Structures agricultural loan analysis with crop budget evaluation, collateral assessment, and seasonal patterns. Use when underwriting agricultural loans, evaluating farm financials, or analyzing crop budgets.
Structures agricultural loan analysis with crop budget evaluation, collateral assessment, and seasonal patterns for farm operating lines, term loans, and real estate credit.
Assess borrower history — Review 3-year financial trend for net farm income, working capital, debt-to-asset ratio, and term debt coverage. Calculate owner equity and current ratio. Flag any year where net farm income was negative or term debt coverage fell below 1.15x.
Evaluate the crop budget — Stress-test projected yields against APH and county averages. Compare input cost assumptions to regional benchmarks. Recalculate the budget at breakeven commodity prices and at a 15-20% yield reduction to identify downside exposure. Document the price assumptions used (futures month, basis estimate, contract vs. unpriced bushels).
Analyze seasonal cash flow — Map monthly inflows (crop sales, government payments, insurance proceeds, livestock sales) against outflows (input purchases, cash rent, living expenses, debt service). Identify the peak borrowing month and confirm the operating line size covers it with adequate margin. Set advance rates tied to collateral type: typically 60-70% on stored grain, 50-65% on livestock, and higher percentages on contracted production.
Appraise collateral — For farmland, use comparable sales adjusted for soil productivity (CSR2 or equivalent index) [VERIFY: productivity index standard varies by state]. For equipment, apply scheduled depreciation or auction comparable values, not book value. For grain collateral, mark to current market and apply a price haircut. Calculate total collateral coverage ratio against proposed exposure.
Structure the loan — Match repayment terms to the income cycle: operating lines renewing annually after harvest, intermediate-term loans (equipment, breeding stock) on 3-7 year amortization, and real estate on 15-25 year amortization. Set the operating line maturity to align with the expected marketing window (e.g., March 1 for prior-year corn/soybean borrowers). Include provisions for carryover debt if partial crop sale is anticipated.
Identify risk factors and mitigants — Document concentration risk (single crop, single geography), weather exposure, operator experience, and lease renewal risk. Note mitigants such as crop insurance coverage levels, diversified enterprises, forward contract percentages, and strong working capital reserves.
Prepare the credit recommendation — Summarize loan purpose, amount, rate, terms, collateral, covenants, and conditions. Include a sensitivity table showing debt service coverage under base-case, stressed-price, and stressed-yield scenarios. Note any policy exceptions requiring approval.