Fall harvest of corn and soybeans continues at a steady pace. Although the soybean harvest is 98 percent complete, corn harvest is around 70 percent.

Corn yields seem to be excellent this year, but moisture levels are higher than normal for this time of year. This means dryers are unable to keep up to the harvest pace on some farms.

When the corn is dry, finding local storage could pose a problem. Because corn yields are so good, many producers are seeing grain bins fill up faster than normal.

FSA has two loan programs grain producers may be interested in even though the Farm Bill expired.

First is the facility loan program with an interest rate around 2 percent for a 7-year term; some producers may want to consider building grain bins or updating a dryer.

The second is the marketing assistance loan program with a November interest rate of 1.125 percent for a 9-month loan.

The marketing assistance loan (MAL) and loan deficiency payment (LDP) provisions authorized in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) have been extended for the 2013 crop year with the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

 MALs and LDPs provide financing and marketing assistance for wheat, feed grains, soybeans and other oilseeds.

Assistance is available to eligible producers beginning with harvest season and extending through the program year.

 MALs provide producers interim financing at or after harvest to help them meet cash flow needs without having to sell their 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 payments are available.

For more information about marketing assistance loan payments, please visit your FSA county office or FSA’s website at www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport.

Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.