Producers that currently have corn or soybeans in storage may want to consider a commodity loan.

The January interest rate is only 1.125 percent and the capital could be used to purchase 2014 crop inputs.

Seed companies often offer early order discounts, and the higher levels of discounts were probably last fall. Fertilizer, lime, herbicides and pesticides probably are all at a lower price now than they will be in May. Due to the low interest rate and program options, FSA commodity loans are popular for some producers.

Stored grain is pledged as the collateral for the loan. The grain can either be fed or sold, depending upon the type of operation.

Livestock and dairy operations that are feeding the collateral must have a repayment schedule in place so the grain is repaid before feeding the commodity.

Cash grain operations may sell grain under loan so long as a marketing authorization is on file. Either option is acceptable and very simple for producers.

Commodity loans are normally disbursed within five days of the request. FSA measurement service is available if producers are unsure of the total bushels in a grain bin.

Election reminder

All ballots for the FSA County Committee election must be returned or postmarked by Friday.

Candidates on the ballot for Local Administrative Area 2 (LAA-2) in Butler County are Leroy Bergbigler, Janet Jesteadt and Harold Rader.

Candidates on the ballot for LAA-4 in Beaver County are Elder Vogel Sr. and Michael Carreon.

Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.