United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 2 D · 1 R cosponsors

S 910 — Farm Ownership Improvement Act

Last action — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 36% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    1 primary, 2 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (2 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Farm Ownership Improvement ActThis 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.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

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Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill establishes a new pilot program for pre-qualification or pre-approval processes for farm ownership loans under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.

  • 7 U.S.C. 2008i

    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)); (B) a recommendation as to the value of the pilot program, including whether to authorize a permanent program modeled on the pilot program.

    The new section creates a pilot program focused on pre-qualifying or pre-approving farmers for loans, enabling better assessment of their financial viability.

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 544 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (2)

Not signed on (544)

544 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

agriculture
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 910 do?
Farm Ownership Improvement ActThis 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.
Who sponsors S 910?
S 910 is sponsored by Welch, Peter (Democratic), Hoeven, John (Republican), and Smith, Tina (Democratic).
What is the current status of S 910?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 910?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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