Funding for Dairy and Livestock Farms in New York

A large state industry run by small operators

New York has roughly 2,700 dairy farms producing about 16.6 billion pounds of milk, which places it fifth among the states. Most of these farms are family-run, and many are in rural counties around the state. Livestock operations beyond dairy, including beef, sheep and poultry, share the same basic arrangement: the farmer feeds the animals every day and gets paid on a delayed schedule.

That schedule is set by processors, cooperatives or buyers, and the farmer has little control over it.

The daily bills

• Feed. The largest recurring cost, bought continuously or in bulk when prices are favorable.
• Veterinary care and animal health. Routine and emergency costs.
• Fuel and electricity. Milking, cooling and barn ventilation run around the clock.
• Labor. Hired hands, relief milkers and seasonal help.
• Repairs. Tractors, balers, feed mixers and manure equipment break during the busiest weeks.

Equipment is the major lump

Milking systems, bulk tanks, robotic milkers, skid steers, tractors, forage harvesters and manure handling equipment represent large purchases that a farm may make only a few times in a career. Because they are used daily, a breakdown stops production. A farmer weighing a repair against a replacement has to find the cash quickly, without waiting for the next milk check.

Technology upgrades such as automated feeding or herd-monitoring systems can reduce labor and improve production, but they ask the farmer to spend first.

Price swings and feed costs

Milk prices and feed prices do not move together. A farm may see its margin tighten when milk prices fall or feed costs rise, and then recover later. During the thin stretches, bills keep arriving. A cash cushion lets the farm avoid selling animals early, delaying maintenance or borrowing from suppliers in a way that raises costs later.

Crop growers who raise their own feed have a seasonal cycle on top of this: seed, fertilizer and fuel in spring, harvest costs in fall, and storage through winter.

Beyond the milk house

Many farms add enterprises to spread risk: raising replacement heifers, selling beef, growing cash crops, adding on-farm processing or running a farm store. Each addition has its own equipment and timing. A farm store needs coolers and a point of sale. On-farm processing needs licensed space and inspection readiness. Cash crops need seed, fuel and storage.

These ventures are attractive because they diversify income, but they ask the farm to spend ahead of revenue again. For a farm already carrying feed and equipment costs, even a modest addition can be hard to start without outside cash.

For illustration only

A dairy farmer needs to replace a failing bulk tank and milking components, a total of about $75,000, within a few weeks. Milk checks keep coming, but cannot cover that expense alongside feed and payroll. The numbers here are round and invented to show the problem, and are not our terms.

Applying

We fund $25,000 to $5,000,000, and can fund in as little as 24 hours. We consider FICO 500+, use a soft credit pull and do not require tax returns. We ask for about three months of business bank statements. Sole proprietors, including family farms operated in one name, can apply.

Apply in about five minutes.