Farm Ownership Improvement Act

The Farm Ownership Improvement Act, introduced in the Senate by Senators Welch, Hoeven, and Smith, would require the Secretary of Agriculture to create a five-year pilot program to implement a pre-qualification or pre-approval process for applicants seeking direct farm ownership loans under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. The pilot must be established within two years of enactment and run for five years. It would allow the Secretary to use alternative methods, including financial benchmarking, to assess a borrower’s viability and likelihood of loan repayment for participants in the pilot, while not repealing any existing borrowing requirements. Outreach under the pilot would prioritize organizations that engage with beginning farmers. The Secretary would evaluate the program on an ongoing basis and annually report to Congress with outcomes, stakeholder feedback, and a recommendation on whether to make a permanent program modeled on the pilot.