--- title: "Agriculture Business Loans & Farm Financing | FundBetter" url: "https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/agriculture/" description: "Fast, flexible funding for farms and ag businesses. Buy equipment, cover a lean season, and invest in your next harvest with money in as little as 24 hours." --- # Agriculture Business Loans Fund your farm or ag operation around planting, harvest, and the long stretch in between, so you never run short before the crop sells. [Apply Now](https://www.fundbetter.com/apply/) [786-882-2705](tel:+17868822705) Built for operators who need capital before the crop sells. $1B+ in funding delivered to small businesses A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau 8+ years supporting entrepreneurs across the US ★4.9/5 stars from real business owners ## Agriculture business loans for farms and ranches Farming makes you spend for months before you earn a dime, and FundBetter closes that gap for you. Seed, fertilizer, fuel, and labor all go into the ground in spring, and you don't see a check until the crop comes off in fall or the livestock goes to market. One bad stretch of weather or a soft commodity price can stretch that wait even wider. FundBetter gives you funding that works with your cycle instead of against it. Cover your inputs at planting, bridge a lean season, replace a combine that gave out at the worst possible time, or expand your acreage, then repay when the harvest sells. One application, a FundBetter advisor who understands ag, and funds in as little as 24 hours. ## Why farms need working capital ### Long cash-flow gaps Funding covers the months between spring inputs and harvest, so a slow start never risks your whole season. You pay for seed, fuel, and labor in spring and get paid at harvest. ### Equipment that cannot wait Equipment financing gets a broken tractor or combine repaired or replaced fast, so your fields stay on schedule and a breakdown during planting or harvest never costs you real yield. ### Weather and price swings Fast funding gives you a cushion when a dry summer or a dip in commodity prices hits your income through no fault of your own, so you can hold on and plant again next year. ## How the growing season shapes farm cash flow Most businesses buy something in the morning and sell it by the afternoon. A farm doesn't. You commit to seed, fertilizer, chemical, fuel, and labor in the spring, then you carry that spend across the entire growing season before a single bushel is priced. Cattle operations run the same shape on a longer clock: feed, mineral, vet work, and pasture costs accrue for months while the animals put on weight, and the money arrives on sale day. A thirty-day payment cycle means nothing when your revenue arrives in a two-week window in October. The relevant question is never whether you can cover next month. It's whether you can cover the gap between the last check and the next one, which on a row-crop operation can run eight to ten months. Input costs make the gap heavier. Fertilizer, seed, and chemical for a single season can run several hundred dollars an acre before you count fuel, repairs, and land rent, and much of it's due at or before planting. The money leaves in March and April. It comes back, if the weather cooperates, in the fall. Then there are the two things you don't control. A hailstorm, a dry August, or a wet spring that keeps the planter in the shed can take yield off the top. A commodity price that slides between planting and harvest can take the rest, because the bushels you grew are worth less than the budget you built around them. Either one turns a workable year into a tight one, and neither is a reflection of how well you farm. ## Operating line of credit vs. equipment financing Match the right tool to the right cost and you protect your margin every season. Ag operations typically run two kinds of debt at once: an operating line covers the season, and equipment financing covers the iron. Read the comparison below before you put a tractor purchase on a line meant for inputs, or a fertilizer bill on a seven-year note. Both are available through FundBetter as a [business line of credit](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/business-lines-of-credit/) or [equipment financing](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/equipment-financing/). | | Farm operating line of credit | Farm equipment financing | | --- | --- | --- | | What it funds | Seed, fertilizer, chemical, fuel, feed, seasonal labor, land rent, and the gap between harvests | Tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, irrigation systems, grain handling, and trucks | | How you take the money | Draw what you need when the bill comes due, then draw again as the season moves | A single advance that pays the dealer or private seller for one defined purchase | | Repayment against harvest | Can be structured so the heavier repayment lands after the crop or livestock sells | Fixed payments that do not move with your selling season | | Typical term | Short. Sized to one production cycle and reset the following season | Long. Matched to how many years the equipment will earn its keep | | Collateral | Generally secured against the operation and its receivables rather than one asset | The equipment itself is the collateral, which usually keeps the cost lower | | Who it suits | Operators with real input spend and a single concentrated selling window | Operators replacing a machine that broke down or aged out mid-season | ## What farms and ag operations finance Put capital toward the purchases that move your operation forward. These come up most often on funded ag applications, some planned in winter, others because a bearing went out during harvest. ### Tractors, combines, and field equipment Keep standing grain from waiting in the field: a combine going down mid-harvest is a yield issue, not a maintenance one, because every day it sits costs you. Financing spreads a tractor, combine, planter, or sprayer across the seasons it will work rather than emptying your operating account in a single week. Used iron from a dealer or a private seller is financeable too. ### Irrigation systems and water infrastructure Buy down your drought risk with pivots, pumps, wells, and drip systems, among the few investments that protect yield directly, and expensive enough that few operations pay cash. Because a system stays in service for many years, it's a natural fit for [long-term business loans](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/long-term-business-loans/) rather than a seasonal line. ### Grain storage and handling Hold your grain for a better price instead of selling into the harvest-time low everyone else takes. On-farm bins, dryers, augers, and legs give you that option, and because storage is a capital project, financing it separately keeps your operating capacity free for inputs. ### Livestock and feed Funding covers the carry so you never have to sell animals earlier and lighter than you planned. Expanding a herd, buying replacement heifers, or carrying a feed bill through a long finishing period all tie up capital months before sale day, and feed and mineral costs don't pause when the market softens. Operations with a monthly milk or egg check can use [revenue-based financing](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/revenue-based-financing/) that repays as a share of that income. ### Seed, fertilizer, and chemical inputs Capture the prepay and volume discounts your supplier offers by having capital ready in the fall or winter. Seed, fertilizer, and chemical are one of the largest cash demands on most row-crop operations, and most of it lands before or at planting. A revolving line is usually the right tool here, because you draw as bills come due rather than borrowing the whole season at once. ## Pros and cons of agriculture business loans When you can't wait a season, FundBetter gives you speed and a wider qualifying window. USDA and Farm Service Agency loan programs exist, and for operators who qualify they're frequently cheaper than anything a commercial lender can offer, so if you have the time to work through that process, start there. FundBetter isn't a government lender and isn't affiliated with USDA or FSA. ### Commercial farm funding fits when - A machine failed mid-season and you need the money in days, not by the next application cycle - You do not qualify for a government farm program, or you have already used your allocation - Your input bills are due now and your revenue is still standing in the field - A crop insurance claim is filed but the payment will not arrive in time to cover what it was meant to cover - You want to hold grain for a better price instead of selling at harvest to make a payment - You have a prepay or volume discount on inputs that is worth more than the cost of the capital ### Look elsewhere first when - You qualify for a USDA or FSA program and the timeline works for your operation, since the rate is usually better - The purchase is farmland itself, where a long-term real estate loan or an [SBA loan](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/sba-loans/) is the better structure - The operation has no clear selling window or revenue path to repay against - You are covering a loss that will repeat next season, because financing a structural problem only moves it forward a year - The amount is small enough that deferring one non-urgent purchase solves it outright ## Best ways to use agriculture business loans Every dollar on a farm goes in the ground, in the barn, or in the shop long before it comes back. These are the places ag operators put borrowed capital to work. Buy seed, feed, and fertilizer Replace or repair farm equipment Cover payroll through a lean season Add acreage or livestock Build grain storage or fencing Bridge cash flow until harvest ## Funding options for farms and ag operations Different farm needs call for different structures. A combine is not a fertilizer bill, and they should not be financed the same way. [### Equipment Financing Finance a combine, tractor, or irrigation system with the machine itself as collateral. Learn more](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/equipment-financing/)[### Business Lines of Credit Draw for seed, feed, and fertilizer through the growing season and repay after harvest. Learn more](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/business-lines-of-credit/)[### Short-Term Business Loans Cover a lean stretch between planting and sale with a payback window set to your cycle. Learn more](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/short-term-business-loans/)[### SBA Loans Adding acreage or building grain storage suits the long terms an SBA loan carries. Learn more](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/sba-loans/) ## Who qualifies for agriculture business loans? Commercial farm financing looks at how the operation runs today, not at a single season that went sideways. [Check if you qualify](https://www.fundbetter.com/apply/) 6+ mo Time in business $15K+ Monthly revenue 500+ Personal credit score ## Frequently Asked Questions How fast can a farm get working capital? Funds can reach your account in as little as 24 hours once you're approved. That speed is the main reason operators use a commercial lender rather than waiting on a government program, particularly when a planter or combine goes down during a narrow field window. Should I use a USDA or FSA farm loan instead? If you qualify and the timeline works, look at those programs first. They're often cheaper than commercial financing. FundBetter is a commercial lender with no government affiliation, and it makes sense when you need capital in days rather than a season, when you don't meet program requirements, or when you have already used what those programs allow. Can I get farm financing if I rent my ground instead of owning it? Yes. A large share of acreage in the country is farmed on rented ground, and commercial ag financing is underwritten on how the operation performs rather than on land ownership. Equipment financing is secured by the machine itself, and an operating line looks at your production history and revenue, not your deed. If you ship to a packer, elevator, or produce distributor on terms, [invoice factoring](https://www.fundbetter.com/business-loans/invoice-factoring/) is secured by those receivables rather than by land. I have crop insurance. Why would I still need funding? Crop insurance protects against the loss. It doesn't protect against the timing. Your claim is adjusted only after the damage can be measured, and payment can arrive well after the input bills, land rent, and payroll it was meant to cover are already past due. Funding bridges the months between your loss and the settlement. Can I finance used farm equipment or a private-party purchase? Yes. You can finance used tractors, combines, planters, and grain handling equipment, and a private-party purchase from another farmer rather than a dealer works the same way. Your terms are usually matched to the remaining useful life of the machine, so an older unit will carry a shorter schedule than a new one bought off a lot. What do I need to have ready to apply for an ag loan? Plan on basic business details, recent bank statements, and a picture of your operation: acreage or head count, what you grow or raise, and roughly when your revenue lands. If you're financing equipment, have the invoice or the seller details. Farms with 6+ months of operating history and steady revenue are the usual fit. ## Other industries we fund We know the cash-flow realities of 22 industries. If yours is not Agriculture, chances are we fund it too. [Accounting & Tax](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/accounting-tax/)[Auto Repair](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/auto-repair/)[Beauty](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/beauty/)[Construction](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/construction/)[Consulting](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/consulting/)[Ecommerce](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/ecommerce/)[Gas & Oil](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/gas-oil/)[Grocery & Supermarket](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/grocery-supermarket/) [See all industries we fund](https://www.fundbetter.com/industries/) ## Grow your operation with agriculture business loans Tell us about your operation, your acreage or herd, and when your revenue lands. Our team will come back with the structures that fit your selling season. [Apply Now](https://www.fundbetter.com/apply/) [786-882-2705](tel:+17868822705)