SBA lenders approved 189 7(a) loans to nursery, garden center and farm supply retailers from October 2023 to June 2026: $83,791,500 from 81 lenders. The median loan was $150,000, level with the national $150,300, but the spread was wide: the middle half ran from $50,000 to $548,700, and 20 loans were $1 million or more. The median rate, 10%, sat below the national 10.25%. Buyers took 16.9% of loans, well above the national 10.4%, at a median of $506,000. Lenders focus on the spring season, perishable stock and the real estate.
| Measure | Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 189 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $150,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 – $548,700 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 10.6% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9% – 11.5% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 32 (16.9%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $506,000 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 81 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 24 | 16,714 |
Approvals FY2024 – FY2026 to date (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026), cancelled loans excluded. Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records, as of June 30, 2026.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved
- 189 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026), from 81 lenders
- Median loan
- $150,000 (national $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10% (national 10.25%)
- Acquisitions
- 32 loans (16.9%), median $506,000 at 9%
- SBA Express
- 42.3% of loans
- SBA 504
- 24 loans, median $566,500
Two kinds of store share one industry code
NAICS 444240 covers retail nurseries and garden centers, which sell trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, soil, mulch and patio goods, and farm and ranch supply stores, which sell feed, seed, fencing, animal health products and tools to farmers and rural households. Many businesses are both. The loan figures show two populations sitting on top of each other: a quarter of loans were $50,000 or less, a garden shop's working capital or a delivery truck, while the 90th percentile was $1,147,500 and 20 loans, 10.6% of the total, were $1 million or more. Those large loans usually carry land, greenhouses or a farm store's warehouse and yard.
| Figure | Nursery, garden and farm supply | National |
|---|---|---|
| Median loan | $150,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 to $548,700 | |
| 90th percentile | $1,147,500 | |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 20 (10.6%) | |
| Median rate | 10% (middle half 9% to 11.5%) | 10.25% |
| Fixed-rate share | 13.2% | |
| Acquisitions | 32 loans (16.9%), median $506,000 | 10.4% of loans |
| Start-ups | 5.3% of loans | |
| SBA Express | 42.3% of loans | |
| SBA 504 | 24 loans, median $566,500 |
Start-ups were only 5.3% of loans and franchises none at all: SBA lending here goes almost entirely to established businesses, often family-owned and often on land the family already holds. And 81 different lenders made the 189 loans, so no single lender dominates the industry and a well-prepared file has many possible homes.
Spring pays for the year
A garden center's calendar is more compressed than almost any other retailer's. Spring orders are placed in winter, stock arrives before the last frost, and a handful of warm weekends decide the year; a cold, wet April can lose sales altogether. Summer is slow, fall brings a smaller second season, and winter may be Christmas trees or nothing at all. Farm supply stores are steadier, since livestock eat every month, but their customers' incomes follow harvests and commodity prices.
Lenders therefore read these businesses month by month. A worked example of the question they ask: a garden center that earns 1,200 over the year against loan payments of 1,000 covers its debt on paper, but if the cash arrives in April and May and the payments run all twelve months, the lender needs to see that the balance in August and in February is enough to carry them. Two years of monthly sales and bank statements answer it; an annual tax return does not.
The pre-season buy is the other pinch. Many growers and hard-goods suppliers offer early-order programs with delayed payment terms, which finance part of the spring stock. What they do not cover usually lands on the owner's line of credit or, too often, a merchant cash advance. SBA Express, 42.3% of loans here, goes up to $500,000 with a 50% guaranty and is commonly used for revolving lines of this kind. A dedicated seasonal line of credit or an SBA CAPLine keeps the season off the term loan. SBA will not refinance an active merchant cash advance, and from 1 October 2026 an advance becomes eligible only once converted to a term loan that has amortized for at least 24 months with no new advance since.
A term loan should be paid from the whole year's cash flow; the spring buy belongs on a line that is paid down when the season sells through.
What the collateral is actually worth
SBA does not decline a loan for thin collateral alone, but it expects the lender to take what the business has, and in this industry the assets vary enormously in what they would fetch.
| Asset | How a lender sees it |
|---|---|
| Land, retail buildings, warehouses | The strongest collateral, appraised; often the reason the loan is large |
| Greenhouses and growing structures | Real estate, but hard to sell to anyone outside the trade; a lender may treat a growing range as special-purpose property |
| Hard goods: bagged soil, fertilizer, feed, fencing, tools | Real inventory with resale value; asset-based lenders advance up to 85% of net orderly liquidation value, or roughly half of cost |
| Live plants and nursery stock | Perishable, seasonal and costly to move; lenders give it little or no value, however large it looks on the balance sheet |
| Trucks, forklifts, skid steers, potting and irrigation equipment | Valued at orderly liquidation value; loans on them run up to 10 years, or 15 if useful life supports it |
| Farm charge accounts | Receivables, but farmers often pay at harvest; anything more than 90 days past invoice is typically ineligible for a borrowing base |
The land is also where SBA 504 comes in: 24 loans at a median of $566,500 went to businesses in this industry. A 504 borrower must occupy at least 51% of an existing building, or 60% of new construction, and puts in 10% of the project, 15% for a new business or special-purpose property. Whether a greenhouse range counts as special-purpose is a question for the appraiser and the lender. See SBA 7(a) versus 504. Stores in rural areas may also compare the USDA's guaranteed program; see SBA 7(a) versus USDA Business and Industry.
Buying a nursery or a farm store
Buyers took 32 loans, 16.9% of the total and well above the national 10.4%, at a median of $506,000 and a median rate of 9%, a point below the industry's overall median. Many are successions: the founder who built the nursery retires, and a long-time manager, a family member or a neighboring operator buys it. That buyer usually knows the plants and the customers; what the lender tests is whether the seller's figures, including the bad springs, carry the new debt. See buying from a retiring owner and financing a family business transfer.
- The land changes the structure. When the real estate is in the deal, the real estate share can amortize over up to 25 years while goodwill, inventory and equipment run up to 10. From 1 October 2026, change-of-ownership loans amortize over no more than 10 years except the real estate share. See buying a business with its real estate and blended maturity.
- Valuation. Where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000, SBA requires an independent business valuation. A land-heavy purchase can fall under that line even at a large price. See the SBA valuation requirement.
- Equity and the seller note. At least 10% of total project costs. A seller note counts toward up to half of it only on full standby for the life of the SBA loan. See seller notes on standby.
- Coverage on history. From 1 October 2026 a change of ownership must show 1.25x debt service coverage on historical results, so one bad spring in the seller's figures matters. Financial due diligence becomes required on every change of ownership from the same date.
- The grower's knowledge. The seller may consult for up to 12 months, or up to 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026, which here means at least one full spring alongside the new owner.
Preparing a nursery or farm store's SBA file
Start with the SBA checklist: business tax returns for 2–3 years, a P&L and balance sheet with a year-to-date P&L through last month-end, a debt schedule with copies of notes being refinanced, and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more, each of whom personally guarantees the loan. What makes this industry's file stronger:
- Monthly sales and bank balances for two years, so the season and its low points are shown rather than explained
- An inventory count at the end of the season as well as the start, with what was written off as dead or unsold stock
- Sales split by line: live goods, hard goods, feed and farm supplies, landscape and delivery services
- An aging of farm and contractor charge accounts, by customer
- A schedule of land, buildings and greenhouses, with any mortgages, and of trucks and equipment with any loans or leases
- Supplier early-order terms and the line of credit that funds the spring buy
- For a purchase: the letter of intent and the business's latest full year of figures, never an older year
Neighboring pages: outdoor power equipment retailers, hardware stores, landscapers, many of whom buy from garden centers at trade prices, and nursery stock wholesalers. Once the documents are in, Transparent builds the full lender package in a day, and on SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower.
Common questions
- What is a typical SBA loan for a garden center or nursery?
- The median 7(a) loan in this industry from October 2023 to June 2026 was $150,000, with the middle half between $50,000 and $548,700 and a median rate of 10%. Larger loans usually include land, greenhouses or a farm store's warehouse.
- Can live plants be used as collateral?
- Not for much. Lenders give perishable nursery stock little or no value because it is seasonal and hard to sell in a liquidation. Hard goods such as bagged products, feed and fencing, equipment and real estate carry the collateral.
- How do lenders handle a garden center's seasonal cash flow?
- They read monthly sales and bank balances to confirm the business can make its payments in the slow months, and they prefer the spring buy to sit on a line of credit that is paid down after the season rather than on the term loan.
- Can I buy a nursery and its land with one SBA loan?
- Yes. A 7(a) loan can finance the business and its real estate together, with the real estate share amortizing over up to 25 years. An owner-occupied property can also be financed through SBA 504, which went to 24 businesses in this industry at a median of $566,500.