***CURRENT WAITLIST FOR FUNDING***
Check back soon! Or CONTACT Red Lake County SWCD to add your name to the waitlist.
Agriculture Best Management Practices (BMP) Loan Program
The AgBMP loan program is a water quality initiative that provides low interest loans to Minnesota farmers, rural landowners, and agricultural supply businesses. The purpose is the encourage agricultural Best Management Practices that prevent or reduce runoff from feedlots, farm fields and other pollution problems identified by the county in local water plans. Private and cluster septic system installations, upgrades or repairs within Minnesota are eligible for AgBMP funding.
Who is Eligible
Eligible Activities
The AgBMP loan program aims to fund any activity or practice that helps to improve water quality or that helps maintain high water quality. The following provides some examples, but is not a comprehensive list of all possibilities:
Ineligible Activities
AgBMP loans are meant to encourage water quality protection and may only be used to solve existing water quality problems. The following provide some example of activities ineligible for AgBMP Loans:
Approval Process
Loan Terms
Who is Eligible
- Farmers
- Rural Landowners
- Agriculture Supply Businesses
Eligible Activities
The AgBMP loan program aims to fund any activity or practice that helps to improve water quality or that helps maintain high water quality. The following provides some examples, but is not a comprehensive list of all possibilities:
- Agricultural waste management projects that manage or reduce the inflow of agricultural waste into surface or groundwater systems
- Structural erosion control measures intended to help reduce soil erosion which adversely affects water quality
- Tillage equipment to assist with nutrient management or help manage erosion
- Any septic system, including individual or cluster home sewage treatment systems
- Many other projects or practices
Ineligible Activities
AgBMP loans are meant to encourage water quality protection and may only be used to solve existing water quality problems. The following provide some example of activities ineligible for AgBMP Loans:
- New construction projects that do not improve water quality
- Completed projects
- Tractors
- Feedlot improvements on feedlots with more than 1,000 animal units
- Re-financing of projects that are already completed
Approval Process
- The applicant proposes a project to the County for approval
- If the applicant is eligible and the project addresses local water quality problems, the County approves the project and refers it to a participating local lending institution
- The lending institution evaluates the financial details of the project and determines whether to offer a loan
- The lending institution and the applicant negotiate the terms of the loan
- The applicant completes the project
- The applicant provides invoices and receipts for the cost of the project to the lending institution
- The lending institution request funding from the AgBMP Loan Program
- The AgBMP Loan Program sends the requested funding to the lending institution
- The lending institution issues the loan to the applicant
- The applicant repays the lending institution
- The lending institution repays the AgBMP Loan Program
Loan Terms
- Loan amounts are limited to $200,000
- Maximum loan term length is 10 years
- Maximum interest rate is 3 %
- Frequency and number of payments are flexible
