In a statement for the record in today’s House Appropriations Committee oversight hearing on Farm Credit Administration, ABA emphasized that the Farm Credit System has become too large, too unfocused and too reliant on taxpayer subsidies.

At a Senate Agriculture Committee field hearing in Kansas today, ABA highlighted the critical role that the nation’s banks play providing credit to farmers and ranchers, and advocated for changes to the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill that would take into account the rising costs of agriculture.

On February 1, Dallas Tonsager, the new chairman and CEO of the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), gave his maiden speech as FCA chairman at the Farm Credit Council’s annual meeting. The Council is the trade association for the FCS’s banks and associations. Tonsager sent a powerful message to the FCS that can be characterized by one word – confidence – ...

The current shortage of certified appraisers is hitting bankers hard, particularly in rural markets.

By Bert Ely As last month’s FCW reported, on December 1, the ABA sent a letter to Farm Credit Administration (FCA) chairman Dallas Tonsager registering ABA’s strong objection to CoBank’s participation in a $1.55 billion credit facility that had been extended to CyrusOne LP, the operating partnership of CyrusOne, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed Real Estate Investment Trust, or REIT. CoBank’s portion ...

In this month's Farm Credit Watch, Bert Ely highlights the continued abuses of Farm Credit lender CoBank, which has recently made several large loans to borrowers that are not connected to agriculture.

Farm Credit System lender CoBank has overstepped its lending authority under the Farm Credit Act with a recent extension of credit to CyrusOne, Inc., a real estate investment trust, ABA said today.

The Farm Credit System’s “on-farm” lending totals continued a steady decline through the end of last year, dropping from 72.3 percent of total FCS lending in 2011 to 66.6 percent in 2015.

Farm Credit System institutions dominate the ranking of the nation’s largest ag lenders, as of June 30, 2016.