Bill Details
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This bill would create a new five-year test program to make it easier for farmers and ranchers to get pre-qualified or pre-approved for certain federal farm ownership loans. The goal is to help applicants better understand whether they are likely to qualify before they go through the full loan process, while still keeping the normal loan rules in place. The Agriculture Secretary would have to set up the program within two years, use approved ways to judge a borrower’s financial strength and ability to repay, give priority in outreach to groups that work with beginning farmers and ranchers, and report each year to Congress on how the program is working and whether it should become permanent.
- The program would be a pilot, meaning it would run for five years to test whether this approach helps farmers and ranchers.
- It would focus on direct farm ownership loans under federal farm lending law.
- The Agriculture Secretary could use alternate tools, such as financial benchmarking, to judge whether an applicant is likely to repay the loan and has a sound business plan.
- The bill says it does not remove any existing borrowing requirements, and it requires annual reports to Congress with results, participant feedback, and a recommendation on whether to make the program permanent.
Official Summaries
Farm Ownership Improvement Act
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a pilot program to implement a pre-qualification or pre-approval process for farmers and ranchers for direct farm ownership loans. As background, the Farm Service Agency Direct Loan Program provides Farm Ownership Loans to farmers and ranchers for the purchase and development of farm property.
Under the five-year pilot program, USDA must prioritize outreach to organizations that have demonstrated engagement with beginning farmers or ranchers.
In addition, USDA may make use of alternative methods, including financial benchmarking, to reliably evaluate the financial viability of a participant in the pilot program and the likelihood of repayment of the applicable loan.
USDA must submit an annual report to Congress on the pilot program, which must include a description of the program's performance outcomes and a recommendation as to the pilot program's value.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 910 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 910
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a pilot program to
implement a pre-qualification or pre-approval process for farmers and
ranchers with respect to a direct farm ownership loan under the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 10, 2025
Mr. Welch (for himself, Mr. Hoeven, and Ms. Smith) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a pilot program to
implement a pre-qualification or pre-approval process for farmers and
ranchers with respect to a direct farm ownership loan under the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Farm Ownership Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. DIRECT FARM OWNERSHIP LOAN PILOT PROGRAM.
Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act is
amended by inserting after section 374 (7 U.S.C. 2008i) the following:
``SEC. 375. DIRECT FARM OWNERSHIP LOAN PILOT PROGRAM.
``(a) Establishment of Pilot Program.--Not later than 2 years after
the date of enactment of the Farm Ownership Improvement Act, the
Secretary shall establish a 5-year pilot program (referred to in this
section as the `pilot program') to implement a pre-qualification or
pre-approval process for farmers and ranchers with respect to a direct
farm ownership loan under subtitle A.
``(b) Borrower Viability and Repayment Assessment.--In carrying out
section 360(b) with respect to a participant in the pilot program, the
Secretary, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, may make use
of alternative methods, including financial benchmarking, to reliably
evaluate the financial viability of the participant and the likelihood
of repayment of the applicable loan.
``(c) Limitation.--This section shall not be interpreted to repeal
any borrowing requirement imposed under subtitle A.
``(d) Outreach Priority.--In conducting outreach relating to the
pilot program, the Secretary shall prioritize outreach to organizations
that have demonstrated engagement with beginning farmers or ranchers.
``(e) Evaluation and Reports.--The Secretary shall--
``(1) evaluate the pilot program on an ongoing basis; and
``(2) annually submit to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives a written report
that includes--
``(A) a description of the performance outcomes of
the pilot program, including stakeholder and
participant evaluations, assessments, and participation
demographics, that includes the information described
in section 5413(b)(1)(A)(iv) of the Agriculture
Improvement Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 2008x(b)(1)(A)(iv));
and
``(B) a recommendation as to the value of the pilot
program, including whether to authorize a permanent
program modeled on the pilot program.''.
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