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House subcommittee hearing emphasizes need for durable farm bill safety net
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Summary
Chairman Scott and witnesses told the House Agriculture subcommittee that a predictable farm bill and risk management tools are essential to maintain credit access and keep family farms viable amid low commodity prices and high input costs.
Chairman Scott convened the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management hearing titled “Financing Farm Operations: The Importance of Credit and Risk Management,” saying, “If we don't support today's farmers, there won't be a next generation ready to step in.”
The hearing brought together agricultural lenders and a producer to describe how rising input costs, lower commodity prices and market volatility are straining farm balance sheets and credit access. Ranking Member Davids said Kansas producers face high input costs, higher interest rates and market uncertainty and called for a strong safety net that “is accessible, and that it's responsive to the needs of the folks making use of them.”
Why it matters: witnesses and members repeatedly framed the farm bill as the central federal policy tool that underpins affordable, reliable credit for producers. Clint Hood, senior vice president and director of the Ag and Timber Group at Synovus Bank, told the subcommittee that farm bill programs and lending tools like crop insurance “work hand in hand to help farmers withstand downturns.” Hood also noted roughly $130,000,000,000 in ad hoc assistance has flowed to producers in the past six years, calling that assistance “no substitute for a durable, predictable safety net.”
Witnesses urged Congress to finalize a multi-year farm bill that modernizes credit titles and risk management programs. Mandy Minnick, senior vice president of stakeholder relations at AgWest Farm Credit, said federal crop insurance and stronger FSA guaranteed-loan programs are vital, particularly for specialty and beginning farmers. Brian Gilbert, senior vice president and ag banking manager at First National Bank in Sioux Falls, urged higher USDA guaranteed loan limits to reflect today’s land values and production costs.
Several witnesses also raised related concerns: modernizing Farmer Mac, ensuring Farm Credit System proposals do not disadvantage community banks, and retaining recent Packers and Stockyard Act rules. John Wicks, a fourth‑generation Montana farmer and owner of Timber Ridge Organics, described how Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans and storage facility loans enabled his operation and urged Congress to adjust loan limits and streamline processes for succession and debt restructuring.
The chair closed by saying staff will check which recommendations are legislative and reported the hearing record will remain open for 10 days for additional materials.
Ending: The subcommittee did not vote on any measures at the hearing. Members and witnesses emphasized legislative fixes—chiefly passage of a modernized farm bill and reforms to FSA loan programs—are needed to reduce reliance on ad hoc aid and to preserve farm credit access.
