Farm+Credit

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The Farm Credit System is a nationwide network of borrower-owned lending institutions and specialized service organizations. Farm Credit provides more than $160 billion in loans, leases, and related services to farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, aquatic producers, timber harvesters, agribusinesses, and agricultural and rural utility cooperatives.

Congress established the System in 1916 to provide a reliable source of credit for the nation's farmers and ranchers. Today, the System provides more than one-third of the credit needed by those who live and work in rural America.

Farmers, ranchers, agribusiness, rural homeowners and rural utilities depend on the Farm Credit System’s funding and services to produce the high quality food and agricultural products enjoyed in the United States and around the globe. The Farm Credit mission is to provide a reliable source of credit for American agriculture by making loans to qualified borrowers at competitive rates and providing insurance and related services.

Nearing our 100th anniversary, we have:
 * //**Assets in excess of $214 billion**//
 * //**Nearly 500,000 member-borrowers**//
 * //**More than 10,000 employees**//
 * //**Coverage in every county in all 50 states plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico**//

Creation of the Farm Credit System coincided with World War I, a very prosperous time for American farmers with the demand for food in Europe. But prices collapsed after the war, and among the resulting economic problems were severe shortages of short-term credit for farmers. Congress responded with the Agricultural Credits Act of 1923, adding 12 Federal Intermediate Credit Banks (FICBs) to the Farm Credit System. However, these were flawed by procedural and geographic problems, and a long, complicated loan approval process. Things went from bad to worse with the stock market crash of 1929, touching off the Great Depression, throwing thousands of farmers into foreclosure and virtually shutting down the System's ability to finance agriculture.

= Credit Act of 1971 = With its government capital paid off, a National Services Commission on Agricultural Credit was formed in 1969 to consider where the Farm Credit System should head in the future. Its recommendations formed the basis for the Farm Credit Act of 1971, the most sweeping update of the System's charter since 1933. The 1971 act, along with amendments added in 1980, significantly expanded the range of services Farm Credit institutions could offer. These services included rural home mortgages, leasing services, and international and rural utility lending. It also expanded certain authorities of local associations and led to a major reorganization of the Farm Credit Administration. The institutions of the FCS grew rapidly in the 1970s and early 1980s, when loan volume topped $80 billion. The boom years of the 1970s saw farmers borrow heavily to expand their operations to meet the great demand for U.S. agricultural exports, particularly to the Soviet Union, where drought conditions had caused severe grain shortages. Double-digit inflation raised prices on farm products and boosted the value of farmland. =**//The Farm Credit Amendments Act of 1985//**= =The 1985 Act restructured FCA to give it increased oversight, regulatory, and enforcement powers similar to those of other Federal financial regulatory institutions. It also provided for a full-time, presidentially appointed three-member Board, with one member serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FCA. FCA was required to examine each direct-lending institution at least annually and could use its new enforcement authority to instill safe and sound banking practices on troubled institutions and to correct any regulatory violations. The enforcement powers include formal agreements, cease-and-desist orders, civil money penalties, and suspension of officers and directors.=