COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FARM SERVICE AGENCY FACT SHEET

October 2015

Commodity Credit Corporation

OVERVIEW

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a 

government-owned and operated entity that was 

created in 1933 to stabilize, support, and protect 

farm income and prices. CCC was also charged 

with maintaining balanced and adequate supplies 

of agricultural commodities and to aid in the 

orderly distribution of those commodities.

CCC was incorporated on Oct. 17, 1933, under a 

Delaware charter with a capitalization of 

$3 million. CCC was initially managed and 

operated in close affiliation with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which funded its 

operations. On July 1, 1939, CCC was transferred 

to the United States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) and was reincorporated on July 1, 1948, 

as a Federal Charted Corporation within USDA by 

the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act (62 

Stat.1070; 15 U.S.C. 714).

The CCC Charter Act, as amended, is authorized to 

assist agricultural producers through loans, 

purchases, payments, and other operations, and 

makes available materials and facilities required in 

the production and marketing of agricultural commodities. 

The CCC Charter Act also authorizes the sale of 

agricultural commodities to other government 

agencies and to foreign governments and the 

donation of food to domestic, foreign, or 

international relief agencies. In addition, CCC 

assists in the development of new domestic and 

foreign markets and marketing facilities for 

agricultural commodities.

ORGANIZATION

CCC is managed by a Board of Directors (Board) 

subject to the general supervision and direction of 

the Secretary of Agriculture, who is an ex-officio 

director and chairperson of the Board. The Board 

consists of seven members, in addition to the 

Secretary, who are appointed by the President of 

the United States. Officers of CCC, directly or 

through officials of designated USDA agencies, 

maintain liaison with numerous other 

governmental and private trade operations. CCC 

programs must be approved by the Board of 

Directors and/or the Secretary of Agriculture. 

Currently, all members of the Board and all 

Corporation officers are USDA officials. 

CCC does not have any employees, using the 

employees of federal agencies in the conduct of its 

operations. Domestic agricultural price and income 

support programs are carried out primarily through 

the personnel and facilities of the Farm Service 

Agency (FSA). International programs are carried 

out by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and 

the United States Agency for International 

Development (USAID). The majority of CCC 

conservation programs are implemented by the 

Natural Resource and Conservation Service 

(NRCS). Other USDA agencies also carry out CCC 

programs. CCC is authorized to contract for the 

use of privately-owned facilities in carrying out its 

activities.

CCC has no authority to acquire personal property. 

CCC is prohibited from acquiring real property, or 

any interest in property, except for the purpose of 

protecting its financial interests and for providing 

adequate storage to carry out its programs. CCC is 

authorized to rent or lease office space necessary 

for its business.

FINANCING

CCC has an authorized and outstanding capital 

stock of $100 million that is held by the United 

States Department of the Treasury. Interest on CCC 

capital stock is paid annually to Treasury based 

on a rate established by Treasury for government 

corporations. CCC has the authority to borrow up 

to $30 billion from the Treasury at any one time. 

These funds are used to implement the programs 

authorized under the CCC Charter Act and various 

other statutes, including the Agricultural Act of 

2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill).
FACT SHEET

Commodity Credit Corporation October 2015

CCC MAJOR PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

CCC has invested $100 million in the Biofuels 

Infrastructure Partnership (BIP) to support the 

expansion of infrastructure for renewable 

biofuels made from agricultural commodities. The 

BIP is administered through competitive grants and 

matched by States and private contributions, 

creating additional markets for commodities. CCC 

also funds the establishment of renewable energy 

crop through the Biomass Crop Assistance 

Program, assisting producers with the costs of 

production, storage, and transportation of 

agricultural biomass for energy and bio-based 

products. CCC has also invested $160 million in a 

partnership with the U.S. Navy and Department of 

Energy to accelerate the development of domestic, 

competitively-priced “drop-in” diesel and jet fuel 

substitutes. This partnership assists the Federal 

Aviation Administration to build a green fleet and 

help the commercial airline industry move towards 

using biofuels to power jets.

NRCS administers several CCC conservation 

programs. These programs use incentive and 

cost-share payments and NRCS personnel 

technical assistance to enhance the quality of the 

environment. The programs reduce, control, and 

prevent soil erosion; restore wetlands; protect and 

improve the quality of wetland areas; establish, 

restore and enhance fish, waterfowl and wildlife 

habitats; increase sediment trapping efficiencies; 

and improve air quality. These programs also 

provide for the purchase of conservation easements 

directly from agricultural landowners or through a 

cooperating entity. 

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), 

administered by FSA, assists producers to improve 

conservation. CRP is a federally-funded voluntary 

program that contracts with agricultural 

producers so that environmentally sensitive 

agricultural land is not farmed or ranched, but 

instead used for conservation benefits. CRP 

participants establish long-term, resourceconserving plant species, such as approved grasses 

or trees (known as “covers”) to control soil 

erosion, improve water quality and develop 

wildlife habitat. In return, FSA provides 

participants with rental payments and cost-share 

assistance. Contract duration is between 10 and 15 

years.

DOMESTIC AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY 

PROGRAMS

2015 Programs

Commodity price support operations include 

marketing and managing any CCC-owned 

inventories which are handled primarily through 

nonrecourse loans for producers of wheat, corn, 

oilseeds, cotton, rice, barley, oats, grain sorghum, 

wool, mohair, honey, peanuts, pulse crops, and 

sugar. Borrowers may satisfy their obligations to 

a CCC nonrecourse loan by repaying the loan or 

forfeiting the loan collateral to CCC. Marketing 

assistance loans also provide interim financing to 

producers so that commodities can be stored after 

harvest, when market prices are typically low, to be 

sold later, when price conditions are more 

favorable.

International Programs

The USAID Office of Food for Peace (FFP) 

implements the Food for Peace Program. 

Approximately $1.5 billion are appropriated 

annually for this program, which CCC acquires 

commodities and finances the transportation of the 

commodities to international destinations. 

Commodities are provided to private voluntary 

organizations and international organizations, 

primarily the United Nations World Food Program 

for use in emergency and development food 

assistance activities. These activities include direct 

general food distribution, food for work, food for 

training and supplementary feeding to reduce 

suffering and save lives while improving food 

security.

CCC is authorized to promote the export of U.S. 

agricultural commodities through sales, payments, 

export credits and other related activities. 

Currently, the major CCC export programs are the 

Export Credit Guarantee Program (GSM-102) and 

the Facility Guarantee Program (FGP). The USDA 

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) administers 

the GSM-102 program on behalf of the CCC; the 

program makes it possible for foreign buyers to 

purchase U.S. agricultural commodities from 

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private U.S. exporters. U.S. banks provide 

financing to approve importers’ foreign banks on 

commercial terms. The banks finance the export of 

the commodities and CCC guarantees repayment 

to the U.S. banks. GSM-102 operates mainly in 

countries where credit is necessary to increase or 

maintain U.S. exports and where private financial 

institutions may be unwilling to provide financing 

without CCC’s guarantee.

Under FAS’s Facility Guarantee Program (FGP), 

CCC extends credit guarantees to U.S. banks for 

financing export sales of U.S. capital goods and 

services to improve agriculture-related facilities 

in emerging markets, such as storage, processing 

and handling facilities. Sales of capital goods and 

services must be linked to projects that primarily 

benefit U.S. agricultural exports.

The USDA Market Access Program (MAP) uses 

CCC funds to aid in the development, expansion, 

and maintenance of foreign markets for U.S. 

agricultural commodities and products. The MAP 

forms a partnership between CCC and non-profit 

U.S. agricultural trade associations, non-profit U.S. 

agricultural cooperatives, non-profit state-regional 

trade groups and small U.S. businesses to share 

the costs of overseas marketing and promotional 

activities, such as trade shows, market research, 

consumer promotions, technical assistance, trade 

servicing and seminars to educate overseas 

customers.

The FAS’s Foreign Market Development (FMD) 

Program also known as the Cooperator Program 

uses CCC funds to create, expand and maintain 

long-term export markets for U.S. agricultural 

products. The program fosters a cost-sharing trade 

promotion partnership between USDA and U.S. 

agricultural producers and processors who are 

represented by nonprofit commodity or trade 

associations called Cooperators. On behalf of CCC, 

FAS enters into partnerships with those eligible 

nonprofit U.S. trade organizations that have the 

broadest producer representation of the 

commodity being promoted. Under these 

partnerships, USDA and the Cooperators pool their 

technical and financial resources to conduct 

overseas market development.

FAS’s Emerging Markets Program (EMP) is a CCC 

market access program that provides funding for 

technical assistance activities intended to promote 

exports of U.S. agricultural commodities and 

products to emerging markets in all geographic 

regions consistent with U.S. foreign policy.

The EMP is a generic program and its resources 

may be used to support exports of U.S. agricultural 

commodities and products only through generic 

activities. Projects that endorse or promote branded 

products are not eligible for the program. Funding 

is provided through three channels: (1) the 

Central Fund which is the principal means of 

funding, made available through a public 

announcement; (2) the Technical Issues Resolution 

Fund (TIRF) to address technical barriers to those 

issues that are time sensitive and are strategic areas 

of longer term interest; and (3) the Quick Response 

Marketing Fund (QRMF) to assist with short-term 

time-sensitive marketing opportunities.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about CCC or FSA 

programs, visit online at www.fsa.usda.gov/ccc

or www.fsa.usda.gov or contact us at:

USDA/FSA

Commodity Credit Corporation Office

1400 Independence Avenue SW 

Stop 0599

Washington, D.C. 20250-0599

(202) 720–0402 or (202) 720-4019

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination 

against its customers, employees, and applicants for 

employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, 

age, disability, sex, gender identity, re¬ligion, reprisal, 

and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, 

familial or parental status, sexual orien¬tation, or all or 

part of an individual’s income is derived from any public 

assistance program, or protected genetic information 

in employment or in any program or activity conducted 

or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases 

will apply to all programs and/or em¬ployment activities.) Persons with disabilities, who wish to file a 

program complaint, write to the address below or if you 

require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, au¬diotape, 

etc.) please contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 

720-2600 (voice and TDD). Individuals who are deaf, 

hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities and wish to 

file either an EEO or program complaint, please contact 

FACT SHEET

Commodity Credit Corporation October 2015

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FACT SHEET

Commodity Credit Corporation October 2015

USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-

8339 or (800) 845-6136 (in Spanish).

If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint 

of discrimination, complete the USDA Program 

Dis¬crimination Complaint Form, found online at 

http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or 

at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request 

the form. You may also write a letter containing all of 

the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter by mail to U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 

1400 Inde-pendence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 

20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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