United States General Accounting Office

GAO Report to the Chairman, Committee on

the Budget, House of Representatives

November 1998 FARM SERVICE

AGENCY

Information on Farm

Loans and Losses

GAO/RCED-99-18

GAO United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

Resources, Community, and

Economic Development Division

B-281178 

November 27, 1998

The Honorable John R. Kasich

Chairman, Committee on the Budget

House of Representatives

Dear Mr. Chairman:

The Farm Service Agency (FSA), a lending agency within the U.S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides financial assistance to farmers

and ranchers who are unable to obtain commercial credit at reasonable

rates and terms. When a borrower does not repay his or her loans, FSA has

various tools to resolve the delinquency, which may include

forgiving—writing off—debt. The Federal Agriculture Improvement and

Reform Act of 19961

 generally prohibits FSA from making loans to

borrowers who have previously had debts forgiven.

This report responds to your request for selected information on FSA’s

farm loans. In particular, as you requested, we are providing information

on (1) the financial condition of FSA’s active direct farm loan portfolio at

the end of fiscal years 1995 through 1997; (2) the amount and number of

losses incurred by FSA on direct farm loans from fiscal year 1989 through

fiscal year 1997; and (3) new farm operating loans2

 that FSA has made on

an exception basis, since the 1996 Farm Bill, to borrowers who had debts

forgiven when their loans were restructured.3

Results in Brief The unpaid principal on the Farm Service Agency’s active direct farm loan

portfolio totaled about $9.7 billion at the end of fiscal year 1997.

Delinquent borrowers (those who are at least 30 days past due on loan

repayment) held about $2.7 billion, or 28.2 percent, of this amount. The

size of the agency’s portfolio, as well as the percentage of the portfolio

held by delinquent borrowers, has decreased since 1995, when the

portfolio totaled $11.4 billion, of which 40.7 percent was held by

delinquent borrowers. In fiscal years 1996 and 1997, about $1.9 billion of

principal and interest owed on farm loans was written off by the agency.

1

This act (P.L. 104-127, Apr. 4, 1996) is referred to as the 1996 Farm Bill.

2

Farm operating loans are generally made to pay the expenses that farmers and ranchers incur in

operating their farms and ranches, to refinance existing debts, and to pay family living expenses.

3

Restructured loans had the original loan agreements altered by writing down unpaid principal and

accumulated interest. The making of farm operating loans to such borrowers is an exception to the

general prohibition on making loans to borrowers who have previously had debts forgiven.

Page 1 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
B-281178 

For the 9-year period fiscal years 1989 through 1997, the Farm Service

Agency wrote off $15.2 billion of direct farm loans for almost 80,000

borrowers through its various processes for resolving delinquencies,

which provide for (1) restructuring loans, (2) allowing a borrower who

does not qualify for restructuring to make a payment based on the value of

loan-security property (this payment is referred to as a buyout payment),

or (3) reaching a final resolution of the debt that may or may not include a

payment by the borrower (this is referred to as debt settlement). About

$1.7 billion of the agency’s losses resulted from reducing the debts of

borrowers whose loans were restructured, and about $2.4 billion resulted

from forgiving the debts of those who made buyout payments. Most of the

write-off—about $11.1 billion—occurred through debt settlement.

Since the enactment date of the 1996 Farm Bill through June 30, 1998, the

Farm Service Agency made or guaranteed $54.2 million in new farm

operating loans to 690 borrowers whose debts had been reduced when

their prior farm loans were restructured. Most of the 690 borrowers who

received loans—about 77 percent—obtained direct farm operating loans,

and about 23 percent obtained guaranteed farm operating loans.

Background FSA, established by the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of

Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-354, Oct. 13, 1994),

provides, among other things, direct government-funded loans to farmers

and ranchers who are unable to obtain financing elsewhere at reasonable

rates and terms.4 FSA also provides repayment guarantees on farm loans

made by commercial lenders. For a guaranteed loan, a commercial lender

must certify that it will not make the loan unless it receives an FSA

guarantee. The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, as

amended (P.L. 87-128, Aug. 8, 1961), is the basic authority for the farm loan

programs.

Farm ownership loans—both direct and guaranteed—are made for

purposes such as buying farm real estate and making capital

improvements. Farm operating loans—both direct and guaranteed—are

made for purposes such as buying feed, seed, fertilizer, livestock, and farm

equipment; refinancing existing debts; and paying family living expenses.

Additionally, emergency disaster direct loans are made to farmers and

ranchers whose operations have been substantially damaged by adverse

weather or other natural disasters.

4

FSA administers the farm loan programs that historically were operated by USDA’s Farmers Home

Administration. In this report, we refer to these loan programs as FSA’s programs.

Page 2 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
B-281178 

To obtain a direct farm loan, an applicant must, among other things,

pledge property as security for the loan and have a projected cash flow

that demonstrates the ability to repay the loan. The cash flow test requires

showing projected income that must be at least equal to but not

necessarily more than projected expenses, which include the principal and

interest that will be due on the loan; this standard does not require an

income cushion in anticipation of unforeseen circumstances. The 1996

Farm Bill required that a delinquent borrower demonstrate up to a

10-percent cash flow margin for a loan or loans to be restructured.

However, this requirement was removed by the Omnibus Consolidated

and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (P.L. 105-277,

Oct. 21, 1998).

When a borrower does not repay his or her loans, FSA has various tools to

resolve the delinquency, such as (1) restructuring loans, which may

include reducing debt; (2) allowing a borrower who does not qualify for

restructuring to make a buyout payment based on the value of

loan-security property for less than the amount owed, which results in

FSA’s forgiving the balance; and (3) reaching a final resolution of the debt

that may or may not include a payment by the borrower, which also

results in debt forgiveness.

The 1996 Farm Bill generally prohibits new loans to borrowers who

caused FSA to incur loan losses. However, the act contains an exception

allowing borrowers whose debts were reduced through restructuring to

obtain new farm operating loans—direct and guaranteed—for annual

operating purposes, such as buying feed, seed, and fertilizer. In addition,

P.L. 104-134 (Apr. 26, 1996), which provided supplemental appropriations

for USDA for fiscal year 1996, allows further exceptions. Specifically, FSA

can make a farm operating loan, or an emergency disaster loan, to any

borrower who had a loan application in process at the time the Farm Bill

was enacted, provided that the borrower was less than 90 days delinquent

at that time. A farm operating loan under this exception provision can be

for any purpose for which such loans are authorized. P.L. 105-277, which

was enacted in October 1998, allows additional exceptions to the general

prohibition of new loans to borrowers who caused FSA to incur loan losses.

Page 3 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
B-281178 

Outstanding and

Delinquent Loans

Have Declined in

Recent Years

The outstanding principal owed on FSA’s active direct farm loans declined

from about $11.4 billion in September 1995 to $10.5 billion in

September 1996 and to $9.7 billion in September 1997.5

 The portion of the

portfolio held by delinquent borrowers also declined over this period.

Specifically, as table 1 shows, delinquent borrowers held $4.6 billion, or

40.7 percent, of the outstanding principal in September 1995 and

$2.7 billion, or 28.2 percent, of the outstanding principal in

September 1997.6

Table 1: Amount and Percentage of Outstanding Direct Farm Loans Owed by Delinquent Borrowers, September 30, 1995,

Through September 30, 1997

Outstanding principal Owed by delinquent borrowers

Percentage owed by delinquent

borrowersa

Dollars in billions

Fiscal year Amount

Number of

borrowers Amount

Number of

borrowers

Percentage of

debt

Percentage of

borrowers

1997 $9.7 110,119 $2.7 18,558 28.2% 16.9%

1996 $10.5 115,714 $3.6 24,316 34.2% 21.0%

1995 $11.4 121,711 $4.6 29,669 40.7% 24.4%

aPercentages are based on whole numbers.

Source: GAO’s analysis of records from FSA’s Finance Office.

More Than $15 Billion

of Direct Farm Loans

Has Been Written Off

From fiscal year 1989 through 1997, $15.2 billion in principal and interest

was lost by reducing or forgiving the delinquent debt of FSA’s direct farm

loan borrowers.7

 Of these losses, about $1.7 billion was debt written down

when FSA restructured delinquent borrowers’ loans, and another

$2.4 billion was debt written off when delinquent borrowers, who did not

qualify for restructuring, made buyout payments. Most of the losses during

this 9-year period, however—about $11.1 billion, or 73 percent—were

write-offs that resulted from debt settlements. As we previously reported,

5

The information presented in this section of the report covers the outstanding principal owed on

active direct farm loans and excludes inactive loans, such as those involved in bankruptcy or

foreclosure proceedings. Also, while collateral property reduces FSA’s risk on outstanding loans, we

did not determine the extent to which the government’s investment in outstanding loans is protected

by such property.

6

If a borrower was delinquent (at least 30 days past due on loan repayment) on any farm loan, the

principal on all farm loans held by the borrower was totaled to calculate the amount owed by the

delinquent borrower. We do so because FSA considers all loans held by borrowers when attempting to

resolve delinquencies through its various servicing tools.

7

The $15.2 billion of losses equals $17.4 billion in constant 1997 dollars.

Page 4 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
B-281178 

debt settlements generally occur after loan-security property has been

liquidated and frequently result in no payments being made to the agency

by the borrowers at the time of settlement.8

 For example, we reported in

May 1998 that 81.5 percent of the more than $2 billion written off during a

recent 3-year period was done with no payments at the time of settlement.

Table 2 summarizes the amount of debt written off during the fiscal year

1989-97 period through each of the three tools available to FSA for

resolving delinquent loans. (App. I provides annual information on

write-offs by the type of loan-servicing action.)

Table 2: Direct Farm Loan Losses, by

Type of Loan Servicing, Fiscal Years

1989 Through 1997

Dollars in billions

Type servicing Amount Number of borrowersa

Restructured with write-down $1.7 10,994

Buyout with write-off 2.4 11,638

Debt settled with write-off 11.1 57,196

Total $15.2b 79,828

aThe number of borrowers represents discrete borrowers—that is, if servicing occurred for a

borrower in more than 1 fiscal year over the 9-year period, the borrower is counted only once.

bThe $15.2 billion of losses equals $17.4 billion in constant 1997 dollars.

Source: GAO’s analysis of records from FSA’s Finance Office.

FSA has incurred losses on all types of direct farm loans. The highest

losses, however, occurred with the agency’s emergency disaster loans, on

which $7.5 billion was written off from 1989 through 1997. Table 3, which

summarizes the amount of debt written off by the type of loan during this

9-year period, also shows that a total of $4.9 billion was written off on the

agency’s farm ownership and operating loans. (App. I provides annual

information on write-offs by the type of loan.)

8

See, for example, Farm Service Agency: Status of the Farm Loan Portfolio and the Use of Three

Contracting Provisions for Loan Servicing (GAO/RCED-98-141, May 5, 1998) and Debt Settlements:

FmHA Can Do More to Collect on Loans and Avoid Losses (GAO/RCED-95-11, Oct. 18, 1994).

Page 5 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
B-281178 

Table 3: Direct Farm Loan Losses, by

Loan Type, Fiscal Years 1989 Through

1997

Dollars in billions

Loan type Amount Number of borrowersa

Farm ownership $1.9 23,970

Farm operating 3.0 48,124

Emergency disaster 7.5 41,225

Otherb 2.8 23,441

Total $15.2c 136,760

aThe number of borrowers includes some borrowers who are counted more than once because

they had more than one type of direct loan for which losses were incurred.

b“Other” covers economic emergency, soil and water, and recreation loans.

cThe $15.2 billion of losses equals $17.4 billion in constant 1997 dollars.

Source: GAO’s analysis of records from FSA’s Finance Office.

A large part of FSA’s losses on farm loans occurred during the early years

of the fiscal year 1989-97 period. Specifically, more than half the

losses—$7.9 billion, or about 52 percent of the total losses—occurred

during the first 3 fiscal years of this 9-year period. Another $4.4 billion, or

about 29 percent, occurred in fiscal years 1992 through 1994. The balance,

$2.8 billion, or about 19 percent, occurred in fiscal years 1995 through

1997. (App. I provides annual information on write-offs.)

New Farm Operating

Loans Were Made to

Certain Borrowers

Who Caused Prior

Losses

Since enactment of the 1996 Farm Bill on April 4, 1996, through the first

three quarters of fiscal year 1998, FSA made or guaranteed $54.2 million in

new farm operating loans to borrowers whose prior debts had been

reduced when their loans were restructured. A total of 690 borrowers

whose loans had been restructured with write-downs obtained new farm

operating loans since the passage of the 1996 Farm Bill. (We did not

determine whether the loans received by these borrowers were for annual

operating purposes or for other authorized purposes, such as acquiring

livestock or farm equipment, refinancing existing debts, or paying family

living expenses.) Most of these borrowers—77.4 percent—obtained direct

farm operating loans, and the other 22.6 percent obtained guaranteed

loans. Furthermore, as table 4 shows, almost twice as many direct farm

operating loans were made in the first three quarters of fiscal year 1998 as

were made in fiscal 1997.

Page 6 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
B-281178 

Table 4: Direct and Guaranteed Farm Operating Loans Made From April 4, 1996, Through June 30, 1998, to Borrowers Who

Previously Had Loans Restructured With Debt Forgiveness

Direct loans Guaranteed loans Total loans

Dollars in millions

Fiscal yeara

Number of

borrowers

Amount of new

loans

Number of

borrowers

Amount of new

loans

Number of

borrowers

Amount of new

loansb

1996 103 $5.1 45 $6.2 148 $11.3

1997 180 8.3 83 10.9 263 19.2

1998 354 18.6 40 5.2 394 23.7

Totalb 534 $32.0 156 $22.2 690 $54.2

aThe time period covered in each fiscal year is as follows: April 4, 1996, through September 30,

1996, for fiscal 1996; October 1, 1996, through September 30, 1997, for fiscal 1997; and, October

1, 1997, through June 30, 1998, for fiscal 1998.

bFigures may not add to the total amounts because of rounding. Also, the number of borrowers

does not add to the total; rather, the total represents discrete borrowers who received farm

operating loans—that is, if a borrower received a loan in more than 1 fiscal year, the borrower is

counted only once in the total.

Source: GAO’s analysis of records from FSA’s Finance Office.

Agency Comments We provided a draft of this report to USDA for review and comment. We

met with Farm Service Agency officials, including the Deputy

Administrator for Farm Credit Programs, the Director of the Loan

Servicing and Property Management Division, and the Deputy Director of

the Loan Making Division. The agency generally agreed with the material

contained in the report and offered technical changes and suggestions for

clarifying the report. We made these changes and incorporated these

suggestions as appropriate.

Scope and

Methodology

To provide information on the portfolio, losses, and new farm operating

loans, we obtained and analyzed information from the computerized

databases in FSA’s St. Louis Finance Office, where financial and statistical

data on farm loans are maintained. We did not verify the accuracy of the

information contained in these databases. In addressing the losses

incurred by FSA on direct farm loans and the new farm operating loans to

borrowers who previously received debt forgiveness when their loans

were restructured, we reviewed the basic statutory authority for the farm

loan programs, which is contained in the Consolidated Farm and Rural

Development Act, as amended, and our prior reports. In addition, we

reviewed the farm loan provisions in the 1996 Farm Bill and in the act that

Page 7 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
B-281178 

provided supplemental appropriations for USDA for fiscal year 1996. We

performed our work from September through October 1998 in accordance

with generally accepted government auditing standards.

As agreed, unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no

further distribution of this report until 30 days from the date of this letter.

At that time, we will send copies of this report to the appropriate Senate

and House committees; interested Members of Congress; the Secretary of

Agriculture; the Administrator of FSA; the Director, Office of Management

and Budget; and other interested parties. We will also make copies

available to others upon request.

Please call me at (202) 512-5138 if you or your staff have any questions.

Major contributors to this report are listed in appendix II.

Sincerely yours,

Robert E. Robertson

Associate Director, Food

 and Agriculture Issues

Page 8 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
Page 9 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
Contents

Letter 1

Appendix I 

Yearly Information on

Write-Offs of Farm

Loans

12

Appendix II 

Major Contributors to

This Report

15

Tables Table 1: Amount and Percentage of Outstanding Direct Farm

Loans Owed by Delinquent Borrowers, September 30, 1995,

Through September 30, 1997

4

Table 2: Direct Farm Loan Losses, by Type of Loan Servicing,

Fiscal Years 1989 Through 1997

5

Table 3: Direct Farm Loan Losses, by Loan Type, Fiscal Years

1989 Through 1997

6

Table 4: Direct and Guaranteed Farm Operating Loans Made

From April 4, 1996, Through June 30, 1998, to Borrowers Who

Previously Had Loans Restructured With Debt Forgiveness

7

Table I.1: Total Dollar Amount of Direct Farm Loan Losses, by

Type of Loan Servicing, Fiscal Years 1989 Through 1997

12

Table I.2: Number of Borrowers Whose Direct Farm Loans Were

Reduced or Forgiven, by Type of Loan Servicing, Fiscal Years

1989 Through 1997

13

Table I.3: Total Dollar Amount of Direct Farm Loan Losses, by

Type of Loan, Fiscal Years 1989 Through 1997

13

Table I.4: Number of Borrowers Whose Direct Farm Loans Were

Reduced or Forgiven, by Type of Loan, Fiscal Years 1989

Through 1997

14

Abbreviations

FSA Farm Service Agency

GAO General Accounting Office

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture

Page 10 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
Page 11 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
Appendix I 

Yearly Information on Write-Offs of Farm

Loans

This appendix contains information on the farm loans written off by the

Farm Service Agency (FSA) in each year from fiscal year 1989 through

fiscal year 1997.9

 For example, table I.1 shows that more than $1 billion

was written off through debt settlements in 6 different years during this

9-year period. Table I.2 shows that far more borrowers had loans written

off through the debt settlement process each year than through the other

two processes combined. Table I.3 shows that a larger amount was written

off each year for emergency disaster loans than for any other type of loan.

However, table I.4 shows that more borrowers had farm operating loans

written off each year than any other type of loan.

Table I.1: Total Dollar Amount of Direct

Farm Loan Losses, by Type of Loan

Servicing, Fiscal Years 1989 Through

1997

Dollars in millions

Fiscal year

Restructured

with write-down

Buyout with

write-off

Debt settled

with write-offa Totalb

1989 $762 $913 $1,649 $3,323

1990 353 643 1,830 2,825

1991 94 255 1,404 1,753

1992 63 178 1,440 1,681

1993 213 182 1,171 1,566

1994 96 116 964 1,176

1995 52 45 847 944

1996 30 74 1,146 1,250

1997 17 9 612 638

Totalb $1,679 $2,413 $11,063 $15,155c

aDebt settled with write-off includes borrowers whose accounts were resolved through

bankruptcy.

bFigures may not add to the total amounts because of rounding.

cThe $15.2 billion of losses equals $17.4 billion in constant 1997 dollars.

Source: GAO’s analysis of records from FSA’s Finance Office.

9

The information in this appendix covers debt relief provided on farm loans by FSA, which currently

operates the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) farm loan programs, or by a predecessor USDA

agency or office. The information may differ somewhat from previously published figures for direct

farm loan losses as a result of database adjustments.

Page 12 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
Appendix I 

Yearly Information on Write-Offs of Farm

Loans

Table I.2: Number of Borrowers Whose

Direct Farm Loans Were Reduced or

Forgiven, by Type of Loan Servicing,

Fiscal Years 1989 Through 1997

Fiscal year

Restructured

with write-down

Buyout with

write-off

Debt settled

with write-offa Total

1989 4,601 4,376 11,900 20,877

1990 2,486 2,788 12,323 17,597

1991 646 1,207 7,786 9,639

1992 344 707 7,346 8,397

1993 1,855 1,244 6,177 9,276

1994 847 681 4,675 6,203

1995 451 295 3,950 4,696

1996 275 281 3,486 4,042

1997 160 59 2,948 3,167

Totalb 10,994 11,638 57,196 79,828

aDebt settled with write-off includes borrowers whose accounts were resolved through

bankruptcy.

bThe number of borrowers does not add to the total; rather, the total represents discrete direct

loan borrowers over the 9-year period—that is, if loan servicing occurred for a borrower in more

than 1 fiscal year, the borrower is counted only once in the total.

Source: GAO’s analysis of records from FSA’s Finance Office.

Table I.3: Total Dollar Amount of Direct

Farm Loan Losses, by Type of Loan,

Fiscal Years 1989 Through 1997

Dollars in millions

Fiscal year

Farm

ownership

Farm

operating

Emergency

disaster Othera Totalb

1989 $406 $651 $1,591 $676 $3,323

1990 372 566 1,318 570 2,825

1991 236 333 841 343 1,753

1992 217 314 824 326 1,681

1993 221 353 708 283 1,566

1994 154 246 570 205 1,176

1995 128 201 461 154 944

1996 106 182 812 149 1,250

1997 76 134 332 95 638

Totalb $1,917 $2,979 $7,458 $2,802 $15,155c

a“Other” covers economic emergency, soil and water, and recreation loans.

bFigures may not add to the total amounts because of rounding.

cThe $15.2 billion of losses equals $17.4 billion in constant 1997 dollars.

Source: GAO’s analysis of records from FSA’s Finance Office.

Page 13 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
Appendix I 

Yearly Information on Write-Offs of Farm

Loans

Table I.4: Number of Borrowers Whose

Direct Farm Loans Were Reduced or

Forgiven, by Type of Loan, Fiscal

Years 1989 Through 1997

Fiscal year

Farm

ownership

Farm

operating

Emergency

disaster Othera Total

1989 5,222 11,643 11,156 6,309 34,330

1990 4,657 9,902 8,622 5,082 28,263

1991 2,913 5,432 4,709 2,818 15,872

1992 2,579 4,812 4,235 2,434 14,060

1993 2,990 5,506 4,357 2,463 15,316

1994 1,953 3,598 2,909 1,609 10,069

1995 1,537 2,863 2,086 1,107 7,593

1996 1,193 2,449 1,871 918 6,431

1997 926 1,919 1,280 701 4,826

Totalb 23,970 48,124 41,225 23,441 136,760

a“Other” covers economic emergency, soil and water, and recreation loans.

bThe total number of borrowers includes some borrowers who are counted more than once

because they had more than one type of direct loan for which losses were incurred.

Source: GAO’s analysis of records from FSA’s Finance Office.

Page 14 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
Appendix II 

Major Contributors to This Report

Charles M. Adams, Assistant Director

Jerry D. Hall

Patrick J. Sweeney

Larry D. Van Sickle

(150088) Page 15 GAO/RCED-99-18 FSA’s Farm Loans and Losses
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