Farm Trucks Now Eligible for USDA Low Interest Loans

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided low-interest loans for grain bins through their Farm Storage and Facility Loan program for years. Now the program has expanded to include storage and handling trucks. Here's what's eligible and how to apply.

Whether your trucking your product from the field for storage or to market, 4 different trucks are covered by the loan agreement.

Cold Storage Trucks - A van or truck designed to carry perishable products. The vehicle can be ice-cooled or equipped with any variety of mechanical refrigeration systems.
Flatbed Trucks - Different sizes of trucks without sidewalls to ease loading and unloading, ranging from light, medium, or heavy-duty, compact or full-size.
Grain Trucks - Farm equipment specially made to accommodate grain products. Truck chassis units with a mounted grain “dump” body where grain commodities are transported from a field to either a grain elevator or a storage bin.
Storage Trucks with a Chassis Unit - A box truck, box van or straight truck, with a cargo body mounted on the same chassis with the engine and cab.

Not covered by the loans are pick-up trucks, semi-trucks, dump trucks, and simple insulated and ventilated vans.

Trucks have to be less than 15 years old, cost less than $100,000 and have a maximum of four axles with a gross weight rating of 60,000 pounds or less. They have to be used for one of the following commodities: