Excerpts from the report Summary: The Farmers Home Administration had made Economic Opportunity loans to 44,478 families throughout the United States by February 29, 1968. Total funds loaned since the program was initiated in January 1965 exceeded $86 million and averaged $1,935 per borrower. The large number of borrowers was still less than 1 percent of the number of all rural households reporting incomes of less than $3,000 in 1959. About two-thirds of the loans were for farming purposes: developing and improving land, repairing and constructing buildings, adding a new enterprise to the operation of the farm, paying operating expenses, and refinancing debts. Nonagricultural loans were used for developing a wide range of nonfarm enterprises. The most prominent use of loan funds was for purchasing machinery and equipment.