USDA launches e-loan payment service for farmers

The Agriculture Department has launched an Electronic Loan Deficiency Payment service to let farmers and ranchers request loan deficiency payments online and receive them automatically in their bank accounts, eliminating the need to travel to a USDA service center.Marketing assistance loans and loan deficiency e-payments are available for producers of barley, canola, corn, rapeseed, soybeans, wool, mohair and many other commodities. When local market prices are less than the marketing assistance loan rate, producers can choose to receive loan deficiency payments for their crops in lieu of marketing assistance loans.Eligible producers must have an active Agriculture eAuthentication Level 2 account, which requires filling out a registration form at www.sc.egov.usda.gov and visiting a USDA service center to verify identity. The online payments vehicle launched this week is one of several e-government features Agriculture has rolled out this year. The Customer Statement lets farmers view their contracts in various conservation programs, commodity program payments, and information about loans and crop insurance. Agriculture will shortly make available a customized version, MyUSDA.gov.