Congressional delegation rallies for ag loans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Colorado Congressional representatives are joining the rallying cry for assistance to the agricultural borrowers of now-defunct New Frontier Bank.

U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall and Congresswoman Betsy Markey wrote to Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack to ask that the Farm Services Agency make funds available to Northern Colorado’s agricultural community through its direct operating loan program. The program has exhausted its funds, but the Congressional delegation is asking that money be transferred from the guaranteed loan program.

“These are difficult economic times for all of us, but particularly for Colorado’s farmers who are further burdened by sinking milk and commodity prices,” Udall said in a statement. “The government has rescued banks that were considered ‘too big to fail.’ I hope the same consideration will be made for Colorado’s struggling food producers until normalcy can be restored to the credit markets and farms can again secure the loans they need to continue operating.”

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Greeley-based New Frontier Bank was closed by regulators on April 10 after it was unable to increase its capital levels in the face of mounting loan losses. As of Dec. 31, the bank had $448.7 million in loans categorized as farm lending. Many of the bank’s loans were in the dairy industry, which is currently under pressure due to industry cycles. The letter to Vilsack indicates that total agricultural loan needs are around $700 million. Officials with the FDIC have met with various banks and organizations in order to address the need for agricultural financing.