Subd. 1. Establishment.

The authority shall establish and implement a disaster recovery loan program to help farmers clean up, repair, or replace farm structures and septic and water systems, as well as replacement of seed, other crop inputs, feed, and livestock.

Subd. 2.

[Repealed, 2002 c 220 art 9 s 8]

Subd. 3. Eligibility.

To be eligible for this program, a borrower must:

1. (1) be a resident of this state or a domestic family farm corporation or family farm partnership as defined in section 500.24, subdivision 2;
2. (2) certify that the damage or loss was sustained within a county that was the subject of a state or federal disaster declaration;
3. (3) demonstrate an ability to repay the loan;
4. (4) have a total net worth, including assets and liabilities of the borrower's spouse and dependents, of less than $400,000; and
5. (5) have received at least 50 percent of average annual gross income from farming for the past three years.

Subd. 4. Loans.

1. (a) The authority may participate in a disaster recovery loan with an eligible lender to a farmer who is eligible under subdivision 3. Participation is limited to 45 percent of the principal amount of the loan or $50,000, whichever is less. The interest rates and repayment terms of the authority's participation interest may differ from the interest rates and repayment terms of the lender's retained portion of the loan, but the authority's interest rate must not exceed four percent.
2. (b) Standards for loan amortization shall be set by the Rural Finance Authority not to exceed ten years.
3. (c) Security for the disaster recovery loans must be a personal note executed by the borrower and whatever other security is required by the eligible lender or the authority.
4. (d) The authority may impose a reasonable nonrefundable application fee for a disaster recovery loan. The authority may review the fee annually and make adjustments as necessary. The application fee is initially $50. Application fees received by the authority must be deposited in the disaster recovery revolving fund.
5. (e) Disaster recovery loans under this program will be made using money in the disaster recovery revolving fund established under subdivision 2.