Taking over a farm or setting up for the first time is one of the most complex and demanding steps in a farming career. Between building the financing plan, securing the right grants and negotiating with banks, project owners often find themselves alone, facing many different parties who rarely speak the same language.
Agricourtage est le premier courtier spécialisé en financement agricole en France. Notre rôle : être l'unique interlocuteur qui centralise, structure et défend votre dossier auprès de l'ensemble des acteurs financiers. Depuis 2018, nous avons accompagné plus de 100 installations, reprises et projets de développement avec succès, dans toutes les filières et sur l'ensemble du territoire national.
On this page you will find everything you need to know about financing a farm takeover, set-up or development project: the schemes available, how lenders assess a file, how we work, and answers to your questions.
Why use a broker to finance your farm set-up?
Because a viable business forecast doesn't necessarily mean a bankable project, we analyse your project independently, structure it to make it bankable, then submit it to several lenders at the same time to obtain the best possible terms.
In practice, working with Agricourtage lets you:
-
Save time : a single point of contact handles all the paperwork for you
-
Maximise your chances of success : your file is presented to the lenders most likely to finance your project
-
Get better terms : interest rate, duration, security, loan insurance — we negotiate on every lever
-
Secure your financing plan: we check the overall consistency of the package before any submission, and look for non-bank solutions where needed.
Our sector expertise — including the accounting and economic specifics of each farming sector — makes all the difference in how lenders assess your file.
Financing available for a farm takeover or set-up
Several public schemes provide financial support to people setting up in farming. The Young Farmers' Grant (Dotation Jeunes Agriculteurs – DJA) is a national grant co-funded by the EU and the French State, reserved for farmers under 40 setting up for the first time. The amount varies by area (mountain, less-favoured, lowland) and by type of project: in 2026 it ranges from €8,000 to €45,000 depending on the region. It is conditional on the approval of a Personalised Professional Development Plan (Plan de Professionnalisation Personnalisé – PPP) and on submitting a compliant business plan (Plan d'Entreprise), processed by the Chamber of Agriculture.
State-subsidised young-farmer loans (MTS-JA) were abolished at the end of 2016 and replaced by a top-up to the DJA. Some banks now offer their own discounted loans for new entrants, on terms that vary from one bank and region to another. We compare them for you and fit them into your overall financing plan, alongside the other bank loans.
Standard bank loans
Beyond the subsidised schemes, financing a set-up or takeover usually involves several bank loans: a property loan for land and buildings, leasing or a medium-term loan for equipment, and a short-term loan for start-up working capital.
Agricourtage structures all these loans so that the financing plan is consistent, clear and matched to your farm's real repayment capacity.
Land lease-to-buy (portage foncier): setting up without buying the land
A land lease-to-buy scheme lets a farmer set up or expand without having to finance the land purchase upfront. A third-party investor — a lease-to-buy operator, specialist fund, local authority or an organisation such as Terre de Liens — buys the land instead and leases it to the farmer under a French agricultural lease (bail rural). The farmer gets the right to use the land without carrying its immediate financial weight, and usually has a deferred option to buy it on terms agreed in advance.
It is particularly suited to project owners whose borrowing capacity is already stretched by buying livestock, equipment and buildings. It protects the farm's cash in the early years, often the most fragile period. Agricourtage assesses with you whether a land lease-to-buy scheme makes sense and puts you in touch with operators suited to your profile and region.
Crowdfunding for farms
Farm crowdfunding raises money from a large number of individuals through specialist platforms. It takes two main forms: crowdlending (backers lend money that is repaid with interest) and equity crowdfunding (backers become shareholders or partners in the project). Platforms such as Miimosa or Terrav offer products dedicated to farming and agri-food projects, with low minimum investments and a strong local-support dimension.
Crowdfunding generally doesn't replace bank financing, but it is a useful complement. It can strengthen the project owner's equity, improve the debt ratio and make it easier to obtain additional bank credit. It is also a powerful communication tool and a way of building a network of local supporters. Agricourtage advises you on fitting a crowdfunding campaign into your overall financing plan, consistently with the other sources of funding.
How lenders assess a farm financing application
Banks always look at several things before granting financing. Knowing these criteria helps you prepare a strong file:
-
The project's economic viability: projected turnover, margins, costs, EBITDA (EBE – Excédent Brut d'Exploitation)
-
Equity and personal contribution: banks generally ask for 10 to 30% own contribution, depending on the perceived risk
-
Available security: personal guarantee, mortgage, agricultural warrant (pledge over stock or crops), Dailly assignment of receivables, pledge…
-
The applicant's agricultural training and experience
-
The legal structure chosen (sole trader, or a French farming company: GAEC, EARL, SCEA)
-
Market conditions in the sector concerned
At Agricourtage, we carry out a full preliminary analysis of your file before presenting it to any bank. This lets us spot the weak points and fix them upfront.
How does an Agricourtage engagement work?
We work in 5 clear steps:
-
Step 1 — First contact and free analysis: you present your project, we assess its feasibility and propose a financing strategy
-
Step 2 — Building the file: we guide you in gathering the documents and build a complete, consistent file with you.
-
Step 3 — Presentation to lenders: we submit your file to the lenders and guarantee bodies best suited to it.
-
Step 4 — Negotiation and choice of offer: we compare the offers received and negotiate the best terms for you.
-
Step 5 — Support through to signing: we stay by your side until the funds are released.
-
Our fees are transparent: an advisory fee upfront where an advisory engagement is needed, and a brokerage commission on the financing obtained. No commission is charged if we don't get a result.
Taking over from a third party vs family succession: what's the difference?
A takeover within the family (a farm passed from parent to child) usually comes with favourable conditions: a transfer price often below market value, partial tax exemptions and easier access to support schemes. Banks are also reassured because they already know the farm being handed over.
A takeover outside the family (buying a farm from a third party) is more complex financially: prices are at market value, security requirements are higher, and the bank file needs a particularly robust business plan.
Agricourtage has particular experience with this type of file, which makes up a large share of our work.
In both cases, we tailor our approach and financing strategy to your situation.