WASHINGTON, D.C. – Farm Credit System associations made 175,068 loans to young, beginning and small U.S. producers in 2025, delivering on its mission to support rural communities and agriculture, according to a new Farm Credit Administration (FCA) report. These results underscore Farm Credit’s commitment to the next generation of agricultural producers through strategic lending and support initiatives.
“We all know how important the next generation is to the future of agriculture,” said Christy Seyfert, President and CEO of the Farm Credit Council. “Farm Credit is proud of our collective, ongoing commitment to supporting young, beginning and small producers which this report illustrates.”
2025 Highlights:
- During 2025: Farm Credit System associations made 175,068 new loans to young, beginning and small U.S. producers, totaling $38.2 billion. More than half, 56.3% of all loans made by Farm Credit lenders in 2025 were made to young, beginning or small producers.
- Year-End 2025: Farm Credit had nearly 696,419 in loans outstanding to young (under age 35), beginning (less than 10 years ag production experience) or small (under $350,000 in annual gross cash farm income) U.S. producers, totaling $131.5 billion.
- Non-Lending Services: In 2025, Farm Credit invested $46 million in educational programming, grants, scholarships, marketing and outreach and financial related services to young, beginning and small producers. From 2024 to 2025, there was a year-over-year increase to the number of YBS Advisory Committees and the number of associations with dedicated YBS staff.
The Farm Credit Administration is a regulatory agency charged with oversight of the Farm Credit System. It annually reviews Farm Credit’s performance on meeting the needs of YBS farmers and ranchers and reports these findings to Congress.
This year’s report is the third to incorporate the agency’s new YBS lending rule, which went into effect on February 1, 2024, and includes data on eight mutually exclusive categories, ensuring that loans and shared credits are counted only once for accuracy. Due to FCA-mandated changes in methodology and parameters, results from 2025 may not be directly comparable to previous years.
The table below, excerpted from the FCA report, details new loans made during 2025 by Farm Credit System lenders.
Loan Count and Current Commitment Volume: Loans Made During 2025
[NOTE: The individual numbers above for young, beginning or small cannot be combined as producers can be classified in more than one of the categories.]
Source: Farm Credit Administration, Annual Report on the Farm Credit System’s Young, Beginning, and Small Farmer Mission Performance, August 2026
Farm Credit supports rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services, today and tomorrow. It has been fulfilling its mission of helping rural America grow and thrive for more than a century with the capital necessary to make businesses successful and by financing vital infrastructure and communication services. For more information visit www.farmcredit.com.
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