What is a CCC commodity loan?
The Commodity Credit Corporation is a USDA entity that funds a number of farm programs, and FSA administers its loans at the county level. FSA's commodity loan page describes marketing assistance loans as interim financing at harvest time to meet cash flow needs. The idea is to give a producer a way to avoid selling at a seasonal price low.
Farmers.gov lists commodity loans next to operating, ownership and storage loans, but they work differently. They are secured by the crop itself.
Price support is a long-standing idea in farm policy. The goal is not to guarantee profit but to give producers more time and more choices around harvest, when cash is tight and local prices can be at their lowest.
What does non-recourse mean?
FSA says marketing assistance loans for covered commodities are non-recourse. The commodity is pledged as collateral, and at maturity the producer can deliver it to the CCC to satisfy repayment, with a settlement value applied to principal and interest. In plain terms, the pledged crop can pay off the loan under the program's rules, rather than you owing more beyond it.
The page also says that under certain circumstances a producer may repay at less than principal plus accrued interest and other charges. The rules around that are technical, so ask your county office how a repayment would be calculated for your crop on a given day.
Talk through the settlement value with the office. How it compares with the market price on the day you repay decides whether the loan helps, so ask for an example with your crop and your storage costs.
What is a loan deficiency payment?
A loan deficiency payment, or LDP, is an alternative. FSA says a producer who is eligible for a loan may instead be eligible for an LDP in lieu of taking out the loan. Farmers.gov describes LDPs as payments to producers who forgo a CCC loan.
Which route fits you depends on the commodity, your storage and your marketing plan. A county office can explain the options for your crop in a given week.
Which commodities and producers are eligible?
The FSA page refers to covered commodities without listing them. The weekly rate links on that page mention pulse crops, peanuts, wool and mohair, cotton, rice and honey, but those links are for rates and do not confirm who is eligible. A producer also needs beneficial interest in the commodity, meaning a real ownership stake in it, plus other requirements in an FSA fact sheet.
Check your own crop with the office before you plan around this program.
Beneficial interest is a good example of a detail that trips people up. If a landlord, a share arrangement or another party has a claim on part of the crop, the office will want to understand who holds what before it will lend.
- Confirm your commodity is covered
- Confirm you hold beneficial interest in the crop
- Ask about quality and grading requirements
What is a recourse loan?
FSA says recourse loans apply when the collateral does not meet U.S. grading-standard quality requirements. Those loans must be repaid at principal plus interest, and the commodity cannot be delivered or forfeited to satisfy the loan. In other words, quality problems can change the terms in a way that puts more risk on you.
That is another reason to talk to the office before storage, not after.
Keep grain quality records and storage conditions documented. Moisture, test weight and grade can decide which type of loan applies.
How are rates handled?
The FSA page does not list rates itself. They are posted in weekly and daily rate documents linked from the page, and in the monthly lending rate announcements. The October 2026 announcement listed a commodity loan rate of 5.250 percent for loans disbursed for less than one year. Rates change monthly, so check the current announcement.
Rates for loans less than one year are listed separately from storage loan rates, so be sure you are reading the right line in the table.
What should I ask my county office?
Ask whether your commodity is covered, what the current loan rate and repayment rate are, what storage and documentation are needed, how long the loan runs, how an LDP compares and what deadlines apply. Ask also how the loan interacts with crop insurance and other farm programs you may use.
A conversation with the office before harvest is worth more than one after the crop is already sold.
Keep deadlines in a calendar. Programs of this kind often have a final date to request a loan or payment, and a missed date cannot be fixed afterward.
Key takeaways
- Commodity loans give interim financing at harvest using the crop as collateral.
- Non-recourse loans can be satisfied by delivering the commodity, under program rules.
- An LDP is an alternative to taking a loan, for eligible producers and commodities.
- Check coverage, quality rules and current rates with FSA before you store a crop.
Sources and official links
Last reviewed: November 12, 2026. Written by the Farm Money & Grants Editorial Team. Educational only, not tax, legal or financial advice. See our editorial policy.