ABA Testifies Before Senate Ag Committee on Risk Management, Credit and the Agricultural Economy

The American Bankers Association offered the banking industry’s views on risk management, credit and the agricultural economy in testimony before the Senate Committee on Agriculture today. Caleb Hopkins, current chair of ABA’s Agricultural and Rural Bankers Committee, testified on behalf of ABA. Hopkins, based in Halbur, Iowa, has worked in agricultural banking for 13 years, including the past 2 years as a loan production officer for Dakota Mac, a subsidiary of First Dakota National Bank in Yankton, S.D.

In his testimony, Hopkins highlighted the critical role banks play in the rural economy by fulfilling the financial needs of farmers, ranchers and agricultural communities across the country. At the end of last year, more than 3,725 banks – 82% of all banks nationwide – reported agricultural loans on their books with a total outstanding portfolio of more than $204 billion, according to his testimony. He also discussed the important steps Congress should take to support the agricultural economy.

“Congress has several tools to help the farm economy – starting with the passage of a strong Farm Bill,” said Hopkins. “Additionally, outside this committee’s jurisdiction, bankers believe the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act of 2025 is a solution that will provide another form of economic relief for farmers, ranchers and rural homeowners by lowering the cost of credit for these customers.”

Hopkins also outlined ABA’s Farm Bill priorities including “modernizing the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan guarantee limits, clarifying bona-fide operator rules for beginning farmer programs, modernizing and raising limits for the down payment assistance program, and providing robust risk management tools that allow our customers to have greater stability and predictability for each growing season.”

Hopkins' testimony also addressed the important role of highly specialized agricultural lending banks – or farm banks – in the rural economy.

“In 2024, farm banks – banks with more than 14.26 percent of their loans made to farmers or ranchers – increased lending by 6.4 percent to meet the rising needs of farmers and ranchers, and now provide $115 billion in total farm loans,” he said. “Farm banks are healthy, well-capitalized, and stand ready to meet the credit demands of our nation’s farmers large and small.”

Hopkins cautioned that the agricultural economy is facing headwinds and without changes to government policy, agricultural producers may experience a tightening of credit availability.

“The 2025 Farm Bill and the ACRE Act provide opportunities to make the changes necessary to provide the credit needed for farmers and ranchers to successfully navigate tougher economic times,” he said. “Bankers continue to see great opportunities in agriculture and will continue to stand with farmers and all our partners in agriculture going forward.”

Read the full testimony.