Why It Matters
The fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation law (P.L. 119-21) raised statutory loan rates for all Marketing Assistance Loan (MAL) and Loan Deficiency Payment (LDP) eligible commodities for crop years 2026–2031, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
Higher loan rates increase the likelihood of triggering marketing loan gains and LDP payments and allow farmers to receive higher-valued loans for stored commodities.
The MAL program provides low-interest, nine-month loans on eligible stored commodities; the LDP program pays equivalent price-support benefits to farmers who do not take out MALs.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency administers both programs, which receive mandatory appropriations through USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation.
The Big Picture
The corn MAL rate rose from $2.20 per bushel under the 2019–2025 schedule to $2.42 per bushel for 2026–2031, a 10% increase. The honey MAL rate more than doubled, from $0.69 per pound to $1.50 per pound, the largest proportional increase among the commodities listed in the report's rate table.
Program outlays have varied sharply with market conditions: loan gains plus LDP payments peaked at $263 million in crop year 2020 (inflation-adjusted to 2026 dollars) before falling to $79 million in crop year 2025.
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-334) removed the annual per-person and per-entity caps on MAL and LDP benefits. Some policymakers favor reinstating tighter limits to reduce costs and address concerns about payments to large farms; others argue that large farms should not be penalized for efficiencies gained from scale.
CRS notes Congress could consider further modifying the MAL and LDP programs to reduce the need for future supplemental support, but any expansion under the existing farm bill baseline may require funding reductions for other farm bill priorities.
The Bottom Line
The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567), sponsored by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15), passed the House in April and is now awaiting further action in the Senate. It would make no changes to the MAL or LDP programs but would allow farmers to repay nonrecourse MALs during USDA furloughs caused by a lapse in appropriations.
The payment-limits debate and whether higher loan rates reduce the need for future supplemental support remain open issues for Congress.
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