The Minnesota Rural Finance Authority (RFA) has lowered its interest rate on the Disaster Loan program to zero percent to help farmers cover the costs to replace and repair items lost or damaged due to flooding and not covered by insurance.
Given recent heavy rains and flooding in southern Minnesota, grain buyers need to be reminded that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has policies related to flood-damaged grain. The FDA considers flood water to be inherently unsanitary and deems grains, oilseeds, feed and feed ingredients (including distillers grain) and food that has been in contact with flood water, to be unfit for human consumption or animal feed unless reconditioned (in the case of animal feed). This includes grain and oilseeds that might be destined for an ethanol plant or soybean processor because of the resultant use of the co-products (DDGs and soybean meal) in animal feed.