The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the provision of $208 million in assistance aimed at preventing guaranteed borrower foreclosures and supporting emergency loan borrowers.
According to a press release by the USDA, the Farm Service Agency has already provided approximately $1.7 billion in assistance, aiding over 30,000 distressed borrowers. The primary objective of this assistance is to maintain the financial stability of these borrowers, enabling them to continue farming and eliminating hurdles that could prevent them from returning to their land. The USDA will cover $80 million in delinquent accounts to help prevent foreclosures. Furthermore, an estimated 1,120 borrowers with direct Emergency Loans will receive a share of $128 million. This assistance is made possible by the $3.1 billion in aid stipulated in Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act.
As per a document released by the Senate, the Inflation Reduction Act was enacted on August 16 , 2022. It represents the most significant action that Congress has taken towards developing clean energy in U.S history. The Act is projected to generate $739 billion in total revenue: $313 billion through a 15% Corporate Minimum Tax, $288 billion via Prescription Drug Pricing Reform, $124 billion through IRS tax enforcement, and an additional $14 billion raised through closing a carried interest loophole. The Act's estimated total deficit reduction is expected to exceed $300 billion.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated, "At USDA, we are working hard every day to keep farmers on their farms. With the Inflation Reduction Act, we’ve begun charting a very different course than the one taken during the farm financial crisis in the 1980s." Vilsack continued saying "We continue to work on credit reforms centered around this better approach and I encourage our lenders and borrowers alike to work with our local offices and our cooperators to capitalize on all available flexibilities in these important programs prior to foreclosing or liquidating farms."
