Agricultural loan renewal management that has every operating line ready weeks before planting
Renewal packages ready weeks before planting, not the week of.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Software that prepares each farm operating line for renewal: last year’s results against its plan, the carryover left on the line, this year’s cash flow, insurance and collateral, then a memo, terms and an approval. Agricultural Loan Renewal Management opens every renewal package in October from last year’s file, fills it as documents arrive, and lines the whole season up by maturity date before planting.
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Most operating lines mature in the few weeks between New Year and planting, and each one has to be re-underwritten, not rolled: last year's results against last year's plan, the carryover left on the line, this year's crop plan and cash flow at the bank's price deck, the schedule of insurance and its assignment, the lien filings and the collateral inspections — then a renewal memo, terms and an approval. One ag loan officer does that for every borrower in the same eight weeks.
Most of the hours go on assembly, not judgement: chasing the balance sheet from the accountant, re-keying it into the spread, finding out how much grain is still in the bins, matching rented acres to the insurance schedule, checking which financing statements lapse this spring. With renewals at a six-year high, files get rolled forward, carryover hides inside a renewed line, and a filing lapses quietly — a lien the bank no longer has.
Estimated split of the season calendar’s 348 hours by hand and 46 with the agents for 58 renewals, in eight-hour working days.
Six specialist agents assemble every renewal package from October; the ag loan officer recommends and the manager approves.
Brandt Family Farms — 2,840 acres of corn and soybeans in Calder County — has a $1,450,000 operating line maturing 1 March 2027 and asks for $1,650,000. It is Monday 8 February. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Owen opens the solution to the renewal season, October to April: 89 operating lines, $75.7M. 31 renewed in the fall; 58 are due before planting, $53.4M — 9 renewed, 14 ready to sign, 6 at risk. Each week is shaded by the dollars due and outlined by readiness: spreads on top, crop plan on the right, insurance on the bottom, inventory counted on the left.
“Late February: 30 of 41 renewals ready · the rest are expected by 22 Feb.”
Brandt’s renewal package was opened on 14 Oct, 20 weeks before maturity, with 11 documents carried forward from the 2026 file. Harvest results landed 2 Nov, the grain was counted on 18 Jan — 98,000 bu of corn in 4 bins — spreads came in 2 Feb, the lien search 5 Feb, and the 2027 crop plan at 07:12 this morning. Three of its four readiness checks are in; insurance is expected 17 Feb.
Overnight: “07:12 Brandt Family Farms — crop plan in — 3 of 4 checks, insurance expected 17 Feb.”
Owen presses Prepare renewal. Six agents read 23 documents: the statements are spread, 2026 is compared with its plan, the 2027 cash flow is built at the price deck, insurance and filings are checked, a borrower request and the memo are drafted. Four flags come back, each with its evidence: carryover on the line, coverage below 1.25x, a lien filing that lapses 12 Mar, and 320 rented acres not on the crop insurance.
“The line stood at $588,400 on 31 Dec. The 98,000 bushels of corn still in the bins are worth $401,800 at $4.10, so $186,600 is true carryover.”
At $4.20 corn and $10.40 soybeans, gross revenue is $2,221,712 and capacity for debt service $400,592 — against $339,515 of term payments once the carryover is termed out. Coverage is 1.18x, below the 1.25x minimum. The coverage calculator shows corn has to reach $4.28 to clear it, and peak line use is $1,548,000 in August, inside the request.
The schedule of insurance covers 1,240 of 1,560 acres of corn: the Halvorsen farm’s 320 acres are missing, and the 2027 assignment of indemnity is not signed — with the sales closing date 35 days away. The financing statement on crops and equipment, IA 2022-0312-4471, lapses 12 Mar 2027; the continuation is drafted for loan administration to file.
The checker drafts continuations — it never files them, and never counts unassigned insurance as security.
Request, what 2026 did against its plan, the carryover and its treatment, the 2027 plan and repayment, insurance and collateral, the policy exception with its mitigants and the recommendation — every figure numbered back to its document. Proposed terms: $1,650,000 to 1 Mar 2028 at prime + 0.10%, and a $186,600 carryover term loan over 5 years at 7.25% fixed, $45,815 a year.
Owen adds the condition the cash flow builder suggested — sell or contract 40,000 bu of stored corn by 31 Mar, about $164,000 to the line — bringing the memo to seven conditions. He recommends and signs, with the meaning of his signature recorded: “I have reviewed the file and recommend these terms.”
“It is above your $1,500,000 authority and needs a policy exception for coverage of 1.18x, so it goes to Marta Hensley to approve.”
Marta approves the renewal and the coverage exception. The file goes to Gus Ferreira in loan administration to book, with the continuation to file and the assignment to record. Every step — the agents’ work, Owen’s condition, his recommendation, Marta’s approval — is on the file’s activity trail.
“Renewed on 8 Feb — 21 days before maturity and about ten weeks before planting.”
Back on the season calendar, Owen runs Project to planting. On the agents’ expected dates for each missing document, the late-February weeks flip from amber to green: all 41 renewals ready on 22 Feb.
“All 41 renewals ready · the late-February weeks complete on 22 Feb, a week before 1 March and eight weeks before planting.”
The same season, seen by the four people at the bank who carry it — what February looked like, and what it looks like now.
Six specialist agents assemble every renewal package from October; the ag loan officer recommends and the manager approves.
Reads year-end balance sheets, income statements, Schedule F and accountants’ statements, and spreads them into the farm financial measures.
Compares last year’s actual results with last year’s plan, explains the variance by yield and price, and finds carryover after counting grain on hand.
Builds this year’s cash flow from the crop plan, input budget and leases at the bank’s price deck and the farm’s insured yields, with line use by month.
Reads the schedule of insurance and the assignment, the lien filings and their lapse dates, inspections and the borrowing base.
Lists what each file still needs and drafts one plain request per borrower, with reminders on the officer’s rules.
Drafts the renewal memo with what changed since last year, proposed terms, conditions and any policy exception with its mitigants, and routes it for approval.
Recommends and signs; Ag Lending Manager approves above $1.5M. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask about any renewal, borrower, measure or deadline — or say what to add to a file. Every answer points back to the document it rests on.
Why does Brandt have carryover this year?
The line was $588,400 on 31 Dec when last year’s plan expected it paid off. Part of that is grain not yet sold: 98,000 bushels in the bins, worth $401,800 at $4.10. The rest, $186,600, is true carryover — corn made 198 bu/ac against 205 and sold at $4.06 against $4.55, so 2026 covered term payments only 0.92x. A 5-year term-out at $45,815 a year is drafted.
What is Brandt’s coverage if corn is $3.90?
At $3.90 corn on plan yields, capacity for debt service falls to $306,056 and coverage to 0.90x. Each 10¢ on corn moves $31,512; corn has to reach $4.28 to clear 1.25x. Revenue protection at 80% puts a floor under it: $720 an acre of corn.
Which renewals have a lien filing about to lapse?
Four this season, each with a continuation drafted: Tjaden Acres on 26 Feb, Brandt Family Farms on 12 Mar, Hammond Hog Co. on 3 Apr and Holm Farms on 19 Apr. Each needs your okay before Gus Ferreira files it.
Add a condition: sell 40,000 bushels of stored corn by 31 March
Added. Selling or contracting 40,000 of the 98,000 bushels by 31 March brings in about $164,000 at $4.10, paid to the line. Peak line use drops from $1,548,000 to $1,384,000 in August. The memo now lists 7 conditions.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
The rules every renewal is prepared against are settings. Changes are versioned and apply to files prepared from then on.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Price deck, 2027 | Corn $4.20 · soybeans $10.40 | Set by the Chief Credit Officer |
| Stored grain in the borrowing base | Local cash bid on the count date | Local cash bid · price deck · cash bid less 5% |
| Stress test shown beside every plan | Corn −10% and yield −10% | Corn −10% and yield −10% · corn −15% · none |
| Policy minimums | Coverage 1.25x · working capital 15% · debt to assets 60% | Any value in credit policy |
| Carryover | Term out up to 5 years | Term out up to 5 years · sale of stored grain first · ask the officer |
| Ready before maturity | 21 days | The board turns amber after this |
| Approval authority | Officer $1.5M · manager $5.0M | Chief Credit Officer above $5.0M · second look on any increase over 25% |
| Crop insurance minimum | Revenue protection 75%+ | Revenue protection 75%+ · 70%+ · yield protection 75%+ |
| Lien filing warning · inspections | 180 days before lapse · every 12 months | Any number of days and months |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample season · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago AgLetter, May 2026 — renewals and extensions index 136; 17% of farm borrowers carried more carryover debt into 2026). People, farms, the bank and counties named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
Software that prepares each farm operating line for renewal: last year’s results against its plan, the carryover left on the line, this year’s cash flow, insurance and collateral, then a memo, terms and an approval. Agricultural Loan Renewal Management opens every renewal package in October from last year’s file, fills it as documents arrive, and lines the whole season up by maturity date before planting.
The year-over-year analyst takes the operating line balance at year end, subtracts the value of unsold grain and crop receivables, and reports what remains as carryover. It never calls a balance carryover without checking inventory — on the Brandt file, 98,000 bushels in the bins took $401,800 off a $588,400 balance, leaving $186,600.
Yours. Every cash flow is built at the price deck the Chief Credit Officer sets in Settings, with the farm’s insured yields and a stress test shown beside every plan. The agents never price above the deck.
Yes. The insurance and collateral checker matches every planted acre in the crop plan to the schedule of insurance, checks the assignment of indemnity, and reads each financing statement’s lapse date. It warns 180 days before a lapse by default and drafts the continuation; loan administration files it.
Your people. The agents prepare; the ag loan officer recommends and signs; above the officer’s authority or with any policy exception, the Ag Lending Manager approves, and above $5M the Chief Credit Officer. The memo writer never approves and never sets a rate outside the pricing grid.
No. The missing-items requester drafts one plain request per borrower, listing only what the file still needs. Nothing goes out until the officer sends it; reminders then follow the officer’s rules.
Yes. Minimum coverage, working capital to revenue, maximum debt to assets, carryover treatment, how stored grain is valued, the crop insurance minimum, lien and inspection rules, how far ahead of maturity a file should be ready and every approval limit are settings. Changes are versioned.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements — your credit policy, price deck, memo template and a sample of past renewal files — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own renewals first.
A full farm spread in minutes, every figure linked to its page.
1-min demoFSA Guaranteed Loan OriginationComplete applications assembled in a day, not a week.
1-min demoFSA Guaranteed Loan ServicingNo missed guarantee deadlines; loss claims filed complete the first time.
1-min demoWe’ll run Agricultural Loan Renewal Management on a sample of your own operating line renewals.