For Borrowers
Borrowing Criteria
Does Steward work with beginning farmers and ranchers?
How does Steward assess animal welfare in farming projects?
Why partner with Steward versus raising capital independently?
What does the Steward loan process involve?
How does Steward define sustainable and regenerative agriculture?
What kind of agriculture businesses does Steward work with?
Am I eligible for a Steward loan?
Can I use a Steward loan to purchase land?
Using The Steward Platform
Using Steward: Application Process
About Project Pages
What identity verification documents do I need?
Verify your business with Steward's payment facilitator
What should I include in my Farm Page?
Using Steward: Live Project
How does Lender Checkout work?
What happens when a project successfully meets its loan amount?
How do I find anchor lenders to participate in my loan?
What is the point of the private campaign period?
Using Steward: Growth & Repayments
How do I link a bank account on my Steward profile?
Borrower Resources
Receiving a commercial loan from Steward - FAQs
FAQ Participated Loans - Borrowers
For Lenders
Lender FAQ
How is tax handled for my loan participation?
Payment Profile Creation - Errors and Solutions
Why did my transaction fail?
How does Lender Checkout work?
How much can I lend to a project?
What is Dwolla?
What lender opportunities are available with Steward?
What is Steward's loan servicing spread?
What transaction methods are available when participating in a loan?
Can anyone from the general public purchase loan participations from Steward?
Is lending with Steward an investment or a donation?
What are the fees for lenders?
Why is personal information required in order to handle payment on Steward?
Why is my transaction still pending?
Adding A Second Funding Source
Your Steward Wallet
Steward Regenerative Capital
Understanding your Steward Regenerative Capital loan
Automatically roll over loans to Steward Regenerative Capital
What is Steward Regenerative Capital?
How to request an early withdrawal of your Regenerative Capital loan
FAQ Participated Loans - Lenders
About Steward
- All Categories
- For Borrowers
- Borrower Resources
- Education: Ag Finance
- How do I learn more about USDA funding options?
How do I learn more about USDA funding options?
Updated by Steward Team
Steward's participated loans are often just one piece of the agriculture financing puzzle. While many diversified farms & food producers struggle to obtain traditional funding through their local bank or ag lending agency, there still are a number of options available to regenerative producers in the form of grants and low-interest loans.
Steward is committed to assisting agricultural businesses with all things finance and will continue to build out this list of resources. Given the constantly changing federal funding landscape, be sure to check which programs are available at any given time.
Helpful Links & Resources:
- USDA Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Loans
- USDA Programs in the Local Food Supply Chain
- USDA Farm Loan Discovery Tool
- USDA Service Center Locator Tool
- USDA Financial Resources for Farmers and Ranchers
- USDA Access to Land & Capital Tool
- Navigating USDA Funding by Food System 6 Blog
- FarmRaise helps farmers navigate grant and loan program eligibility
While USDA grants and low-interest loans can be a great option, be prepared for a much longer timeline for accessing capital when applying to these programs. Additionally, many programs have a % matching component to receive their funding. Steward loans can be a great option to pair with a USDA loan or other grant programs, and we are happy to work with borrowers using a blended source of capital to meet financing needs.
Note: This is by no means an exhaustive list of resources. Please reach out to your local USDA rep to receive the most up-to-date information.