Agri-Link Overview
- The maximum loan size is $250,000.
- The maximum loan term is 12 years.
- Loans must be used for projects that meet the BMP guidelines in Act 37 of 2019 or as approved by the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission (SCC). An eligible borrower must have an approved nutrient management plan, a manure management plan, an agricultural erosion and sedimentation plan, another SCC-approved federal or state conservation plan, or an approved BMP project.
- SCC or its delegated agent will verify that projects meet the Act 37 of 2019 criteria. (Treasury makes no determination regarding the proposed use of a loan.)
- Funding to reimburse the reduced interest is supplied by SCC up to the amount budgeted by the General Assembly.
- Loans must be issued by a lending institution designated an Approved Depository or a Farm Credit Association (FCA) financial institution.
- Loans must be structured in compliance with Act 37 of 2019.
- Treasury will deposit funds with the lending institution in an amount equal to the loan size or to the maximum allowed, $250,000. The interest rate will be set using the six-month Time Deposit rate in effect, less the subsidy rate reduction.
- Agri-Link was created by Act 37 of 2019, which was unanimously approved by the General Assembly in June 2019. (An earlier version of the program was discontinued around 2009-2010.)
- Act 37 authorized up to $25 million of Agri-Link loans. In May 2021, SCC approved an allocation of $495,446 to support $2.5 million in Agri-Link loans with a rate reduction of 3.0%.
