New Faces, New Opportunities: Farm Credit’s 2025 Advocacy Efforts

Farm Credit is known for building great relationships with our customers, but our employees and directors take it a step further than that by engaging with key elected officials to share our customers’ stories and advance our mission. While the Farm Credit System was established by Congress more than 108 years ago, we continue to work to strengthen our relationships with our representatives. We do this by meeting with representatives in Washington, D.C. and the states within our territory, making trips to locations they are visiting and participating in events where we can share our story.

The 2024 election cycle brought new issues and energy to Washington, D.C., and new opportunities to build relationships with decision makers there. Farm Credit has been hard at work introducing our efforts in agriculture and our rural communities to the new members of Congress and President Trump’s appointees. Across Farm Credit of the Virginias’ territory in Virginia, West Virginia and Western Maryland, we welcomed seven new members of the U.S. House and Senate into our tri-state delegation!

This includes West Virginia Senator Jim Justice, who is the newest member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Virginia Congressman Eugene Vindman, who now serves on the House Agriculture Committee. In early 2025, we had the opportunity to host an agricultural roundtable at our Culpeper Farm Credit branch office with Congressman Vindman as he began his term on the House Ag Committee. We have also had the chance to meet with the teams of all new members of our Congressional delegation while in Washington earlier this year.

With so many new faces and a rapid pace of change in D.C., it’s more important now than ever before to share the story of agriculture and Farm Credit with our elected officials. Key issues for agriculture in Congress in 2025 include, first and foremost, bipartisan passage of a new Farm Bill, including risk management programs that reflect the current agricultural economy needs. As Congress considers tax legislation, Farm Credit is working with agricultural partners to support tax provisions of importance to agriculture and rural landowners. Add in trade implications, agricultural labor needs, input costs, natural disaster responses, as well as investments in conservation, research and connectivity, and we’ve got a full plate of policy priorities!

How can you help support Farm Credit and agriculture priorities?

We encourage you to take a moment to join Farm Credit’s advocacy team. Just visit FarmCredit.com/Take-Action and sign up for the action alert system or text "CREDIT" to 52886. Once you are signed up, Farm Credit will contact you via email and/or text message when it’s time to contact Congress again regarding key votes for agriculture and our rural communities. Help us stand up for agriculture!

This CAP (Congressional Advocacy Program) update was published in the Summer 2025 Leader Magazine. Access the full magazine (digital version) HERE.