Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and USDA Guaranteed Securities - Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and USDA Securities (Tables) - Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and USDA Securities [Member]

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Schedule of Held-to-Maturity, Available-for-sale, and Trading Securities [Line Items]

Marketable Securities [Table Text Block]

The following tables set forth information about on-balance sheet Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and USDA Securities as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015:

Table 3.1

	As of March 31, 2016
	Unpaid Principal Balance		Unamortized Premium/(Discount)			Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gains		Unrealized Losses			Fair Value
	(in thousands)
Held-to-maturity:
AgVantage	$	1,208,802	$	(1,453	)	$	1,207,349	$	13,164	$	(3	)	$	1,220,510
Available-for-sale:
AgVantage	$	4,567,953	$	—		$	4,567,953	$	43,444	$	(76,587	)	$	4,534,810
Farmer Mac Guaranteed USDA Securities	31,038		(315		)	30,723		33		(62		)	30,694
Total Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities	4,598,991		(315		)	4,598,676		43,477		(76,649		)	4,565,504
USDA Securities	1,860,348		1,996			1,862,344		45,745		(75		)	1,908,014
Total available-for-sale	$	6,459,339	$	1,681		$	6,461,020	$	89,222	$	(76,724	)	$	6,473,518
Trading:
USDA Securities	$	24,928	$	1,769		$	26,697	$	302	$	(130	)	$	26,869

	As of December 31, 2015
	Unpaid Principal Balance		Unamortized Premium/(Discount)			Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gains		Unrealized Losses			Fair Value
	(in thousands)
Held-to-maturity:
AgVantage	$	1,274,431	$	(415	)	$	1,274,016	$	7,801	$	—		$	1,281,817
Available-for-sale:
AgVantage	$	4,164,952	$	—		$	4,164,952	$	26,831	$	(70,539	)	$	4,121,244
Farmer Mac Guaranteed USDA Securities	31,554		(333		)	31,221		140		—			31,361
Total Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities	4,196,506		(333		)	4,196,173		26,971		(70,539		)	4,152,605
USDA Securities	1,849,322		1,890			1,851,212		37,160		(28		)	1,888,344
Total available-for-sale	$	6,045,828	$	1,557		$	6,047,385	$	64,131	$	(70,567	)	$	6,040,949
Trading:
USDA Securities	$	27,129	$	1,934		$	29,063	$	125	$	(213	)	$	28,975

Available-for-sale Securities, Continuous Unrealized Loss Position, Fair Value [Table Text Block]

As of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, unrealized losses on held-to-maturity and available-for-sale on-balance sheet Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and USDA Securities were as follows:

Table 3.2

	As of March 31, 2016
	Held-to-Maturity and Available-for-Sale Securities
	Unrealized loss position for less than 12 months					Unrealized loss position for more than 12 months
	Fair Value		Unrealized Loss			Fair Value		Unrealized Loss
	(in thousands)
Held-to-maturity:
AgVantage	$	1,996	$	(3	)	$	—	$	—
Available-for-sale:
AgVantage	$	1,706,226	$	(33,774	)	$	1,277,127	$	(42,813	)
Farmer Mac Guaranteed USDA Securities	29,172		(62		)	—		—
USDA Securities						103,609		(75		)
Total available-for-sale	$	1,735,398	$	(33,836	)	$	1,380,736	$	(42,888	)

	As of December 31, 2015
	Available-for-Sale Securities
	Unrealized loss position for less than 12 months					Unrealized loss position for more than 12 months
	Fair Value		Unrealized Loss			Fair Value		Unrealized Loss
	(in thousands)
Available-for-sale:
AgVantage	$	1,193,866	$	(41,835	)	$	1,104,981	$	(28,704	)
USDA Securities	—		—			103,010		(28		)
Total available-for-sale	$	1,193,866	$	(41,835	)	$	1,207,991	$	(28,732	)

The unrealized losses presented above are principally due to higher interest rates from the date of acquisition to March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, as applicable. The credit exposure related to Farmer Mac's USDA Guarantees line of business is covered by the full faith and credit guarantee of the United States. The unrealized losses from AgVantage securities were on 27 available-for-sale securities as of March 31, 2016. There was one held-to-maturity AgVantage security with an unrealized loss as of March 31, 2016. The unrealized losses from AgVantage securities were on 22 available-for-sale securities as of December 31, 2015. There were no unrealized losses from held-to-maturity securities as of December 31, 2015. As of March 31, 2016, 9 available-for-sale AgVantage securities had been in a loss position for more than 12 months with a total unrealized loss of $42.8 million. As of December 31, 2015, 8 available-for-sale AgVantage securities had been in a loss position for more than 12 months with a total unrealized loss of $28.7 million. Farmer Mac has concluded that none of the unrealized losses on its held-to-maturity Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and available-for-sale Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and USDA Securities are other-than-temporary impairment as of either March 31, 2016 or December 31, 2015.  Farmer Mac does not intend to sell these securities, and it is not more likely than not that Farmer Mac will be required to sell the securities before recovery of the amortized cost basis.

Investments Classified by Contractual Maturity Date [Table Text Block]

The amortized cost, fair value, and weighted average yield of available-for-sale and held-to-maturity Farmer Mac Guaranteed Securities and USDA Securities by remaining contractual maturity as of March 31, 2016 are set forth below. The balances presented are based on their final maturities, although the actual maturities may differ due to prepayments of the underlying assets.

Table 3.3

	As of March 31, 2016
	Available-for-Sale Securities
	Amortized Cost		Fair Value		Weighted- Average Yield
	(dollars in thousands)
Due within one year	$	216,251	$	216,688	1.33	%
Due after one year through five years	2,168,433		2,176,746		1.56	%
Due after five years through ten years	1,584,652		1,606,289		2.04	%
Due after ten years	2,491,684		2,473,795		2.57	%
Total	$	6,461,020	$	6,473,518	2.06	%

	As of March 31, 2016
	Held-to-Maturity Securities
	Amortized Cost		Fair Value		Weighted- Average Yield
	(dollars in thousands)
Due within one year	$	703,005	$	704,257	2.32	%
Due after one year through five years	494,656		505,844		2.35	%
Due after five years through ten years	9,688		10,409		3.43	%
Total	$	1,207,349	$	1,220,510	2.34	%