The Farm Service Agency's (FSA) guaranteed farm loans are the primary mechanism for providing federal farm credit assistance, with $7.6 billion in outstanding loans at mid-2000. While annual guaranteed farm loan volume has increased, loan defaults and loan losses have been modest during the 1990s, especially when compared to FSA's direct lending programs. From fiscal 1982 through fiscal 1999, FSA guaranteed $24.3 billion in farm loans made by commercial banks, the Farm Credit System, and other lenders. Guaranteed farm loan loss payments made to lenders totaled $745 million during this period.