Bipartisan Hoeven bill increases loan limits on USDA credit programs

To improve credit access for America’s farmers and ranchers, loan limitations would be updated for certain U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs under a bipartisan bill sponsored on Sept. 21 by U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND).

“Production costs for our farmers and ranchers continue to rise due to record inflation and increasing costs for fuel, fertilizer and other inputs,” Sen. Hoeven said. “Our legislation will help credit programs to keep pace with the current needs of producers so they have access to the capital they need to support their operations and ensure Americans have access to the food and fuel we need.”

Sen. Hoeven introduced the Producer and Agricultural Credit Enhancement (PACE) Act, S. 2890, alongside original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to modify limitations on amounts of farm ownership loans and operating loans, according to the congressional record bill summary.

The lawmakers want to improve farmers’ and ranchers’ access to credit by modernizing the loan programs and are working to pass the legislation as part of the next Farm Bill, according to Sen. Hoeven’s staff.

If enacted, S. 2890 would increase loan limitations for the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Direct and Guaranteed Loan Programs for Farm Operating Loans and Farm Ownership Loans by the following amounts: direct operating would increase from $400,000 to $750,000; guaranteed operating would increase from $2.04 million to $2.6 million; direct ownership would rise from $600,000 to $850,000; and guaranteed ownership would go from $2.04 million to $3 million, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Hoeven’s staff.

Additionally, S. 2890 would change the inflation benchmark for guaranteed ownership loans to the National Ag Statistics Service Ag Land Values land survey, and increase loan limitations for the FSA microloan program from $50,000 to $100,000, among other provisions, the summary says.

“Too many American farmers and producers operate on razor-thin margins,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “By expanding credit opportunities for producers and farmers, this legislation will strengthen the rural economy across Minnesota and the country.”

The bill has garnered support from numerous organizations, including the National Farmers Union, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Cotton Council, the National Pork Producers Council, the U.S. Canola Association, and the American Bankers Association, among many others.