The Farm Credit System, a 200 billion lending institution, is a nationwide financial cooperative that serves agriculture and rural America. While we are not a governmental agency, congress created the System in 1916 to provide American agriculture with a reliable source of credit. The competitive balance between Farm Credit, commercial banks and other lenders continues to ensure that rural America has access to a dependable source of reasonably priced credit. Unlike commercial banks, the Farm Credit System does not take deposits. Instead, loanable funds are raised through the sale of System-wide bonds and notes in capital markets. The funds are channeled back to rural America through a network of banks and approximately 200 associations to farmers, ranchers and agri-businesses in all 50 states.