One farm purchase, three sources of money
FSA down payment loan calculator
A USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Down Payment loan finances at most 45% of a farm purchase, at a rate set by rule, in equal annual installments. The applicant makes a down payment of at least 5% of the price. Another lender finances the remainder. This calculator splits your purchase price into those three parts, totals the yearly debt payments and compares the plan with one conventional loan at a rate that you enter.
Split your farm purchase
The calculator opens with an editable sample so you can see it work. The figures aren't market assumptions or recommendations. Replace them with your purchase contract, appraisal and lender quotes.
Runs in your browser. Nothing is submitted or stored.
Down payment, FSA loan, other lender
Your three-part purchase breakdown
Equal annual installment schedules
| Year | FSA payment | FSA principal | FSA interest | FSA balance | Other payment | Other balance |
|---|
Deterministic worked example
Follow the split from contract to yearly payment
These figures make the arithmetic easy to follow. They aren't typical farm prices, appraised values or lender rates, and the page doesn't recommend them. The editable sample above uses the same numbers with the published program rate of 6.250%.
Total financed is $380,000.00, which is 95% of the price. That is the maximum that 7 CFR 764.203(d) allows.
For comparison, one conventional loan of $380,000.00 at 7.500% over 30 years with annual installments costs $32,175.07 per year. In years 1 through 20 the split plan pays $3,965.25 less per year. Over the full terms the split plan pays $231,713.23 less interest ($353,538.86 against $585,252.09).
Why this page exists
The program rules, applied to your numbers
A plain loan calculator prices one loan. A purchase with an FSA Down Payment loan has three parts: the down payment, the FSA loan and the financing from another lender. The two loans have different rates and different terms. This page shows the three parts together and gives one yearly payment figure.
This page does not decide eligibility and does not restate the eligibility requirements. They are in 7 CFR 764.202. Ask your local FSA office before you plan with these figures.
Minimum down payment
7 CFR 764.203(a)(2): the applicant must provide a minimum down payment of 5 percent of the purchase price. The page reports a shortfall if your entry is below it.
FSA loan limit
7 CFR 764.203(b): the Down payment loan will not exceed 45 percent of the lesser of the purchase price, the appraised value, or $667,000, subject to the direct FO dollar limit in 7 CFR 761.8(a)(1)(i). The calculator uses the least of your price, your appraised value and $667,000. Thus the largest loan that it shows is 45% of $667,000, which is $300,150. 7 CFR 764.203(c): Down payment loans made as a Microloan for FO purposes may not exceed $50,000. The calculator does not model Microloans and does not apply that limit.
The FSA rate by rule
7 CFR 764.204(a): the rate is the regular direct FO rate minus 4 percent, but in no case less than 1.5 percent. FSA published a Direct Farm Ownership rate of 6.250% and a Down Payment rate of 2.250%, both effective October 1, 2026. The rule gives the same Down Payment rate. These are dated program rates of USDA. They are not market rates and not quotes.
Terms and installments
7 CFR 764.204(b): FSA schedules repayment in equal, annual installments over a term not to exceed 20 years. The non-Agency financing must have an amortization period of at least 30 years and cannot have a balloon payment due within the first 20 years. The page rejects an FSA term above 20 years and an other-loan amortization below 30 years.
95% total financing limit
7 CFR 764.203(d): financing by the Agency and all other creditors must not exceed 95 percent of the purchase price. With a 5% down payment, the FSA loan and the other financing together are exactly 95% of the price.
Payment arithmetic
Each loan uses the standard annuity formula payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n) with annual periods. At a rate of 0% the payment is P ÷ n. Full precision is kept during the calculation and money is shown to the cent. The yearly total is the sum of the two payments as shown. The last installment clears any rounding residue.
Where the numbers come from
The program rules come from 7 CFR 764.203 (limitations) and 7 CFR 764.204 (rates and terms) in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. The text was read on 2026-10-10, when the eCFR showed Title 7 as up to date as of 2026-10-08.
The Direct Farm Ownership rate in the form (6.250%) and the Down Payment rate (2.250%) are the USDA program rates effective October 1, 2026, from USDA FSA's October 2026 lending rates announcement. FSA lists the rates that are in effect now on its current loan interest rates page. When FSA publishes a new Direct Farm Ownership rate, enter it in the form. These are dated program rates of USDA, not market rates and not quotes.
7 CFR 761.8(a)(1)(i) sets a limit of $600,000 on the outstanding principal balance of direct Farm Ownership, Down payment, Conservation and Soil and Water loans of an applicant. 7 CFR 764.203(b) makes the Down payment loan subject to that limit. The largest loan that this calculator shows is $300,150, which is below $600,000. The calculator does not ask for other FSA loan balances, so it does not test the $600,000 limit. Ask FSA how the limit applies to you.
The U.S. Prime Rate is 7.00% per annum in the Federal Reserve H.15 release as of 2026-10-13. Prime gives context, but the calculator doesn't use it. Enter the rates that your lenders quoted.
And check the parts no calculator can settle. Ask the FSA office about eligibility and current limits, and ask each lender for its actual rate, fees, payment dates and terms. Then replace the sample with those figures. To work back from a budget to a land price, use the land affordability calculator.