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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The FCS has a duty, outlined in statute, to provide reliable access to credit for small farmers. So far, it hasn’t done its best to provide that access. And when government agencies don’t follow their mission, it’s time for Congress to take them to task.