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Treasurer again tweaks Ag Invest link-deposit program

Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford has made new adjustments to make the state’s ag link-deposit program more useful to borrowers and lenders.
Kay Shipman 
Published: Feb 17, 2012
“We’ve lowered interest rates considerably,” Rebecca Huston, manager of the treasurer’s Invest in Illinois program, told FarmWeek.

Through the link-deposit program, the state does not loan money to farmers but deposits state funds in participating financial institutions that determine farmers’ credit worthiness and make the loans. 

Ag Invest offers one-year loans for annual operating expenses and long-term loans for major capital expenses, such as equipment and building construction. The rates are set each month.

Huston illustrated her point with examples of one-year and long-term loans completed this month. The maximum interest rate would be 3.71 percent for an annual operating line of credit. The maximum interest rate for a long-term capital expenditure would be 4.06 percent for two-years.

In addition, the annual loan limits have been raised for individual farmer borrowers and for farm operations. An individual farmer may borrow up to $300,000, higher than the previous limit of $120,000. A farm operation may borrow up to $600,000, up from the previous limit of $240,000.

The long-term program allows a farmer to borrow up to $200,000 per year for construction, equipment, and other capital expenses.

In a letter announcing the changes, Rutherford acknowledged he lifted his moratorium on the state link-deposit programs after reviewing and revising each program.

“Drawing on the experience garnered over the past several months, I have now instituted some additional enhancements to further improve the programs and their usefulness,” Rutherford wrote.

Huston advised interested farmers to contact the treasurer’s office at 217-557-6436 for a list of participating lenders. Farmers also may contact their local financial institutions, she said.


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