The Farm Credit System (FCS) is a nationwide network of borrower-owned cooperative lenders—not a single bank or a government loan office. Four System banks raise money by selling securities and fund local associations, which lend to eligible agricultural and rural borrowers. The separate Farm Credit Administration (FCA) regulates and examines System institutions; it does not decide an individual borrower’s application.
How does the Farm Credit System work?
The basic flow is capital markets → four System banks → local associations → eligible borrowers. The banks sell debt securities in national and international money markets, then provide funding to associations that make loans in their local territories. The Farm Credit Administration describes the current network as four banks and 55 associations; institution counts can change as charters or associations change. FCA: About banks & associations.
The four banks are AgriBank, AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, Farm Credit Bank of Texas, and CoBank. CoBank also has authority to lend directly to farmer-owned cooperatives and rural infrastructure providers, support U.S. agricultural exports, and provide international banking services for farmer-owned cooperatives. This funding model is not simply a distribution of federal tax dollars.
Is the Farm Credit System a government agency?
No. The FCS is a network of cooperative financial institutions. The FCA is an independent federal agency that regulates and supervises those institutions. It writes rules, examines institutions, monitors compliance with the Farm Credit Act and FCA regulations, protects borrower rights, and can require corrective action. It is not the retail lender that approves an individual applicant’s loan.
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The FCA says it examines every System institution at least once every 18 months and continuously monitors risk. It is funded through assessments on System institutions rather than federal appropriations. See the agency’s descriptions of bank and association oversight and FCA’s role and funding.
Who owns Farm Credit, and what does patronage mean?
Borrowing farmers own and control the System’s banks and direct-lending associations. The FCA describes its cooperative principles as user-ownership, user-control, and user-benefits. As the agency puts it, “Each institution is owned and controlled by the farmers who borrow from it.” FCA: The cooperative way (updated April 5, 2021).
Institutions may retain earnings to support capital or return some value to customer-owners through patronage. Patronage depends on an institution’s results and policies; it is not guaranteed, and it should not be treated as a guaranteed discount on a particular loan. Farm Credit Council: About Farm Credit.
Who may qualify for a Farm Credit loan?
Eligibility depends on the borrower, the purpose of the loan, and the institution’s legal authority and territory. The FCA lists authority for categories including:
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- Aquatic producers and harvesters.
- Certain farmer-owned agricultural processing facilities, farm-related businesses, and agricultural cooperatives.
- Rural home mortgages.
- Agricultural import and export finance.
- Rural utilities.
A rural address by itself does not establish eligibility. The institution must confirm that the applicant and proposed project fit its authorized borrower and loan categories. Under “similar-entity” authority, the System may participate with another lender in some activities functionally similar to those of eligible borrowers; this does not mean every similar business can borrow directly from an association. The FCA’s overview of banks and associations describes the System’s lending authorities.
Federal law also sets a public-purpose framework for serving creditworthy agricultural producers with a basis for credit, alongside responsibilities related to young, beginning, and small farmers and ranchers. Farm Credit is not the same program as USDA Farm Service Agency lending. The GAO describes FSA as a lender of last resort for certain family-sized farms unable to obtain credit elsewhere; the programs have different eligibility rules and purposes. GAO: Agricultural Lending.
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The following are Farm Credit Council-reported figures as of December 31, 2025. They describe the Council’s reported network activity, not an individual lender’s terms or the amount available to a particular borrower.
| Measure | Farm Credit Council figure | Period / qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Customers nationwide | More than 615,000 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Total loan volume | $456.9 billion | As of December 31, 2025 |
| New loans to young, beginning, and small farmers | $38.2 billion | 2025 |
| Number of new loans to young, beginning, and small farmers | 147,362 | 2025 |
| Returned to farmers and ranchers through patronage | $3.1 billion | 2025 |
These are Council-reported statistics, not a promise of patronage or credit availability for any applicant. For its young, beginning, and small farmer reporting, the Council says the FCA raised the “small” farm threshold to less than $350,000 in annual gross cash farm income beginning with 2024 reporting and revised the categories that year. Farm Credit Council: Young, Beginning & Small Farmers.
How do you find your local Farm Credit lender?
- Open the FCA institution directory or the Farm Credit Council’s Find Your Lender page.
- Search by location and identify the institution serving your area.
- Contact that institution to confirm whether your borrower type and project qualify, and ask which application requirements apply.
- Ask about its current rates and fees, territory, any borrower-stock requirement, and whether patronage is available. Loan terms and patronage arrangements are not uniform across institutions.
The Council’s contact page directs people seeking a loan to its lender-finding tool. The local institution—not the FCA—can explain its current loan products and evaluate an application.
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