Excerpts from the report Introduction: The basic legislative authorities governing farm lending by the Farm Credit System (FCS) were enacted in 1971, with only minor changes since then. Implementing regulations were established in 1972 and adjusted further in 1982 via a Farm Credit Administration (FCA) Board policy statement on eligibility and scope of financing issued after 1981 amendments were adopted. Since 1971, three major trends have changed the customer base of the FCS: declining farm numbers, growth and then decrease in market share, and changes in the structure of eligible borrowing units. This report benchmarks the primary population now eligible to borrow from the FCS—the potential customers—and describes some of the changes since 1971. The information comes primarily from the U.S. Census of Agriculture for 1969 and 1992. Special analyses of these and other data by the United States Department of Agricultural (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) are also used, along with Call Report data of FCA. The report also provides projections for the next decade, when available