A Farm Line of Credit That Does Not Run Through Your Land
Thombar Team
You need to pay now. You get paid later. Thombar Capital covers the gap.
It is the middle of harvest. The labor contractor invoice is due Friday. The fertilizer bill from spring is past terms. Your packer will settle, and the money is real, but it lands weeks after the bills do.
You already know what happens next. You stretch a supplier. You ask the packer for an advance. You borrow from a sister company. You put inputs on the card and eat the rate. Or you skip the block that would have been worth picking.
Having a bank line is not the same as having money. A line drawn to the cap in July is not there in August, and neither is one that needs three weeks of underwriting before it grows. If that is where you are, or if the bank was never an option, this post covers why the bank line falls short in those weeks, how Thombar Capital works, what it costs, and when you should not use it.
Why the bank line did not work
Nothing is wrong with your operation. The mismatch is structural.
1. The collateral is the land, and you may lease your ground. Most farm operating credit is secured. Farm Credit associations and ag banks look for a lien on real estate, equipment, livestock, or crops. If you farm leased acres, the biggest piece of that model has nowhere to attach.
2. Your marketing agreement counts for little. You have a signed agreement with a packer, shipper, co-op, or processor. It is the most predictable thing about your season. But traditional ag underwriting is built around debt-to-equity ratios and land equity, which leaves little room to treat that agreement as a source of repayment.
3. Specialty crops are not the model the system was built for. Ag lending grew up around corn, soybeans, and cattle, where price data is deep and crop insurance is standard. Berries, leafy greens, wine grapes, citrus, stone fruit, tree nuts, and nursery stock do not fit the template as cleanly.
4. The ceiling is fixed, and raising it means starting over. Your note was sized in the winter off a projection. When you hit the cap mid-season, more room is not a phone call. It is a new request, new financials, and another trip through underwriting. The answer may well be yes. It will not be yes this week.
5. The calendar is wrong. Your cash crunch shows up mid-season because a crew ran longer than planned or a buyer paid late. Annual credit does not flex on that timeline.
When it makes sense
01. You have a bank line, but you cannot draw on it this week.
The note was sized in January for the season you planned, not the season you got. Once you are at the cap, more room means going back through underwriting.
02. The bank’s answer will take longer than your supplier will wait.
Even when the answer is going to be yes, the timeline is weeks. Your labor contractor needs to be paid Friday. The fertilizer rep needs an answer before the next application window. Approval that arrives after the fact is not approval.
03. A supplier invoice is due before your settlement lands.
Inputs, the labor contractor, trucking, packaging. All due long before the packer pays.
04. You want to prepay inputs ahead of the season.
Lock in supply and pricing before the rush without draining the account you need for everything else. Once your supplier invoices the prepay, you can draw against it.
05. Your supplier offers an early-payment discount.
If the discount beats the fee, you make money by taking it. Math below.
How it works
01. Sign up. Create a Thombar account, connect your bank, and share your marketing or service agreements. You do not need a Thombar subscription to use Thombar Capital.
02. Get offers. Terms come back within 48 hours. You e-sign online.
03. Draw. When a supplier invoice comes in, upload it and pick a 30, 60, or 90 day window to match when your settlement lands. Funds reach your bank account in 24 to 48 hours, and you pay the supplier yourself. Your supplier deals with you, the same as always.
04. Repay. We auto-debit your account at the end of the window you chose. Repay early and part of the fee is rebated, subject to your agreement’s terms. If your settlement runs late, tell us before the debit date and we can extend the window.
What growers use it for
- Field inputs and materials
- Labor contractor invoices
- Trucking and delivery
- Packaging and seasonal supplies
Draws cover purchases from approved suppliers. If you are not sure a supplier qualifies, ask us before the week you need the money, not during it.
What we look at
Three things: your marketing agreements (or, if you work for growers, your service agreements), your cash flow history from your connected bank account, and a soft pull on your personal credit. A soft pull does not affect your score, and we never do a hard pull.
We collect your agreements at signup, before underwriting starts. They count toward the decision from day one, not as paperwork requested weeks in.
Not your land. Not your equity.
Not a grower? We lend to the people growers depend on.
Farm labor contractors, applicators, PCAs, haulers, hullers, and processors run on the same calendar as the growers they serve. You do the work now and get paid when the grower gets paid. Thombar Capital works the same way for you: we underwrite against the service agreements you have signed with growers and your cash flow history, and you draw against invoices from your own suppliers. Same fee structure, same soft pull, same personal guarantee.
How two growers used it
A seasoned operator, first-time owner. He had a multi-million dollar contract he could not fulfill because cash was tight. Thombar Capital extended credit against his marketing contracts alone, before his cash flow history was there. He caught up on input invoices and went on to close a national retail account.
An experienced, diversified grower. He was borrowing from a sister company to cover labor and input expenses. Thombar Capital extended credit against his cash flow and existing contracts, the fuller picture most lenders miss. He started paying suppliers directly and ended the inter-company borrowing.
What we require, and what we do not
We do require a personal guarantee from the owner. That is standard for business credit at this size, and it is what lets us skip the collateral requirement that keeps growers on leased ground out of the market. We would rather tell you here than at the signature page.
We do not require:
- Collateral or liens. Nothing pledged and no lien on your land, crops, or equipment. No need for equity in ground you may not even own.
- A Thombar subscription. Thombar Capital works on its own. If you are on a free trial of the Thombar back office, your first draw adds three more months to it.
- A long-term contract, minimums, or maintenance fees. No cost unless you draw.
Offers come back within 48 hours. Lines run up to $250,000, with flexibility above that depending on the application. Available in all fifty states. No minimum time in business, though a longer operating history strengthens your application.
What it costs
One flat fee per draw. Not interest running on a balance, not a rate that ticks while the money sits unused. You see the fee in dollars before you accept the draw, and it does not change after.
The fee is tied to the window you pick. Thirty days costs less than ninety. Repay early and part of the fee comes back. Draw nothing and you owe nothing.
Your fee is set by your application. Your agreements, your cash flow history, and your time in business all move it. There is no published rate because a posted number would be wrong for most growers.
So be clear-eyed. This costs more than a bank operating note. It should, and here is the honest reason why.
Your bank prices its line against your land. If the loan goes bad, there is an asset to take, and that is why the rate is low. We take no collateral and no liens. A personal guarantee is not the same as an asset behind the loan, so we carry more risk than your bank does, and that risk is priced into the fee. We think the trade is fair for the right situation. When it is not, use the cheaper money.
The comparison that actually matters
It is not our fee against a bank rate you cannot get this week. It is our fee against the alternative in front of you today.
Take the early-payment discount. Your supplier offers a discount for paying now. You finance the invoice, take the discount, and repay when your settlement lands. If the discount is bigger than the fee, you come out ahead.
Say your fee works out to 2% on a 30 day draw against a $100,000 input invoice. Growers have received rates at that level, but it is an example, not a quote:
| Supplier discount | You save | Your fee | Net to you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1% | $1,000 | $2,000 | -$1,000 |
| 2% | $2,000 | $2,000 | $0 |
| 3% | $3,000 | $2,000 | +$1,000 |
| 5% | $5,000 | $2,000 | +$3,000 |
Illustrative only. Rates depend on your full application, and longer windows cost more. Your actual fee is shown in dollars before you accept a draw.
The rule generalizes: the discount has to beat the fee on your draw. Below that line, financing costs you money. Above it, you are getting paid to pay early. Because you see your fee in dollars before you draw, you can run this on your real number every time.
The discount is the easy case to calculate. Harder to price, but usually bigger: what it costs to stretch a supplier you depend on, or to leave a block unpicked because the crew could not be paid.
And if the answer is that you should wait and pay cash, do that. The line is there for the weeks you need it, not the ones you do not.
How this compares to your other options
| Option | Collateral | Speed | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank or Farm Credit operating line | Usually real estate, crops, or equipment | Weeks to months, and again if you need the cap raised | Whole-season capital. Cheaper than us. Use it when you can draw on it. |
| FSA operating loan | Secured | Slow | You qualify and can wait. Also cheaper than us. |
| Produce or PACA factoring | You assign the receivable | Days | You have already shipped and invoiced. Factoring only helps after the receivable exists. |
| Vendor financing that pays your vendor | Varies | Days | Your vendors are large enough to be onboarded and you do not mind them knowing. |
| Business credit card | None | Instant | Small amounts you can clear in the grace period. |
| Merchant cash advance | Often a lien and a personal guarantee | Fast | Almost never. Read the total dollar cost first. |
| Thombar Capital | Personal guarantee. No collateral or liens. | Offers in 48 hours. Funds in 24 to 48 hours after a draw. | A supplier invoice is due now and your settlement lands within 30, 60, or 90 days. |
Read that first row again. If you can draw on a conventional operating line, draw on it. We are not trying to replace your bank. We are for the weeks your note cannot cover, and for the growers the bank cannot underwrite at all.
FAQ
Do you require collateral or take a lien?
No. Nothing is pledged, and there is no lien on your land, crops, or equipment. You do not need land equity to qualify.
Do you require a personal guarantee?
Yes. The owner signs a personal guarantee. That is standard for business credit at this size, and it is the reason we can skip the collateral requirement that keeps most growers on leased ground out of the market.
Do I need a Thombar subscription?
No. Thombar Capital works on its own. If you are on a free trial of the Thombar back office, your first draw adds three more months to the trial.
Do you pay my supplier directly?
No. The money goes to your bank account and you pay your supplier. The relationship stays between you and them.
Do I need an invoice to draw?
Yes. You upload the supplier invoice you are covering.
Which suppliers can I pay with it?
Approved suppliers of the things a season runs on: field inputs and materials, labor contractors, trucking and delivery, packaging and seasonal supplies. If you are not sure a supplier qualifies, ask us.
Can I fund a farm labor contractor invoice?
Yes. Labor contractor invoices qualify. Payroll you run yourself is not an invoice, so it is not covered.
I am a farm labor contractor, applicator, or hauler. Can I use it?
Yes. We lend to farm labor contractors, applicators, PCAs, haulers, hullers, processors, and others who work for specialty crop growers. We underwrite against the service agreements you have signed with growers.
Will applying hurt my credit score?
No. We do a soft pull only, which does not affect your score. We never do a hard pull.
What crops do you cover?
Specialty crops: fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, potatoes, wine grapes, nursery crops, and floriculture. If you are not sure whether your crop qualifies, ask us.
Which states do you serve?
All of them.
How fast is funding?
Offers within 48 hours of a complete application. Once you draw, funds reach your account in 24 to 48 hours.
Is there a minimum size or time in business?
No minimums. A longer operating history strengthens your application, but it is not a gate. One of the growers above was approved against his marketing contracts before he had much cash flow history.
My packer pays late. What if the money is not there on the debit date?
Tell us before the debit date and we can extend the window. That is the normal path, and it is why the option exists. If something goes wrong after that, call us. We would rather work out a plan around when your money actually lands than have a problem neither of us saw coming. You did sign a personal guarantee, so this is a real obligation, not a handshake. But we are not in the business of chasing growers. We are in the business of having you come back next season.
Can I use this if I already have a bank line?
Yes. This is not a replacement for your operating note. It covers the weeks your note cannot.
How is the fee calculated?
It is one flat fee per draw, set by your application and shown to you in dollars before you accept. It is not interest accruing on a balance.
What if I pay it back early?
Part of the fee is rebated, subject to your agreement’s terms.
Do I have to use it?
No. No minimums, no maintenance fees, no cost unless you draw.
See your offer
Apply for Thombar Capital. Soft pull only, no commitment, and terms within 48 hours.
Thombar Capital sits inside Thombar, the back office built for specialty crop growers. Thombar reads your contracts, settlements, and invoices and tells you in plain English what needs your attention. Book a demo to see it with your own numbers, or call or text 805-220-4506.
Financing subject to credit approval of a completed application. Thombar Capital finances approved supplier purchases only; amounts, terms and eligibility vary by operation. Rates are custom to each customer’s risk profile; there is no published rate. Early-repayment fee rebates are subject to your agreement’s terms. Thombar Capital is powered by Kanmon Inc. Thombar provides informational guidance and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Always consult a qualified professional for important financial decisions. © 2026 Crop Guard, Inc. (dba “Thombar”).
© 2026 KANMON INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. KANMON IS OPERATED BY KANMON INC. CAPITAL IS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH BUSINESS LOANS, LINES OF CREDIT, AND ADVANCES. CALIFORNIA LOANS ARE MADE PURSUANT TO KANMON’S DFPI FINANCE LENDERS LAW LICENSE #60DBO-144925.