Congress could fix some of Farm Credit’s most egregious issues.
Every five years, Congress makes sure that agricultural policy stays fresh by developing a piece of legislation called the Farm Bill. Continue Reading
Farm Credit Spotlight
Lone Star Ag Credit’s ‘Irregularities
The Farm Credit System (FCS) can’t seem to shake its reputation for shoddy accounting and questionable deals. Continue Reading
Huge FCS Merger Leaves Compeer Financial High on the Hog
On June 27, the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) Board gave approval for the creation of Compeer Financial through a merger of Badgerland Financial, 1st Farm Credit Services and AgStar Financial Services. “The merger, proposed last September, was finalized on July 1 after 18 months of discussion and voting by the new organization’s 43,000-plus member-owners, of whom about 16,000 are in Wisconsin,” reported The Wisconsin State Journal. “Its ‘bread and butter service’ is lending, though Compeer also provides crop insurance, appraisals, and tax and accounting services in Wisconsin.”
The issues arising from this merger are manifold.
Cap and Frown: FCS targets bankrupt college
Farm Credit Mid-America, an association of the Farm Credit System (FCS), is there to offer “unique solutions” for their customers’ needs. And Farm Credit Mid-America was there for its client, to the tune of a $27 million loan
Sound strange? It should.
Credit where credit’s due
If it were a bank, the Farm Credit System (FCS) would be the seventh largest in the country. At $320 billion in total assets, the FCS has grown beyond its mission. How did it get there?
There are many reasons, but one’s certain: it has neglected the credit needs of young, beginning and small farmers.
Let’s Really Help Farmers
The FCS has neglected the credit needs of young, beginning and small farmers for at least a decade. Instead of making loans to the people who need credit the most, FCS lenders have dominated the agricultural real estate lending market, holding over half of all real estate loans.
Big Surprise! Farm Credit Faced Yet Another Oversight Hearing
The Farm Credit System (FCS) and the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), only a month after being exposed at the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee oversight hearing, were called before the House Committee on Agriculture for a “review”. Review is a bit of an understatement; if the FCS and the FCA have any more reviews like this then they’ll suffocate under the weight of the criticism.
Farm Credit Faced an Oversight Hearing – Again
Rep. DeLauro has said what many have thought: Congress desperately needs to reform Farm Credit. So far, multiple committees in both the House and the Senate have decided that Congress needs to take a closer look at the FCS and the FCA. And it should, because the FCS is on the precipice: it is growing larger every day, small farmers are being neglected and the FCS continues to make loans outside of its mission. Congress needs to act now.
The Farm Credit System (FCS) has been having some serious trouble with the law.
If the FCA won’t step in, then Congress needs to. Congress – whether it’s the House or Senate Committees on Agriculture of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform or the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs – needs to act before it’s too late.
Did Farm Credit East Commit a Crime?
For now, it looks like Farm Credit East has temporarily evaded justice, and the FCS and the FCA have escaped blame for their negligence. But they’ll soon reap what they’ve sewn.