Last week, the U.S. House Agriculture Committee advanced the farm bill with troublesome provisions to expand the power of the Farm Credit System (FCS).
As reported last week, in its current form, the bill includes positive provisions to enhance commodity price supports, strengthen the crop insurance program and bolster the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guaranteed loan programs with higher loan limits and quicker loan approvals.
However, grassroots support was not strong enough to get the committee to remove provisions expanding the Farm Credit System’s power to conduct nonfarm lending. The provision, which exempts FCS lenders from Section 1071 reporting requirements, is also still intact.
IBAT will continue to work with the ICBA to monitor the progress of the Farm Bill. IBAT will, without a doubt, be calling on members to take grassroots action as the bill progresses in the House and the Senate.
Thank you to all who answered our call to action last week.
