1. U.S. Code
  2. title 12
  3. chapter 23
  4. § 2001

Collapse to view only § 2001. Congressional declaration of policy and objectives

§ 2001. Congressional declaration of policy and objectives
(a) It is declared to be the policy of the Congress, recognizing that a prosperous, productive agriculture is essential to a free nation and recognizing the growing need for credit in rural areas, that the farmer-owned cooperative Farm Credit System be designed to accomplish the objective of improving the income and well-being of American farmers and ranchers by furnishing sound, adequate, and constructive credit and closely related services to them, their cooperatives, and to selected farm-related businesses necessary for efficient farm operations.
(b) It is the objective of this chapter to continue to encourage farmer- and rancher-borrowers participation in the management, control, and ownership of a permanent system of credit for agriculture which will be responsive to the credit needs of all types of agricultural producers having a basis for credit, and to modernize and improve the authorizations and means for furnishing such credit and credit for housing in rural areas made available through the institutions constituting the Farm Credit System as herein provided.
(c) It is declared to be the policy of Congress that the credit needs of farmers, ranchers, and their cooperatives are best served if the institutions of the Farm Credit System provide equitable and competitive interest rates to eligible borrowers, taking into consideration the creditworthiness and access to alternative sources of credit for borrowers, the cost of funds, the operating costs of the institution, including the costs of any loan loss amortization under section 2254(b)1
1 See References in Text note below.
of this title, the cost of servicing loans, the need to retain earnings to protect borrowers’ stock, and the volume of net new borrowing. Further, it is declared to be the policy of Congress that Farm Credit System institutions take action in accordance with the Farm Credit Act Amendments of 1986 in such manner that borrowers from the institutions derive the greatest benefit practicable from that Act: Provided, That in no case is any borrower to be charged a rate of interest that is below competitive market rates for similar loans made by private lenders to borrowers of equivalent creditworthiness and access to alternative credit.
(Pub. L. 92–181, § 1.1, Dec. 10, 1971, 85 Stat. 583; Pub. L. 99–509, title I, § 1032, Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1877; Pub. L. 115–334, title V, § 5411(1), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4679.)

CITE AS: 12 USC 2001

§ 2002. Farm Credit System
(a) Composition

The Farm Credit System shall include the Farm Credit Banks, the bank for cooperatives, Agricultural Credit Banks, the Federal Land Bank Associations, the Federal Land Credit Associations, the Production Credit Associations, the agricultural credit associations, the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation, the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, service corporations established pursuant to section 2211 of this title, and such other institutions as may be made a part of the Farm Credit System, all of which shall be chartered by and subject to regulation by the Farm Credit Administration.

(b) Farm credit districts

There shall be not more than twelve farm credit districts in the United States, which may be designated by number, one of which districts shall include the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and one of which districts may, if authorized by the Farm Credit Administration, include the Virgin Islands of the United States: Provided, That the extension of credit and other services authorized by this chapter in the Virgin Islands of the United States shall be undertaken only if determined to be feasible under regulations of the Farm Credit Administration. The boundaries of the twelve farm credit districts existing on December 10, 1971, may be readjusted from time to time by the Farm Credit Administration, with the concurrence of the boards of the banks in each district involved. Two or more districts may be merged as provided in section 2252(a)(2) of this title.

(Pub. L. 92–181, § 1.2, formerly §§ 1.2, 5.0, Dec. 10, 1971, 85 Stat. 583, 614; Pub. L. 96–592, title V, § 501, Dec. 24, 1980, 94 Stat. 3448; Pub. L. 99–205, title II, § 205(c), (g)(1), Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1703, 1706; Pub. L. 100–233, title IV, § 434, title VIII, § 805(a), (v), Jan. 6, 1988, 101 Stat. 1662, 1715, 1716; Pub. L. 100–399, title IX, § 901(q)–(s), Aug. 17, 1988, 102 Stat. 1008; Pub. L. 115–334, title V, § 5411(2), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4679.)

CITE AS: 12 USC 2002