USDA Announces a Near-Record Year for Farm Loans
Infusing Rural Communities with Stronger Businesses and Sounder Agricultural Economies
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced another year of high activity in its farm loan programs. Hard-working farm families across the country accessed nearly $6 billion in new credit, either directly or guaranteed through commercial lenders in 2017. At year end, FSA was assisting more than 120,000 family farmers with loans totaling just over $25 billion.
“FSA loan funds have been in high demand the last few years,” said Dr. Robert Johansson, Acting Deputy Under Secretary for the Farm Production and Conservation mission area. “We provide opportunities to qualified small, beginning and underserved farmers who are unable to obtain commercial credit, to help them get started, gain access to land and grow their operations. Family farmers across America also come to us for credit when they face challenges to stay in business. We’re proud to support rural prosperity by providing credit to those who need it most.”
FSA provides a variety of loan assistance, including direct and guaranteed farm ownership loans, operating loans and even direct Microloans up to $50,000 and EZ Guarantees up to $100,000 with streamlined application processes.
More than 25,000 direct and guaranteed FSA loans went to beginning or underserved farmers and ranchers. Over 4,200 beginning farmers received direct farm ownership loans from FSA to make their first land purchase. And of the approximately 6,500 Microloans made in the last fiscal year, three-quarters (almost 4,900) went to beginning farmers, 1,000 went to women and 400 to veterans.
FSA’s direct farm loans are unique in that the agency provides technical assistance in addition to credit. Consistent with efforts to continually improve technical assistance, today FSA announced the publication of two booklets that will serve as important informational tools and resources for existing and prospective farm loan borrowers.
Your FSA Farm Loan Compass booklet was recently developed specifically for farmers and ranchers who have an existing farm loan with FSA. It provides detailed guidance outlining borrower responsibilities and the servicing options that FSA offers. It also addresses common questions borrowers may have as they navigate through loan program requirements and the financial concepts involved.
Originally published in 2012, Your Guide to FSA Farm Loans was designed for new loan customers. It provides information about the various types of farm loans available and guides new borrowers through the application process. The revised version addresses program changes and includes new loan offerings, like the popular Microloan program that was rolled out after the publication of the original Guide.
“Your FSA Farm Loan Compass” and “Your Guide to FSA Farm Loans” are available on the FSA website at www.fsa.usda.gov/dafl. Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to download and share them with others in their community who may require assistance in understanding FSA’s loans and servicing processes. For additional information about FSA farm loans, please contact your loan officer or other FSA staff at your local office. To find your local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.
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SPOTLIGHT ON... National School Choice Week
WHAT IS IT? A national happening with events being held everywhere from the White House to your house… It’s a cultural shift… The concept of school choice (better and more effectively known as education opportunity) has moved from being simply an idea (dismissed by the establishment) to a cause (derided by the status quo) to a growing reality (decried by unions and bureaucrats), to a dominating philosophy that is reshaping education in America (much to the on-going anger and indignation of the power elite)… The obstacles and objections range from annoying to outrageous. Annoying in the paternalistic eye-rolling and rejection of parental demands by the we-know-best establishment. Outrageous in the billions of dollars spent propping up failed systems at the expense of expanding opportunities and options, and in the hundreds-of-millions spent on lobbying and political action to stifle reform and preserve the status quo—with a thousand battles, large and small, waged –and still being fought– in between.
CHOICE IS WINNING. Parents and children are claiming rights that should have been theirs from the beginning. Another point: NSCW is nonpartisan, nonpolitical, and independent (now how many things can you say that about?!) … Having started small in 2011 with 150 events, National School Choice Week is now a huge occasion, with an estimated 6.7 million people expected to celebrate the week at 32,000 events around the country to raise public awareness of all the different K-12 education options available to children and families and why.
DON'T BELIEVE IT? LOOK HERE. No matter who …or where… from urban to rural America, across political, racial and socioeconomic lines – support for new opportunities and new schools of choice for children and families nationwide, is irrefutable. Listen to the voices of visionary students, parents, school leaders and lawmakers on this special edition of Reality Check with Jeanne Allen, and follow the campaign featuring interviews, event coverage and school presentations, available now at www.edreform.com, on Facebook, and via Twitter @edreform. Watch charter school teacher and student-produced content from classrooms around the country. Featured schools, to name just a few, include Inlet Grove Community Academy, Purpose Preparatory Academy, Southland College Prep and STRIVE Prep SMART Academy.
READ VOICES OF COLOR, Voices for Opportunity. Published in newspapers nationwide, the testimony of national, state and local leaders is concrete evidence of the widespread and diverse perspectives for educational choice that exist all over the country.
Did You Know?
Schools are not working for most students, and that to succeed in life they need expanded educational opportunities – driven by innovation, freedom and flexibility – that will lead to improved economic outcomes and bring the American Dream within the reach of all. That’s why polls like this one from the AFC show dramatic support for educational choice.
In the News... and what's coming up in education innovation and opportunity
Tell Us Your Story! Families all over the country have school choice stories to tell. Send us yours!
Here’s what families told the Foundation in Excellence in Education. These come to us courtesy the 74 and ExcelinEd CEO Patricia Levesque.
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.
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Navigating The 3 Stages Of Retirement
People often view retirement as just one more stage of life.
But that’s not exactly the case. Retirement isn’t just one stage; it’s at least three – although all three do share something in common.
“Every stage of retirement requires planning,” says Jack Teboda, president of Teboda & Associates (www.teboda.com), a financial services firm. “Otherwise, you could end up running out of money, or your health might take a turn for the worse and negatively impact your retirement savings because you hadn’t planned for it in those early years of retirement.”
It’s not easy to put exact ages on each of the three stages of retirement. That likely will vary from person to person, depending on their finances, health and family situation.
But here’s what to look for in each stage:
• Stage 1, adjusting to a new lifestyle. Many new retirees brim with excitement when retirement begins. They can golf, visit museums, play with their grandchildren, travel or catch up on their reading. Not everyone adjusts well, though. It’s not easy to flip the switch overnight after you’ve spent several decades reporting to work every day. Also, if your retirement income is largely dependent on your savings you’ll want to be careful that you don’t spend too much in those initial years. “Your adviser should be able to help you come up with a plan that will give you income for life so you don’t have to worry about running out of money,” Teboda says.
• Stage 2, staying socially connected. As the years pass, many retirees move closer to their children or move into a retirement community because it makes them feel more socially connected. “Sometimes at this point, especially if they haven’t planned well, people may start to have even more worries that they will outlive their money,” Teboda says. “One way they address that is to cut back on expenses. Some people even decide to get a part-time job to bring in extra money, and working becomes another way to stay connected.”
• Stage 3, realizing you may need assistance. More than 70 percent of Americans older than 65 will need some form of long-term care at some point in their lives, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “When people map out their retirement,” Teboda says, “they need to plan for that possibility because the cost of long-term care can be devastating to your finances.”
He says people need to consider a number of factors – taxes, longevity and market risks, among others – to improve the odds of a joyful retirement, which is one reason Teboda says his firm takes a team approach to advising, using financial professionals with different areas of expertise. For example, one team member, Amanda Jager, is an Associate Financial Adviser, and another, Kevin C. Sanders, while also an Associate Financial Adviser, is an attorney specializing in estate planning.
“In each stage of retirement,” Teboda says, “it’s important to confer regularly with your adviser and to be ready to adjust your financial plans if necessary.”
About Jack Teboda
Jack Teboda, president and founder of Teboda & Associates (www.teboda.com), has more than 35 years experience helping people pursue financial independence through personalized investment strategies. His firm takes a team approach to providing advice to clients on retirement concerns and other financial planning issues. Teboda works with Kevin C. Sanders, an attorney and Associate Financial Adviser, and Amanda Jager, an Associate Financial Adviser. Teboda has passed Series 6, 22, 63 and 65 securities exams and holds life, accident and health insurance licenses. Additionally, Teboda earned a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University. As an Investment Adviser Representative, he is able to provide an extensive network of financial options and products for his clients.
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4 Benefits of Laughing Your Way
Through The New Year
Like clockwork, people are composing their lists of New Year’s resolutions, and at the same time they’re ending this year with some of the same problems, frustrations or worries of past years. They want to take a brighter outlook and ride those resolutions to a higher quality of life in the New Year – but inevitably, familiar issues get them down year after year.
How can this New Year be different? How can you stay more positive and hopeful despite problems that won’t go away when the big ball drops in Times Square?
“Making laughter a part of your every-day life is the answer. When life gets tough, laughter begins,” says Lee Volpe (www.LeeVolpe.com), a humorist and author of Black Sheep Tries Bleach: Humorous Stories to Ease Life’s Growing Pains.
“We all have humor inside us. It is so healthy to use it in a variety of ways. When you really deconstruct some things in your life that may be problems or annoyances, you can creatively come at them with laughter, and your whole outlook changes.”
Mentally and physically, the benefits of laughter are many, Volpe says, and she lists five of those benefits that can help you make 2018 a happier New Year:
• Reduces stress. Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones. such as cortisol and epinephrine (adrenaline), and it boosts the immune system. Science has further shown that after a good laugh, muscles can be relaxed for up to 45 minutes. “Laughter is a free stress-management strategy, and in today’s pressurized, problem-filled world, there’s a big premium on that,” Volpe says. “Laughter is often the best kind of therapy.”
• Burns calories. Everybody wants to lose weight in the New Year, right? “Laugh hard enough and you may be able to skip some gym visits – and who doesn’t want to do that,” Volpe says. Studies show that a good stream of laughter can burn 40 calories in 30 minutes. “I saw where you really can burn 75 calories in 30 minutes by banging your head against a wall,” Volpe says. “Knock yourself out.”
• Becomes a coping mechanism. Laughter makes us feel good. Instead of complaining about life’s frustrations, trying to laugh about them helps. “Humor helps you keep a positive outlook through difficult situations,” Volpe says. “When something extremely frustrating or depressing occurs, try to take the longer view and envision that one day you’ll be able to look back on it and laugh. But why not laugh right now? You also feel stronger. This approach will also make you better equipped to deal with future negative events less stressfully.”
• Brings people together, strengthens relationships. Laughter connects us with others. You can’t enjoy a laugh with other people unless you take the time to engage with them. “It improves the quality of social interaction you have with your friends, co-workers, and acquaintances,” Volpe says. “The old saying is, ‘Laughter is contagious.’ If you bring more laughter into your life, you can help others around you to laugh more and reap the benefits of humor, which in turns helps them with their problems. It makes other people happy, because it’s very infectious, just like anger is.”
“We all need more laughter with the way the world is these days,” Volpe says. “Maybe you can start by laughing at your own New Year’s resolutions list. For a lot of people it turns out to be a joke anyway. And it doesn’t have to be a new year to start a new day, a new outlook, for yourself.”
About Lee Volpe
Lee Volpe (www.LeeVolpe.com) is the author of Black Sheep Tries Bleach: Humorous Stories to Ease Life’s Growing Pains. After a short career as an actress, Lee found her voice as a humorist, and has never looked back. Since 2011, she has been making a name for herself professionally as an honest, Laugh Out Loud (LOL) humor writer, dealing with daily life and relatable situations. Applauded for saying what most are thinking, Lee has the unique ability of finding wit in the way and amusement in the angle. Marcia Corbino of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune described Lee as “Erma Bombeck meets Sex and the City.”
