Proposed Farm Credit Services buyout reviewed in Washington

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Congressional panel to meet on ag credit

WASHINGTON - The future of the farm credit system will be the subject of a Sept. 29 congressional hearing, the chairman of a House agriculture panel announced Thursday.

Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., who heads the panel on agricultural credit, said in a statement that Dutch bank Rabobank's bid for Omaha-based Farm Credit Services of America had prompted him to schedule the hearing in his subcommittee.

"It's been some time since we've had a comprehensive review of the direction of the farm credit system in Congress, and I think recent events have shed light on the fact that we need to take a look at where the system is now, and where it's going," Lucas said.

In July, Farm Credit Service's board of directors announced it had voted for Rabobank's $1.4 million offer to buy the farm lending cooperative. Because the Omaha organization is part of the quasi-federal farm credit system, the Farm Credit Administration must approve the sale before it can go through. In addition, the cooperative's approximately 51,000 shareholders also must OK the deal.