The Senate Banking Committee today voted 12-11 to advance the Farm Bill, with the current version of the legislation including several provisions supported by the American Bankers Association.
The Farm Bill previously stalled in committee with Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) absence leaving Republicans without the majority needed to advance the legislation. Committee Democrats oppose the bill in its current form because it does not include a two-year delay of changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. McConnell returned this week and voted with his GOP colleagues to report the bill out of committee.
Among the ABA-backed provisions, the Senate version of the Farm Bill would increase Farm Service Agency, or FSA, Guaranteed Farm Ownership Loan Program limits to $3.5 million and FSA Guaranteed Farm Operating Loan Program to $3 million. It would also increase the FSA Direct Farm Ownership Program loan limit amounts to $850,000 and FSA Direct Farm Operating Loan Programs to $750,000.
Other provisions supported by ABA would create a guaranteed loan program for precision agriculture purchases, expand eligibility for the definition of a “qualified beginning farmer or rancher” by removing the “blood relation” requirement, and raise caps in state agricultural mediation from $500,000 to $700,000 per year and an appropriations limit of $10 million. It would also establish the USDA Express Loan Program to help family farmers and ranchers access credit efficiently.
Along with the changes, senators removed multiple Farm Credit System provisions from the House versions of the Farm Bill that ABA did not support, including making the Farm Credit Administration the sole regulator of the Farm Credit System and having Farm Credit Institutions on 24-month examination cycles rather than 18-month examination cycles.
“We thank the Senate Agriculture Committee for advancing the 2026 Farm Bill,” ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols said. “This important legislation contains provisions that strengthen rural access to credit, including long-overdue increases to Farm Service Agency guaranteed loan limits. We urge the full Senate to act quickly so farmers, ranchers and rural communities can benefit from the certainty and support this bill provides.”
