by staff
Federal officials search for options as farm loan funds dry up.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, officials say the government?s $2.65 billion operating loan for the Farm Service agency has ran out of money.
A statement from the agency says they are looking for other options “until additional funds are made available, either this year or in the next fiscal year,”. Even though the operating loan is depleted, more and more farmers continue to sign up for help.
Senator Chuck Grassley is confident the agency will find other options before taking the issue to congress.
?I?m sure that if the agency needs money to carry out their work without making more people eligible, they will get supplied. If they have some emergency funds they can use, I don?t see congress stepping in.?
Grassley says he wouldn?t worry about it right now.
FSA adds overall, farmers and ranchers using the USDA farm loan programs are managing their businesses well. The agency has not “seen significant increases in delinquencies or defaults” of these federal loans.
