Washington – U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) today introduced the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act. This legislation allows community banks to administer agricultural real estate loans by granting them tax exempt status on earned interest. The ACRE Act would benefit American families, farmers, and rural communities nationwide by making loans more accessible and affordable to rural and agricultural borrowers.
Joining Senators Marshall and Moran are Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama).
“The ACRE Act will help community banks address one of the most significant challenges for rural communities — high interest rates,” said Senator Marshall. “High rates raise the cost of doing business for family farms, make it harder for small businesses to grow, and leave home ownership unattainable for many. The ACRE Act is common sense legislation to reverse these trends.”
“Persistent inflation and high interest rates are putting a strain on farmers and rural homeowners in Kansas and across the country,” said Senator Moran. “Rural Americans should have the flexibility to access the capital needed to expand their family farms and achieve the dream of homeownership. This legislation will help to boost rural housing and support the agricultural economy that plays a vital role in small towns across America.”
“Rural communities across America are facing a serious affordable housing crisis. It has simply gotten way too hard to find reasonably priced homes in our small towns,” said Senator King. “The ACRE Act is a commonsense way to make home and farm ownership possible for more families by providing better access to low interest loans.”
“Owning a home or family farm is a cornerstone of the America dream, and I’m proud to co-lead the ACRE Act to make loans more affordable for rural communities,” said Senator Gallego. “The American dream should be within reach for all Arizonans, including those living in rural parts of our state.”
“Farmers and ranchers need large swaths of land to grow crops and raise livestock to feed and fuel the world,” said Senator Cramer. “The ACRE act is a simple, straightforward solution to promote competition among lenders by lowering interest rates for farmland purchases.”
Specifically, the ACRE Act would:
- Amend the Internal Revenue Code to exclude interest received on certain loans secured by rural or agricultural real property from gross income.
- Allow farm real estate borrowers and rural homeowners access to lower interest rates by expanding the same tax-exempt status on certain earned interest that applies to other lenders.
- Apply to agricultural real estate and single-family home mortgage loans in rural communities with fewer than 2,500 residents and for mortgages less than $750,000.
- Expand access to affordable agricultural and home loans to over 4,000 rural communities nationwide and save family farmers and producers well over $400 million in annual interest expenses.
“ABA applauds today’s bipartisan, bicameral introduction of the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy Act of 2025, and we thank the bill’s lead sponsors Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Angus King (I-ME), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Representatives Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04), Don Davis (D-NC-01) and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-01) for their leadership on this issue,” said Rob Nichols, President and CEO of the American Bankers Association (ABA). “The ACRE Act will deliver much-needed financial support to farmers and ranchers working through a difficult economic cycle by lowering the cost of credit without creating new government payments or programs. It would also drive down the cost of homeownership and increase access to credit in more than 17,000 rural communities across the country. We urge all members of Congress to support this critically important legislation.”
“This important legislation will help community bank lenders revive and sustain rural economies struggling to overcome the impact of higher interest rates,” said Rebeca Romero Rainey, President and CEO, Independent Community Bankers of America. “ICBA and the nation’s community banks thank Congressman Feenstra (R-IA) and Davis (D-NC) for providing a reasonable solution that benefits rural Americans, especially young, beginning, and small farmers and ranchers, who will make up the next generation of producers.”
