The legislation was enacted by the United States government to "further provide for the farmer-owned cooperative system of making credit available to farmers and ranchers and their cooperatives, for rural residences, and to associations and other entities upon which farming operations are dependent, to provide for an adequate and flexible flow of money into rural areas, and to modernize and consolidate existing farm credit law to meet current and future rural credit needs, and for other purposes.

A separate System institution was established by the Act to insure the timely repayment of principal and interest on consolidated Systemwide debt issues.

4102, enacted October 28, 1992) was designed to enhance the financial safety and soundness of FCS banks and associations by establishing new mechanisms to ensure repayment of Farm Credit System debt resulting from federal financial assistance provided to the System under the 1987 Act.

162, enacted February 10, 1996) included numerous provisions to provide regulatory relief for the FCS.

Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition (PDF).