As the agricultural economy continues to face turmoil, passage of the 2025 Farm Bill and the proposed Access to Credit for our Rural Economy, or ACRE, Act would provide much-needed assistance to farmers, ranchers and rural communities, Caleb Hopkins, chairman of the American Bankers Association’s Agricultural and Rural Bankers Committee, told senators today.
Hopkins is loan production officer for Dakota Mac, a subsidiary of First Dakota National Bank in Yankton, South Dakota. He testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee for the most recent in a series of hearings on the U.S. agricultural economy. In prepared remarks, Hopkins noted that banks remain a primary source of credit to farmers and ranchers, with 82% of all banks nationwide reporting agricultural loans on their books at the end of 2024, with a total outstanding portfolio of more than $204 billion.
“Bankers continue to monitor the agricultural economy, and we are very cognizant of how economic headwinds affect our customers,” Hopkins said. “Congress has several tools to help the farm economy — starting with the passage of a strong Farm Bill. Additionally, outside this committee’s jurisdiction, bankers believe the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy Act of 2025 is a solution that will provide another form of economic relief for farmers, ranchers and rural homeowners by lowering the cost of credit for these customers.”
However, Hopkins said the Farm Bill needs policy changes to increase credit availability for rural America. The most significant change bankers would like to see is an increase in the Farm Service Agency’s Guaranteed Farm Ownership Loan Program to $3.5 million and the FSA Guaranteed Farm Operating Loan Program to $3 million. “As the cost of agriculture continues to increase, it is vital to have the FSA loan programs keep pace with modern agriculture,” he said.
At the same time, the ACRE Act would remove the taxation on income earned from interest on new agricultural real estate loans and new loans for rural residences in a population area of less than 2,500 people with a mortgage value of less than $750,000. “By removing this taxation, banks will be able to lower their interest rates, which helps to lower costs for borrowers,” Hopkins said.
