The 2018 farm bill extends loan authority through 2023 for Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments.
    MALs and LDPs provide financing and marketing assistance for wheat, feed grains, soybeans and other oilseeds, pulse crops, rice, peanuts, cotton, wool and honey. MALs provide interim financing after harvest to help meet cash flow needs without having to sell commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows. A producer who is eligible to obtain a loan, but agrees to forgo the loan, may obtain an LDP if such a payment is available. Marketing loan provisions and LDPs are not available for sugar and extra-long staple cotton.
    The Farm Service Agency is now accepting requests for 2020 MALs and LDPs for all eligible commodities after harvest. Requests for loans and LDPs shall be made on or before the final availability date for the respective commodities.
    Commodity certificates are available to loan holders who have outstanding nonrecourse loans for wheat, upland cotton, rice, feed grains, pulse crops (dry pea, lentil, large and small chickpea), peanuts, wool, soybeans and designated minor oilseeds. These certificates can be purchased at the posted county price (or adjusted world price or national posted price) for the quantity of commodity under loan and must be immediately exchanged for the collateral, satisfying the loan. MALs redeemed with commodity certificates are not subject to adjusted gross income provisions.
    To be considered eligible for an LDP, you must have form CCC-633EZ, page 1, on file at your local FSA office before losing beneficial interest in the crop. Pages 2, 3 or 4 of the form must be submitted when payment is requested.
    Marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments are no longer subject to payment limitations, actively engaged in farming and cash-rent tenant rules.
    Adjusted gross income provisions state that if your total applicable three-year average AGI exceeds $900,000, then you are not eligible to receive an MLG or LDP. You must have a valid CCC-941 on file to earn a market gain of LDP. The AGI does not apply to MALs redeemed with commodity certificate exchange.
    For more information and additional eligibility requirements, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
    Farm Service Agency is an Equal Opportunity Lender. Complaints about discrimination should be sent to: Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250. Visit the Farm Service Agency Web site at: www.fsa.usda.gov/ for necessary application forms and updates on USDA programs.