Evening star., 1937-06-06
Federal Farm Credit 4 gency
Shifts to Permanent Basis
Myers Reveals -Four Bill
z. lions Loaned as Fore
closures Drop.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
{. William Irving Myers, youthful
appearing former college professor and
p farmer, is shifting the Government
8 agency that loans money to farmers
from an emergency to a permanent
basis.
He is governor of the Farm Credit
Administration, set up by President
Roosevelt in May 1888, to coordinate
Federal loans for farmers.
At that time thousands of farm
foreclosures had caused rebellion
against law in the farm belt. In the
four years since the F. c. A has
supervised loans of more than S4,0O0,-
100000 to farmers, seen foreclosures
drop to half the former volume.
THE credit basis for most farmers
probably is the best it has ever BEEN"
said Myers. "Our job is to keep it on
business basis
Despite his "A years, four daughters
and experience as a farmer, college
instructor and expert on farm man
agement and finance. Myers might
pass for a Well-dressed college senior
or young professor.
Permanent Credit Need
Eve used to be in the headlines at
the time when we were passing out
millions to halt mortgage foreclos-
ures," he said Nov We have a long
time task of the permanent credit
needs Of farmers"
Because farms change hands on an
average of once in a generation and
because the 100000 farms are each
an individual business, Myers said
Government agencies that provide
credit for farmers probably will be a
permanent feature"
Back in 1888, when banks, insurance
companies and private individuals had
abandoned the job of loanlng the
farmer money and were doing their
best to collect at time Of low prices,
little farm income and sinking land
values, the Farm Credit AdminiStra-
ton had the field pretty much to
itself.
Recently private credit sources have
been returning to the field. Myers
said this was a good thing"
Myers said the F. c. A. S purpose was
merely to give farmers a co-opera-
tive means to obtain capital at low
est possible interest from the sources
available to large corporations and
other sound borrowers.
Local Cooperative.
Each farmer, whether he obtains
longtime loan of from 20 to 34
years to purchase farm or a short
term loan to produce a crop, must
operate through local cooperative
credit association.
The strength of this system is
that it is decentralized, he said
THE regional banks and the CO.
operative farmer associations keep
touch with actual conditions and
needs You can't do it from Wash
tngton."
In the past year repayments on
all types of farm loans-both long and
short term-have amounted to more
than money loaned out for the first
time since the depression. The F. c..
A. has taken some of this surplus to
retire bonds or refinance old bonds
at lower rates
It's various agencies sell bonds to
public investors and then reloaD these
funds through the regional banks
and cooperative farmer groups at
slightly increased interest to pay eX-
penses
Myers said the bulk of the Gov
ernment funds actually invested in
the F. c. A. agencies eventually would
be returned to the Treasury.
He estimated that refnancing of
mortgages had resulted in scaling
debts down Of these farmers by
more than s2OO, ,OO0,o 900. and that lower
interest rates saved farmers another
s4o,00o,0OO annually.
Born on New York Farm.
Myers was born on a farm near
Iowman. N. Y, and after graduation
from Cornell acquired an 84-acre
farm near Ithaca, N. Y. He matches
about $4,000 chicks on this place
each year and maintains a flock of
5000 hens.
Unlike many younger administra-
tion leaders who helped establish re-
covery agencies four years ago, Myers
has stayed on and plans to continue
He said he had enjoyed the four
years of Government service.
The F. c. A. has nothing to sell,
but service to render" he said.
THE farmer, as we'll as all the rest
OF us, needs to know how to use
credit wisely. Credit Is a two-edged
sword; it can cut both ways"