8 Best Agriculture Business Loans 2023

Your agriculture business doesn’t work like any old business―which means you need more than just any old business loan. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best agriculture business loans out there.

We looked at agriculture-specific lenders and some of the best general business lenders to find large loans, competitive rates, and positive reviews.

Most agriculture business owners will want to start with FSA loans (loans from the Farm Service Agency) thanks to its super low interest rates and long terms. But if that’s not a good fit, don’t worry―we have plenty of other lenders for you to consider.

Typical business loans don’t always work for agriculture businesses.

That’s not necessarily because you can’t use them for agriculture. Most lenders do, in fact, let you use their business loans for an agriculture business.

It’s more that your agriculture business may have unique needs that make normal business loans a poor fit. Say, for example, you get an alternative business loan. The weekly or even daily repayment schedule may work just fine for an online retail business. But if you have a business with a growing season, that kind of repayment schedule makes no sense.

Likewise, plenty of business lenders offer loan amounts that don’t account for the expenses of an agriculture business. Ranchers, farmers, and other agriculture  business owners often need large loan sizes that you can’t get from just any lender.

Generally, you’ll want to look for the following in an agriculture loan:

• Large loan size
• Competitive interest rate
• Monthly, bi-annual, or even annual repayment schedule
• Long repayment term

And those are just the kinds of loan traits you’ll find from the lenders below.

If you can get a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), you can get a top-notch agriculture business loan.

The real selling point, of course, is the interest rates. The FSA offers very, very competitive interest rates on all its agriculture loan options, starting at 1.5% interest for a Farm Ownership - Down Payment loan and going up to 3.75% for a Farm Ownership loan or microloan.

And as you may have already noticed, the FSA offers a variety of different loan options. It has loans for buying farms, for making down payments on farm purchases, for running farms, and for recovering from losses. You can get small microloans or larger term loans. And with repayment terms up to 40 years, you’re getting an all-around solid loan for your farm.

As with any government business loan, though, FSA loans take a long time to get. You start the process by talking with an FSA loan official, who will talk through your needs, plans, and loan options. Then they’ll help you figure out the next steps. And while we love that kind of personalized loan guidance, it does slow things down a bit.

The other issue? FSA direct loans max out at $600,000 for most programs. With any luck, that loan size works for you and your agriculture business. But some business owners will want much larger loans―and they’ll have to turn to other lenders.

All the same, the FSA’s many loan options, low interest rates, and personalized loan guidance make it our favorite source for agriculture business loans.

Need a larger loan than the FSA can get you? Then try an FSA-guaranteed loan from an FSA-approved lender instead. (You can find a list of FSA-guaranteed lenders on the FSA website.)

FSA-guaranteed loans come from a lender (like a bank)―not the FSA. You can get FSA-guaranteed loans up to $1.825 million―triple the size of an FSA direct loan. But FSA-guaranteed loans have many of the same perks as FSA direct loans, like competitive interest rates (the FSA regulates the maximum interest rate) and moderate borrower requirements. That’s because the FSA backs, or guarantees, these loans, lowering the risk for the lender you work with.

Still, expect FSA involvement to slow things down. Your chosen lender has to approve your loan, and so does the FSA, so the FSA-guarantee loan process takes a while. And while FSA-guaranteed loans do come in larger loan amounts than FSA direct loans, some business owners may still find them too small and restrictive.

If you need less than $2 million, though, an FSA-guaranteed loan gives you a choice of lenders while still letting you get competitive interest rates and terms.

Lendio isn’t an agriculture-specific lender―but its many loan options mean it just might help you find a good loan anyway.

You see, Lendio is a lending marketplace. It partners with lots of different lending companies that offer lots of different loan options. You can get everything from a small merchant cash advance to a large real estate loan. Just tell Lendio about your business and what you need, and it will match you with the best loans it can. So you just might find a great loan for your agriculture business.

Of course, because of all the different lenders and loan options, you may get matched with a product that has high interest and short terms. You will need to make sure that a loan match actually suits your business’s needs and abilities.

But if you can do that, then Lendio can save you time (and maybe money) by matching you with appropriate business loans.

Just need to buy or lease equipment? AgDirect can get you funded in no time.

AgDirect offers equipment loans for farm equipment (like tractors, combines, irrigation systems, and more. But it has loans for buying, leasing, or refinancing equipment. Likewise, AgDirect lets you buy (or lease) your equipment from a dealership, auction, or private party―all with competitive interest rates. And no matter which route you go, AgDirect promises fast approval. In most cases, it only takes seconds.

While we like lots of things about AgDirect, we wish it listed clear maximum loan sizes. We know it offers loans over $200,000―but that could mean $500,000 or over $1 million. You also need to know that AgDirect loan terms max out at seven years. That makes sense, given that most of its loans stay under $200,000, but don’t be surprised if you get an even shorter repayment term.

Put simply, AgDirect offers fast (but still affordable) funding for your agricultural equipment needs.

If you want a lender most customers love, we suggest looking at Farm Plus Financial.

Farm Plus Financial (which also operates as FarmLoans.com and LandLoans.com) offers term loans and lines of credit for all kinds of agricultural businesses, from farms to vineyards to timberland businesses. And according to customers, it does a really good job. Farm Plus Financial earns a 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot, where customers rave about the excellent customer service and desirable loans.¹

You will have to take those customers’ word for it, though. Farm Plus Financial doesn’t publish much information about its loans. It doesn’t list loan amounts or interest rates, for example. You’ll have to get in touch with a rep to get more details.

But judging by its many positive reviews, Farm Plus Financial is worth getting in touch with.

Haven’t found the perfect agriculture loan fit just yet? We have a few more agriculture business loans that might work for your business.

AgAmerica Lending gives you plenty of loan options for your agriculture business. You can, for instance, use its loans to buy or expand your property. You can refinance your existing farm debt. And AgAmerica has some general working capital options, including both operational loans and lines of credit.

Like some other lenders here, AgAmerica Lending doesn’t offer too many specifics (like loan amounts or interest rates) for its loans. You’ll have to talk with a rep to see if AgAmerica Lending financing will fit your farm, ranch, or other agricultural needs.

As you can likely guess from the name, American Farm Mortgage and Financial Services focuses heavily on agricultural real estate loans. But it also offers the more general AgXpress loan, which notably offers super fast loan approval. American Farm Mortgage says you can expect to get a loan decision in one business day at most―and in just a few hours in some cases.

Once more, we can’t tell you much about interest rates, loan amounts, or other important loan details. But we do know that American Farm Mortgage & Financial Services can get you approved for an agricultural loan ASAP.

SmartBiz offers SBA business loans (loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration). These loans work for all kinds of businesses, not just agriculture businesses. But we think they might work nicely for your agriculture business thanks to their long loan terms, large loan amounts, and regulated interest rates. And as a lending marketplace, SmartBiz can help you find the right lender for your specific business.

Like FSA direct loans and FSA-guaranteed loans, SBA loans take a long time to get approved and funded. SmartBiz speeds that process up as much as possible, but you should still buckle up for a long loan application and approval process.

There’s a very good chance you can get a great agriculture loan from your local bank or credit union.

Lots of banks across the nation offer loans to ranchers, farmers, loggers, and other agriculture business owners. But many of those banks have very small lending areas (a handful of states at most). We can’t review them at all, but we definitely suggest looking at your local lenders.

Remember, you want to see large loans, low interest rates, and long repayment terms. With any luck, you’ll be surprised at the great deals you can get from your local bank or credit union.

Plenty of lenders offer agriculture business loans. But in most cases, we suggest trying to get a farm loan from the FSA (Farm Service Agency). That way, you’ll get some of the lowest interest rates out there while also getting plenty of loan options―all with great repayment terms.

For larger loans (but still competitive rates), you can also find FSA-guaranteed loans from many different lenders. If you don’t need an agriculture-specific loan, you can use Lendio to get matched with the best loans for your business. AgDirect can get you equipment loans the same day you apply. And for a well-reviewed agriculture lender, you can turn to Farm Plus Financial.

And don’t forget to look at your local banks and credit unions too. You might find a great agriculture loan right under your nose.

Get an estimate for how much your agriculture loan will cost with our business loan calculator.

To find the best agriculture business loans, we looked for lenders (both agriculture-specific and general) that offer large loans, long repayment terms, and competitive interest rates. We focused on lenders that offer agriculture lending in most states―so there may be great but regional lenders that didn’t make our list.