also release funding for more than $400 million in pending applications for water and waste grants and $140 million in pending applications for water and waste direct loans. Rural Development expects nearly 13,000 jobs will be created by 400 water and wastewater projects.

More information about the Federal government’s efforts on the economic stimulus is available at www.recovery.gov.