This is about the fifth year in a row farmers have been struggling with low commodity prices. It seems like no matter what crops you are growing, or livestock you produce it is tough to generate a profit. For many farm operations short term debt has increased and they have had to restructure or refinance to long term debt. For some farms they are running out of options because of regulatory requirements that ag lenders have.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture through the Rural Finance Authority has a loan program that allows farmers to restructure debt if they have good credit but are having trouble with cash flow. The Rural Finance Authority will participate on 45 percent of a qualifying loan up to a maximum of $525,000. There is a $50 non-refundable fee on all loans.

"This may be a good option for Minnesota farmers who are in good standing with their local lender but are struggling with cash flow," said Rural Finance Authority Senior Loan Officer Ryan Roles. " The current interest rate is 4.25 percent and the participate term may be up to a maximum of ten years." For more information go to the web site: www.mda.state.us/restructure.

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