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USDA launches new debt consolidation tool to help farmers manage operating debt

By Press Release

Press Release:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing the launch of the Debt Consolidation Tool, an innovative online tool available through farmers.gov that allows agricultural producers to enter their farm operating debt and evaluate the potential savings that might be provided by obtaining a debt consolidation loan with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) or a local lender.

“Providing producers with options to structure their debt in a manner that affords them every opportunity to meet the goals of their agricultural operation is the best way to ensure the nation’s farmers and ranchers build financial equity and resilience,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux.  

A debt consolidation loan is a new loan used to pay off other existing operating loans or lines of credit that might have unreasonable rates and terms. By combining multiple eligible debts into a single, larger loan, borrowers may obtain more favorable payment terms such as a lower interest rate or lower payments. Consolidating debt may also provide farmers and ranchers additional cash flow flexibilities.  

The Debt Consolidation Tool is a significant addition to FSA’s suite of improvements designed to modernize its Farm Loan Programs. The tool enhances customer service and increases opportunities for farmers and ranchers to achieve financial viability by helping them identify potential savings that could be reinvested in their farming and ranching operation, retirement accounts, or college savings accounts.  

Producers can access the Debt Consolidation Tool by visiting farmers.gov/debt-consolidation-tool. The tool is built to run on modern browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or the Safari browser. Producers do not need to create a farmers.gov account or access the authenticated customer portal to use the tool. 

New York Stats

By C. M. Barons

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE According to a USDA study, it costs between $124,800 and $249,180 for a dual-parent family (range based on annual family incomes between $39,100 and over $65,000) to raise a child from birth to age 18.  As of 2007, the number of children in an average U. S. Family is 1.86.  27% of U. S. families are single-parented.  Single women, by far the majority of single-parent households, earn an average of $26,500 a year.  The average 3-person family in New York State has annual income of $69,421.  8.5% of adults age 55 or older were employed part-time compared to 20.3% of those ages 20 to 24 and 9.4% of adults ages 25 to 54.  Although median household income rose by about $700 between 2006 and 2007, the average income for households between the 20th and 40th percentile of the income distribution—the typical income range for low-income working families—did not grow at all, coming in at $29,442 in 2007. For households at this income level, an affordable housing payment would be $735 a month, so fair-market rents for a two-bedroom apartment would be technically unaffordable.  Government workers in blue-collar jobs earn $0.87 more per hour than private sector counterparts in the five-county Rochester region.

 

New York State Average Annual Salary by Occupation:

Legislators- $76,230

Education Administrators- $103,510

Accountants and Auditors- $84,280

Loan Officers- $77,310

Computer Software Engineers- $93,910

Computer Support Specialists- $52,570

Surveyors- $58,910

Urban and Regional Planners- $62,700

Substance Abuse Counselors- $42,460

Lawyers- $152,710

Secondary Teachers- $68,010

Teacher Assistants- $25,530

Dentists- $149,370

Veterinarians- $97,890

Landscaping, Groundskeeping- $28,700

Nursing Aides and Orderlies- $30,850

Police and Sheriff Patrol Officers- $60,180

Cooks, Fast Food- $19,480

Waiters, Waitresses- $25,660

Janitors and Cleaners- $28,100

Barbers- $22,510

Childcare Workers- $24,040

Cashiers- $19,710

Telemarketers- $27,120

Bookkeepers- $38,570

File clerks- $28,090

Farmworkers and Laborers- $22,010

Carpenters- $53,300

Roofer helpers- $25,840

Automotive Mechanics- $37,230

Machinists- $39,940

Packaging Machine Operators- $26,790

School Bus Drivers- $34,890

Stock Handlers- $26,650

Assemblers- $26,840

Retail Sales- $26,750

 

 

DSS Cash Assistance & Shelter Allowance (Family of three) - $8292

Unemployment Benefit- $21,060

 

Total New York State recorded debt: $52,100,000,000 as of March 31, 2009.  Six years ago public authority debt (increases annually) amounted to $120.4 billion. Only 30% of public authority debt is represented as recorded debt, yet amounts to more than 90 percent of total outstanding New York public debt. Current New York per capita public debt is $5,666- up from $2,420 in 2004. The state Debt Reform Act was enacted in 2000.

 

The Neutered American Dollar

By Jeffrey R. Bartz

 

The Neutered American Dollar
 
There are several words that hold the contemporary news media hostage: the Dow, economic recession, fuel prices, and bank loans. We are the only nation on earth that has "In God we trust" inscribed on our dollar bill, but that dollar is shrinking daily. It doesn't buy what it once did. Why is this happening?
 
God warned Israel that if they failed to follow Him, they would lose His blessing and become in indebted to foreigners: "He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail" (Deut. 28:44). He said that they would also have droughts, incurable diseases, and aliens would fill the land. Think of what's happening to America:
 
Our national debt exceeds 10 trillion dollars. Much of this debt is to foreign nations. We experience torturous droughts, and then massive floods. We are also plagued with devastating hurricanes, killer tornadoes, and wildfires that torch thousands of acres. A little closer to home, over 2,300,000 Americans will get cancer in the next year. These things are not evidences of God's blessing. So why are they happening to us?
 
Aren't we a morally good nation? Don't we trust in God? Before you answer, here are some statistics for you to consider:
 
  • Since 1990, more than 300,000 people have been murdered in the U.S.
  • More than 50 million babies have been aborted since Roe v.Wade.
  • 50–60% of married couples admit to adultery, and 5 million unwed couples live together.
  • 75–80% have had premarital sex by the age of 19.
  • One-third of births are out of wedlock.
  • 1 in 4 teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease.
  • Americans spend up to 13 billion annually on pornography.
  • We have over 2,200,000 people in prison - the highest number in the world.
  • Surveys suggest that 91% of Americans lie regularly.
Still, the idea that we have somehow offended God is unthinkable to us as Americans. Rather, we blame the economy, politicians, pesticides, global warming, global cooling, El Niño, Mother Nature — anything but ourselves and our relationship to God. However, if you are in the middle of smog, the air may look normal and clean. But from a bird’s eye view of 10,000 feet, you will see that the toxic, innocuous smog envelopes your entire living space.
 
To see our true moral state, we have to look at ourselves from God's perspective. Jesus said, "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." The Bible says that if you hate someone, you are a murderer. Lying lips are "an abomination to the Lord." Deceitfulness is so serious to God that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire. Also, no thief or adulterer will enter Heaven.
 
How many lies have you told in your life? Have you ever stolen anything, used God's name in vain, or looked with lust? If you have broken those Commandments, God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart, and if you are guilty on Judgment Day God’s Word clearly states that after death you will face eternal condemnation, torment, and punishment in Hell.
 
That’s bad news. But that's not God's will. He is rich in mercy and has made a way for you to be forgiven. You broke God's Law (the Ten Commandments), but Jesus paid your fine in His life’s blood when He suffered and died on the cross. That means God can legally dismiss your case. Imagine you are convicted of a serious crime for which you are legitimately guilty. The penalty is death. Having received your sentence from the judge, suddenly an innocent man bursts into the courtroom and offers to pay the death penalty for you. That’s what Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished. God’s righteous justice and wrath demands death for sin. But He can commute your death sentence and let you live, because of the suffering death and resurrection of Jesus Christ:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." What you must do is repent (turn from all sin) and trust in Jesus alone to forgive you, and rescue you from sin and Hell. If you do that, God will grant you the gift of everlasting life. So, don’t put it off. Repent and trust in Jesus today. You may not have tomorrow.
 
It may come as a surprise to you, but that is the core message of the Bible and the truth on which our founding fathers built our beloved nation. Yet our society has slid so far from its roots it has reached the point where most will likely take offense at such talk. If you care about this nation and where you will spend eternity, get right with God now. Cry out to God, acknowledging your sinful condition before Him and your desperate need for a Savior. Such a cry might sound something like this:

"Oh God, please forgive me for sinning against You. I turn from all my sin and trust alone in Jesus as my Savior from sin and Hell and the Lord over my life. I will read the Bible daily and obey what I read. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."
 
 
 
 
Modified from “The Shrinking American Dollar,” by Ray Comfort, http://www.livingwaters.com.
 

 

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