§1936c Relending Program to Resolve Ownership and Succession on Farmland

Summary

The Secretary of Agriculture can lend money to certain cooperatives, credit unions, and nonprofit groups so those groups can re-lend the funds to people and businesses to help heirs who jointly own farmland sort out ownership and plan for succession. To get money, an organization must be certified as a lender under 12 CFR 1805.201 (or its successor), have experience helping socially disadvantaged, limited-resource, new and beginning farmers or rural businesses and in making and servicing loans, and show it can reasonably repay the loan. Preference goes to groups with at least 10 years serving socially disadvantaged farmers and to those in States that adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act. The Secretary sets the interest rate for the intermediaries. Intermediaries set borrower rates to keep the loan fund running and must publicly disclose them. Borrowers must complete a succession plan and may borrow to pay for the plan and legal or closing costs. The Secretary must report to the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry within 1 year after December 20, 2018. Congress authorized $10,000,000 for each fiscal year 2019 through 2023 to run the program.