The Farm, Food and National Security Act (H.R. 8467), commonly referred to as the 2024 Farm Bill, was marked up yesterday by the House Agriculture Committee. The bill reauthorized programs within the United States Department of Agriculture, including loan programs used by bankers. The 2018 Farm Bill expired in 2023 but was extended through 2024. The legislation is voted on every five years.
The bill—which totaled $1.5 trillion, the first Farm Bill in history over a trillion dollars—includes comprehensive risk management tools for farmers and ranchers, loan guarantees for agricultural loans, rural development projects, nutrition support and investments in conservation. The legislation provides a vehicle for the banking industry to help meet the financial needs of farmers, ranchers and U.S. agricultural communities. Both the House and Senate ag committees released outlines of their competing versions of the 2024 Farm Bill on May 1. The House committee released a nearly 1,000-page discussion draft on May 17.
“Banks continue to be one of the first places farmers and ranchers turn to when seeking agricultural loans,” the American Bankers Association said in a statement for the record for yesterday’s House committee meeting. “Banks that offer agricultural credit products typically finance a wide array of customers, including large and small farms, urban farmers, beginning farmers and USDA-defined historically underserved farmers, which include women and minority farmers and ranchers. Meaningful changes proposed in the 2024 Farm Bill will allow bankers to better serve their customers and ensure they have high levels of credit availability in the years to come.”
ABA’s priorities in the legislation include modernizing USDA’s Farm Service Agency loan guarantee limits; clarifying bona-fide operator rules for beginning farmer programs; modernizing and raising limits for the down payment assistance program; and providing robust risk management tools to allow bank customers greater stability and predictability for each growing season.
ABA did, however, voice its disappointment that banks were not included in the 2024 Farm Bill language that would exempt Farm Credit institutions from the CFPB’s final 1071 rule and directs the Farm Credit Administration to write a rule requiring Farm Credit institutions to report only race, sex and ethnicity data to FCA annually. An amendment was offered by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) to repeal CFPB’s final 1071 rule. The amendment ultimately was withdrawn due to jurisdictional issues. ABA said it would “continue to seek solutions” for agricultural banks that fall under the CFPB’s “burdensome” final 1071 rule.
