Contact: Isabel Benemelis (202)720-7809

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2013—The marketing assistance loan (MAL) and loan deficiency payment (LDP) provisions authorized in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) have been extended for the 2013 crop year with the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

MALs and LDPs provide financing and marketing assistance for wheat, rice, feed grains, soybeans and other oilseeds, peanuts, pulse crops, cotton, honey and wool. Assistance is available to eligible producers beginning with harvest or shearing season and extending through the program year. The 2013 mohair crop is not eligible for MALs or LDPs because mohair provisions were suspended by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2012 and the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2013.

MALs provide producers interim financing at or after harvest to help them meet cash flow needs without having to sell their commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows. A producer who is eligible to obtain a loan, but agrees to forgo the loan, may obtain an LDP if such payments are available.

For more information about marketing assistance loan and loan deficiency payments, please visit your FSA county office or FSA’s website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay).