I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5367 
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to provide 
for a pilot program under which development loans and loan guarantees 
may be made to beginning farmers and ranchers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 15, 2025 
Ms. STRICKLAND (for herself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. 
FIGURES, and Mr. CARTER of Louisiana) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 
Act to provide for a pilot program under which develop-
ment loans and loan guarantees may be made to begin-
ning farmers and ranchers, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Capital for Beginning 
Farmers and Ranchers Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) beginning farmers and ranchers often pur-
sue business models featuring diverse and specialized 
production and marketing strategies; 
(2) diverse and specialized agricultural busi-
nesses typically require substantial early-stage in-
vestments which will benefit the operation for years 
to come; and 
(3) programs in effect as of 2025 often finance 
those multi-year investments as annual operating 
loans, resulting in beginning farmers and ranchers 
under-investing in critical start-up capacities, lim-
iting the ability of beginning farmers and ranchers 
to accumulate working capital, and increasing the 
difficulties faced by beginning farmers and ranchers 
in meeting the terms of those loans. 
SEC. 3. BEGINNING FARMER AND RANCHER DEVELOPMENT 
LOAN PILOT PROGRAM. 
Subtitle B of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De-
velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1941 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 320. BEGINNING FARMER AND RANCHER DEVELOP-
MENT LOAN PILOT PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION
OF
DEVELOPMENT
EXPENDI-
TURE.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 
‘development expenditure’ means a capital invest-
ment that benefits a farming or ranching business of 
a qualified beginning farmer or rancher for more 
than 1 year. 
‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—In this section, the term 
‘development expenditure’ includes an expenditure— 
‘‘(A) for the acquisition or development 
of— 
‘‘(i) initial assets; or 
‘‘(ii) intangible infrastructure; 
‘‘(B) to increase long-term soil fertility, es-
tablish perennials, or develop breeding stock; 
‘‘(C) to establish an appropriate founda-
tion of small equipment, tools, or supplies; 
‘‘(D) to develop branding and reputation, 
establish commercial relationships with sup-
pliers and key service providers, access new 
markets, or refine product offerings; 
‘‘(E) to establish a bookkeeping system 
sufficient to support invoicing multiple clients 
and managing profitability with respect to di-
verse crops and livestock; 
‘‘(F) to establish payroll and implement le-
gally compliant labor practices; 
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‘‘(G) to establish other business manage-
ment practices relating to food safety, environ-
mental, or other regulatory compliance; or 
‘‘(H) for such other items as the Secretary 
determines appropriate. 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
establish a pilot program to make or guarantee develop-
ment loans to qualified beginning farmers and ranchers 
to finance development expenditures. 
‘‘(c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, a development loan made or guar-
anteed under this section— 
‘‘(A) shall have a repayment term of— 
‘‘(i) not less than 3 years; and 
‘‘(ii) not more than 10 years; 
‘‘(B) may be used only to cover develop-
ment expenditures; 
‘‘(C) shall not exceed $100,000; 
‘‘(D) shall have a collateral requirement of 
not more than 100 percent loan-to-value, sub-
ject to paragraph (2); 
‘‘(E) shall have an interest rate, deter-
mined by the Secretary, of— 
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‘‘(i) not less than zero percent; and 
‘‘(ii) not more than 3 percent; 
‘‘(F) shall require the participating quali-
fied beginning farmer or rancher to make an-
nual interest payments for the full amount of 
interest due; and 
‘‘(G) shall include flexible principal repay-
ment, subject to the condition that not less 
than 1 percent of the remaining balance shall 
be due annually on a date determined by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(2) COLLATERAL REQUIREMENT.—The collat-
eral requirement described in paragraph (1)(D) may 
be reduced by the lender based on the farming or 
ranching experience and expertise of the borrower. 
‘‘(3) TREATMENT.—A development loan made 
or guaranteed under this section— 
‘‘(A) shall not count toward the limitations 
described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of sec-
tion 311(c)(1); 
‘‘(B) shall be considered to be— 
‘‘(i) a direct operating loan or a guar-
anteed operating loan, as applicable, for 
purposes of section 346(b)(2); and 
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‘‘(ii) an operating loan under section 
312 for purposes of section 343(a)(10); 
and 
‘‘(C) except as otherwise provided in this 
section, shall be subject to all applicable provi-
sions of law relating to, as applicable— 
‘‘(i) direct operating loans under this 
title; 
‘‘(ii) 
guaranteed 
operating 
loans 
under this title; or 
‘‘(iii) farmer program loans. 
‘‘(d) BORROWER TRAINING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
to borrowers of development loans made or guaran-
teed under this section comprehensive training and 
support addressing farm and ranch management 
issues. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The training and sup-
port provided under paragraph (1) shall address, to 
the maximum extent practicable— 
‘‘(A) bookkeeping, taxation, credit, and 
regulatory compliance; and 
‘‘(B) cash flow, profitability, and risk man-
agement. 
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‘‘(3) PROVISION.—The Secretary shall provide 
training and support under paragraph (1) through— 
‘‘(A) entities with which the Secretary has 
entered into a contract under section 359; 
‘‘(B) entities that receive funding through 
the beginning farmer and rancher development 
grant 
program 
established 
under 
section 
2501(d) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 
and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(d)); 
‘‘(C) entities that receive funding through 
the risk management education program estab-
lished under section 524(a)(2) of the Federal 
Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524(a)(2)); or 
‘‘(D) other relevant programs, as deter-
mined by the Secretary, including qualified pro-
grams that request such a determination. 
‘‘(e) EVALUATION
AND REPORTS.—The Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(1) evaluate the pilot program established 
under subsection (b) on an ongoing basis; and 
‘‘(2) biennially submit to the Committee on Ag-
riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and 
the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep-
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resentatives a written report describing the oper-
ation and outcomes of the pilot program.’’. 
Æ 
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