Colorado USDA officers move lending to the Web

July 9, 2004

System change benefits state's lenders and farmers

On June 28 Colorado's Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will administer federal loans via the Internet. FSA lenders are in Omaha, Neb to learn Web Equity Manager®, the software that will transform their work with Colorado lenders and farmers participating in federal guaranteed loan programs.

Many of Colorado's 179 community banks, as well as credit unions and farm credit services associations, are reviewing Web Equity Manager this week, too; they will use the software to provide loans guaranteed by the FSA, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture.

In October, when all 1,000 FSA offices have completed training, the FSA will be able to track financial data at the national, state or county levels to examine the impact of livestock-price fluctuations, floods or droughts.

Farmers will begin using Web Equity Manager in 2005 to update information on their operations, view projections for income and net worth and apply for agency loans online.

The FSA administers $16 billion in loans to 100,000 agricultural producers in more than 3,000 counties across the country, including nearly all 60 counties in Colorado. There are 31,361 farms in Colorado, according to data from the 2002 Census of Agriculture.