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Inserts a new paragraph enumerating persons furnishing services to producers or harvesters of aquatic products as eligible for credit and financial services, and redesignates the former paragraph (3) as paragraph (4). Also adjusts conjunction/punctuation in paragraph (2).
Amends section 1.11(c)(1) by inserting additional text after the existing material; the specific insertion text is not provided in the excerpt.
Adds a new paragraph (4) to subsection (a) to explicitly include persons furnishing services to producers or harvesters of aquatic products directly related to their operating needs as eligible recipients of short- and intermediate-term loans; also adjusts conjunction/punctuation in paragraphs (2) and (3).
Allows businesses that provide services to producers or harvesters of aquatic products (for example, processors, distributors, equipment suppliers, and service contractors) to be eligible borrowers under the Farm Credit System. The change adds these service providers to the list of entities that Farm Credit banks and production credit associations can make loans to. This is a targeted change to the Farm Credit Act that expands which coastal and aquaculture-related businesses can access Farm Credit loans and credit facilities. It does not create new spending, change taxes, or impose new mandates on states.
Amend Section 1.9 of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2017) by (A) striking “or” at the end of paragraph (2), (B) redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4), and (C) inserting after paragraph (2) a new paragraph (3) that reads: “persons furnishing to producers or harvesters of aquatic products services directly related to their operating needs; or.”
Amend Section 1.11(c)(1) of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2019(c)(1)) — the text states: “is amended by inserting after .” (no additional text specified in this section).
Amend Section 2.4(a) of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2075(a)) by striking “and” at the end of paragraph (2).
Amend Section 2.4(a) of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2075(a)) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and inserting “; and”.
Amend Section 2.4(a) of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2075(a)) by adding at the end a new paragraph (4) that reads: “persons furnishing to producers or harvesters of aquatic products services directly related to their operating needs.”
Who is affected and how:
Businesses providing services to producers or harvesters of aquatic products: Primary beneficiaries. They become statutorily eligible for Farm Credit bank and production credit association loans and credit products. This can improve access to longer-term financing, working capital, and equipment loans at terms common in the Farm Credit System.
Producers and harvesters of aquatic products (fishers, aquaculture operators): Secondary beneficiaries. Improved access to financing for service providers can strengthen the supply chain (processing, maintenance, distribution), potentially lowering service disruptions and improving service quality.
Small businesses and coastal communities: Many service providers are small or locally based; expanded credit eligibility may support business investment, job retention, and local economic activity in coastal and aquaculture regions.
Farm Credit System institutions: Will gain access to a broader borrower pool. They will need to adapt underwriting, collateral evaluation, and portfolio oversight to account for the financial characteristics and risks of service providers to the aquatic sector.
Other lenders and market participants: May face modest competition effects if Farm Credit institutions extend favorable financing to new borrower types.
Net effect: A narrowly targeted statutory amendment that increases financing access for service firms tied to aquatic production and harvesting, with likely modest and localized economic benefits and minor administrative adjustments for Farm Credit lenders and regulators.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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Introduced March 31, 2025 by Angus Stanley King · Last progress March 31, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced in Senate