The Farm Credit Council is the national trade association of the
Farm Credit System
The Farm Credit System (FCS) in the United States is a nationwide network of borrower-owned lending institutions and specialized service organizations. The Farm Credit System provides more than $304 billion in loans, leases, and related services t ...
, a U.S. network of borrower-owned cooperative lending institutions and service organizations. The Farm Credit Council represents the Farm Credit System in legislative and regulatory lobbying before the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
government and state legislatures.
[Rural Cooperatives May-June 2004]
The Farm Credit Council was established in 1983 and is headquartered in
Washington, D.C.
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It is governed by a 23-person board that implements policy positions. The board consists of representatives from regional Farm Credit Council districts and banks within the Farm Credit System.
In recent years, the Farm Credit Council has sought to expand the mission of the Farm Credit System. Beginning in 2004, it coordinated efforts to leverage support for HORIZONS, a three-pronged program that would have broadened the Farm Credit System’s ability to increase its credit options for farm- and fishing-related businesses, readjust the requirements for the minimum requirements for Farm Credit System stock purchase requirements, and allow the Farm Credit System to expand its residential real estate lending outreach to communities with a population of up to 50,000 (a 1971 Congressional mandate limited Farm Credit System mortgage activities to communities with 2,500 people or less). HORIZONS was included in an original version of the 2007 Farm Bill, but it was removed before the bill went to a committee vote.
In 2008, in response to the declining number of Americans working in agriculture, the Farm Credit Council created a new staff position to encourage outreach and support for young and first-time farmers and ranchers and for minority farmers.
“New Position to Focus Efforts on Young, Beginning and Small Farmers,” American Cowman, Feb. 11, 2008
References
External links
Farm Credit Council web site
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Farm Credit System