Brief: Tillable partners with Evergreen Bank to expand digital lending for US farmers

• Farm real estate marketplace Tillable will expand its digital loan platform to more US states, enabling farmers and growers in the Midwest region to apply for a loan digitally.
• For the expansion, Tillable has partnered with Evergreen Bank, an Illinois-based chartered commercial bank with a national lending program.
• Farmers, landowners and investors in Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri and Arkansas can now apply and be approved in a fraction of the amount of time of a traditional loan process.

Why it matters:

Farmland is in high demand from growers and traditional landowners as well as investors who are finding value in agricultural land as an asset class.

Like many aspects of agriculture, however, land financing still largely relies on paper-based processes, which add time and excessive complexity to loan applications. 

Tillable says its entirely digital process makes it faster and easier to research, finance and manage farmland. The company currently offers farmers, landowners and investors the ability to shop for farmland mortgages, refinance current loans, take out operating lines, or finance cash rent.

“Anyone can apply online or by mobile phone 24/7, complete an application in minutes, and choose from competitive rates,” Tillable founder and CEO Corbett Kull said in a statement. He added that the expansion is helping the company to become a “one-stop shop” for growers and landowners looking to digitize their real estate processes. 

Tillable says its platform covers “well over” two million acres of farmland, and that it uses public data to predict market trends and land values. The company says it has 28,000 users.