“I went to conventional lenders and I was turned down by all of
them,” said Villari, who had little farming experience outside of
helping her father raise livestock. “Then I turned to the Farm Service
Agency (FSA). They took a chance on me when no one else would. They not
only made the loan process easy, they also provided me with a lot of
support and information once the loan was closed.”
Villari received U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) FSA farm
ownership and operating loans to help get Fresh Water Greens off of the
ground. FSA financing provided the assistance needed to build a facility
and begin production. It was the first hydroponic operation funded by
New Jersey FSA.
From the USDA blog
Is this "mission creep" in programs or adapting to new realities?
1 comment:
Probably a little of both. With loan limits as they are and the scale of conventional agriculture continuing to expand, it is getting harder to provide much assistance with FSA loans. It does appear to create issues within the Agency if long time employees don't agree with the direction the loan program is headed. Not that they are paid for their opinions.
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