Low-interest loans approved for family farming operations in seven counties

Seven new low-interest loans were approved to will help small family farms make necessary capital improvements to sustain and grow their properties and livelihoods, Gov. Tom Wolf announced this week.

Offered through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, the low-interest loans will assist small farms in Adams, Bedford, Berks, Columbia, Lancaster, Northumberland, and Snyder counties.

“The survival of small family farms is not just essential to Pennsylvania’s economy, it’s critical to keeping rural Pennsylvania communities thriving,” Wolf said. “By providing access to the capital necessary to acquire property, purchase equipment, and complete construction, we’re helping to keep our family farms competitive and successful.”

The funding for the loans was approved through the First Industries program and will seek to help farmers with construction costs, starting new businesses, and enabling them to acquire land to facilitate expansion.

Small farms in Berks, Columbia, Lancaster, Northumberland, and Snyder counties were each approved for $400,000 12 to 15-year loans from projects including farm building construction, land acquisition, and electricity generators. A Bedford County farm will receive a $286,000, 12-year loan for the construction of a 22,500-square-foot cage-free layer barn. An Adams County farm was approved for a $103,600, 10-year loan for farmland acquisition, a new business raising and selling boer goats, and the revitalization of a family bakery business.