Pub. 11 2016-2017 Issue 5

January/February 2017 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. ■ Bert Ely — continued on page 22 and construction/term loan” to sPower, “the largest private owner in the United States of utility-scale solar operat- ing assets.” sPower, in turn, “is a portfolio company of Fir Tree Partners, a global investment fund” that “is a privately owned hedge fund sponsor. The firm primarily provides its services to pooled investment vehicles. It invests in the public equitymarkets and real estate investments in commercial and residential real estate.” There is absolutely no indication that sPower or Fir Tree Partners are involved in agriculture. The three solar projects financed by this loan also are not related to agriculture, for the electricity produced by the projects will be sold exclusively to the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power (LADWP) under 25-year Power Purchase Agreements. The LADWP, of course, serves the highly urban- ized city of Los Angeles, hardly a rural area. The fact that the solar projects are located in an unincorporated, rural area in Kern County, Calif., hardly qualifies this project for taxpayer- subsidized financing, especially since its ultimate owner, Fir Tree Partners, is a “privately owned hedge fund sponsor” that “invests worldwide.” It is quite puzzling that CoBank continues to lend to businesses it is not authorized to lend to despite the sharp questioning of such lending by members of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees during the committees’ recent Farm Credit System (FCS) and FCA oversight hearings. How Dallas Tonsager Became the New FCA Chairman & CEO On Nov. 22, 2016, President Obama “designated” FCA Board member Dallas Tonsager as the FCA’s new chairman and CEO. He succeeded Kenneth Spearman, who had been FCA chairman and CEO since March 2015. Although Spear- man’s term as an FCA Board member expired last May, he can continue to serve on the FCA Board until the president appoints and the Senate confirms his replacement as a board member. However, as authorized by the Farm Credit Act, the president can designate another FCA Board member to serve as FCA chairman and CEO as soon as the current chairman’s term as an FCA Board member expires, even if that person stays on the FCA Board. Most importantly, that designation does not require Senate confirmation, which differs from the situation at many other federal boards and commissions, notably the FDIC and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, where the Senate has to confirm someone’s appointment as chairman of that board even if that person already is serving on the board. Congress should extend that policy to the FCA by amending the Farm Credit Act to require Senate confirmation of the person des- ignated by the president to serve as FCA chairman and CEO even if that person already is an FCA Board member. That confirmation requirement would enable the Senate Agricul- ture Committee to hold a hearing at which it could quiz the prospective chairman about how he or she will manage the FCA and, most importantly, enforce the Farm Credit Act and specifically its lending restrictions. Update on FCS’ YBS Lending At its Nov. 10, 2016, meeting, the FCABoardwas presented with an update on the FCS’ lending to young, beginning, and small (YBS) farmers. The link to that report is incorporated on pages 9-23 of the FCA Boardmeeting minutes at www.fca. gov/Download/BoardMinutes/Nov2016BoardMinutes.pdf. The report provides some interesting demographic informa- tion on trends in American agriculture as they relate to the age of farm operators, farm operator experience, number of