Farmer Mac Reports Higher 2Q Profits

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., Washington, has reported net income available to common stockholders of $21.4 million ($2.13 per share) for the second quarter, compared with $18.4 million ($1.74 per share) in the second quarter of 2007. Farmer Mac said its preferred measure of income, core earnings, was also higher than that of a year earlier, coming in at $7.1 million ($0.70 per share), up 28% from $5.5 million ($0.53 per share) in the second quarter of 2007. "To date, the credit issues that have arisen in the housing and consumer sectors of the economy have not affected the agricultural economy in general, or Farmer Mac's guarantee portfolio in particular," said Henry D. Edelman, Farmer Mac's president and chief executive officer. The government-sponsored enterprise can be found online at http://www.farmermac.com.