Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Chairman Combest: We are writing to express the views of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and our 5,000 community bank members across the United States on various provisions of the House and Senate farm bills being considered by conferees.
ICBA is the only national trade association that exclusively represents the views of community banks and our membership includes several thousand banks that lend to agriculture.
Commercial banks provide over forty percent of the credit extended to American agriculture and therefore have a vital stake in the outcome of the new farm bill.
First, we want to thank the House and Senate Agriculture Committee members and their staffs for all the hard work and effort that has gone into writing a new farm bill.
A New Farm Bill Versus Farm Aid Payments: We are hopeful that a new farm bill can be completed and sent to the President before the next congressional recess, scheduled for late March.