8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C.  20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):   May 22, 2008

    Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation 

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Federally chartered instrumentality of         the United States	001-14951	52-1578738
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1133 Twenty-First Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C.	20036
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  (202) 872-7700

          No change     

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Section 5 – Corporate Governance and Management

Item 5.03.  Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year.

(a) On May 22, 2008, the United States Congress enacted into law the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 with a provision that amended the federal charter of the Registrant (Title VIII of the Farm Credit Act of 1971, as amended, codified at 12 U.S.C. §§2279aa et seq.) to expand the Registrant’s authorities to include the purchase of, and guarantee of securities backed by, rural utilities loans.  The text of the amendments to the Registrant’s federal charter is attached to this report as Exhibit 3.

Section 7 – Regulation FD

Item 7.01.  Regulation FD Disclosure.

On May 27, 2008, the Registrant issued a press release to announce the expansion of its federal charter to authorize it to purchase and guarantee securities backed by rural utilities loans throughout the nation.  This expansion was contained in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, which was enacted into law by Congress on May 22, 2008.  A copy of the press release is attached to this report as Exhibit 99.

Section 9 – Financial Statements and Exhibits

Item 9.01.  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(a)   Not applicable.

(b)   Not applicable.

(c)   Not applicable.

(d)   Exhibits:

3.           Text of amendments to the Registrant’s federal charter.

               99.           Press Release dated May 27, 2008.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE

CORPORATION

By:           /s/ Nancy E. Corsiglia

   Name:      Nancy E. Corsiglia

   Title:        Executive Vice President

Dated:         May 27, 2008

EX-3

Exhibit 3

Text of Amendments to Farmer Mac’s Federal Charter

SEC. 5406. RURAL UTILITY LOANS.

(a) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED LOAN.—Section 8.0(9) of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2279aa(9)) is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end;

(2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(C) that is a loan, or an interest in a loan, for an electric or telephone facility by a cooperative lender to a borrower that has received, or is eligible to receive, a loan under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.).’’.

(b) GUARANTEE OF QUALIFIED LOANS.—Section 8.6(a)(1) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 2279aa–6(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘applicable’’ before ‘‘standards’’ each place it appears in subparagraphs (A) and (B)(i).

(c) STANDARDS FOR QUALIFIED LOANS.—Section 8.8 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 2279aa–8) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) by striking the first sentence and inserting the following:

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall establish underwriting, security appraisal, and repayment standards for qualified loans taking into account the nature, risk profile, and other differences between different categories of qualified loans.

‘‘(2) SUPERVISION, EXAMINATION, AND REPORT OF CONDITION.— The standards shall be subject to the authorities of the Farm Credit Administration under section 8.11.’’; and

(B) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘In establishing’’ and inserting the following:

‘‘(3) MORTGAGE LOANS.—In establishing’’;

(2) in subsection (b)—

(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘with respect to loans secured by agricultural real estate’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; and

(B) in paragraph (5)— (i) by striking ‘‘borrower’’ the first place it appears and inserting ‘‘farmer or rancher’’; and (ii) by striking ‘‘site’’ and inserting ‘‘farm or ranch’’;

(3) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘secured by agricultural real estate’’ after ‘‘A loan’’;

(4) by striking subsection (d); and

(5) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (d).

(d) RISK-BASED CAPITAL LEVELS.—Section 8.32(a)(1) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 2279bb–1(a)(1)) is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘With respect’’ and inserting the following:

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect’’; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(B) RURAL UTILITY LOANS.—With respect to securities representing an interest in, or obligation backed by, a pool of qualified loans described in section 8.0(9)(C) owned or guaranteed by the Corporation, losses occur at a rate of default and severity reasonably related to risks in electric and telephone facility loans (as applicable), as determined by the Director.’’.

EX-99

Exhibit 99

FARMER MAC NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT
May 27, 2008	Mary Waters
	202-872-7700

Congress Expands Farmer Mac’s Authorities

Farm Bill Adds Rural Utilities Loans

Washington, D.C. — The United States Congress last week enacted into law the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 with a provision that significantly expands the charter of the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac, NYSE: AGM and AGM.A) to authorize it to purchase and guarantee securities backed by rural utilities loans throughout the nation.  Those loans, made by cooperative lenders such as the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (“Nat Rural”) and institutions of the Farm Credit System (“FCS”), finance electrification and telecommunications systems for Rural America.

Farmer Mac President and Chief Executive Officer Henry D. Edelman stated, “We are excited about this addition to Farmer Mac’s guarantee authorities and believe it offers important new business opportunities.  While we cannot currently give any assurance as to what level of new business volume may result from it, this expansion of authorities significantly increases Farmer Mac’s potential for future growth.

“Advancing the vision outlined by Congress in 1987, this new legislative authority expands Farmer Mac’s mission to provide additional liquidity and lending capacity to Rural America, by ensuring competitive capital markets access for rural utilities cooperative lenders.  We expect this extension of Farmer Mac’s authorities to facilitate the continuation and improvement of affordable electric and telecommunications service to farmers and others in Rural America well into the future.  We are gratified by this display of Congressional support, and we look forward to meeting the challenge put before us, as we work with Nat Rural, FCS institutions, and others to effectuate these new authorities.”

Farmer Mac is a stockholder-owned instrumentality of the United States chartered by Congress to establish a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural housing mortgage loans and rural utilities loans and to facilitate capital markets funding for USDA-guaranteed farm program and rural development loans.  Farmer Mac’s Class C non-voting and Class A voting common stocks are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols AGM and AGM.A, respectively.  Additional information about Farmer Mac is available on Farmer Mac’s website at www.farmermac.com.