Sponsors (7)
The bill expands Farm Credit access to aquaculture service providers to spur local economic development and strengthen seafood supply chains, while creating modest fiscal risk for taxpayers and potential competition for existing borrowers' access to credit.
Small aquaculture-related small businesses and service providers (and the rural/coastal communities that host them) gain access to Farm Credit System loans and services, enabling investment, expansion, and job support in local aquaculture supply chains.
Producers and harvesters of aquatic products benefit from a strengthened local supply chain because their service providers can access credit to expand or modernize, improving producers' operations and market resilience.
Taxpayers could face increased fiscal risk if adding new borrower types to Farm Credit System lending leads to higher defaults or requires greater federal support.
Existing Farm Credit borrowers (e.g., farmers and some small businesses) may face increased competition for lending capacity if institutions redirect credit toward newly eligible aquaculture service providers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands which businesses can get loans and services from Farm Credit System institutions by allowing firms that provide services directly tied to the operating needs of aquatic-product producers and harvesters to be eligible borrowers. The change adds these service providers to the list of persons Farm Credit Banks and Production Credit Associations may serve, with small conforming edits to existing eligibility language.
Introduced March 31, 2025 by Chellie Pingree · Last progress March 31, 2025