Achieving Farm Ownership in South Dakota through the Farm Ownership Program of the Farmers Home Administration

The desire for secure tenure in ownership of land has given rise to the associated ideal of the family farm. Implementation of this ideal has been one aspect of political and governmental agricultural policy through out our national life. Although federal agricultural policies and legislation have not always been consistently directed\u27 toward this end, Congress has frequently extended federal assistance in one form or another in support of this ideal. Federal assistance for this purpose has most often come during periods of agricultural distress when demands upon Congress for such assistance have been great. Currently, the Farmers Home Administration\u27s Farm Ownership loan program represents, thus far, a direct, continuing federal effort to establish a pattern for achieving security of tenure through ownership of the family-type farm. The Farm Ownership loan program has two objectives as it was conceived by Congress in the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937. The first objective is to promote more secure occupancy of farms and farm homes and the second is to correct the economic instability resulting from some present forms of farm tenancy. The objectives of the program were to be achieved by making real estate credit available to qualified, competent farm tenants, share-cropper, and farm laborers for the purchase of family-type farms under terms and interest rates which, theoretically at least, are adapted to the farm income situation and pattern as it is altered by changing price and weather conditions. The proceeds from this type of loan may be used, in addition to the purpose of purchasing family-sized farm units, for such purposes as refinancing existing indebtedness on family-type farms, building construction and repair, soil conservation needs and for other purposes consistent with improving and developing an adequate-sized family farm unit. Loans for these purposes are titled farm-development or farm-enlargement loans