Basel III Endgame will make it more difficult for farmers to access credit and manage risk, ultimately leading to higher costs for food and other agricultural products for consumers.

Don't take our word for it—farmers and industry experts continue to emphasize the negative impact Basel III Endgame will have on the agriculture industry:

• Agriculture advocacy groups explained the impact of Basel III Endgame will be felt across industries, which could result in higher prices on energy, cars, and agricultural goods for consumers: "There are many types of commercial entities that use derivatives, including asset managers, pension funds, insurance companies, energy producers and auto manufacturers. We are very concerned that any contraction in the availability of clearing services will have a disproportionate impact on agricultural end users that are far outside the major financial centers, especially smaller entities such as grain elevators and family farms. We urge you to modify the proposals so that they do not disincentivize banks from providing this important service to their customers." (American Farm Bureau Federation, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, et al., Letter, 12/11/2023)
• The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives noted Basel III Endgame would lead to higher costs for farmers overall, impeding their ability to manage risk and price volatility in the industry: "NCFC appreciates this opportunity to provide feedback on the Proposals and believes they would lead to less competition, fewer options, and higher hedging costs to farmer cooperatives overall. Additionally, producers are increasingly dependent on their farmer cooperatives to provide them with the tools to manage price risk, especially during times of increased volatility in commodity markets. Therefore, we ask the Agencies to consider the downstream pricing costs on end-users and the adverse impacts of disincentivizing banks from offering hedging services to agriculture industry in general, and farmer cooperatives specifically." (National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Letter, 1/16/2024)
• AgriBank argued the proposal's treatment of Farm Credit debt obligations may result in less credit for the agricultural sector: "The Proposed Rules' removal of preferential treatment for Farm Credit debt obligations under its collateral haircut approach could increase the cost of issuance of, or reduce demand for, Farm Credit debt as collateral. This may harm liquidity for Farm Credit debt in the market and increase Farm Credit's cost of funding resulting in higher interest rates for its member-owners. This change may adversely impact Farm Credit's unique mission to provide reliable and consistent credit to the agricultural sector and rural America, resulting in harm to the U.S. economy, U.S. consumers and national security." (AgriBank Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Barbara Kay Stille, Letter, 1/16/2024)

There is no doubt that Basel III Endgame will have negative consequences for farmers and consumers. It's time for regulators to scrap Basel III Endgame and start over.