Dallas Tonsager, the undersecretary in charge of USDA rural development programs during President Obama’s first term, was appointed chairman of the Farm Credit Administration for a term that expires in May 2020. Tonsager has been a member of the FCA board since March 2013.
Tonsager has been active for years in rural development, beginning with his appointment in 1993 as USDA state director of rural development in South Dakota, following two terms as president of the state Farmers Union. From 2004-09, he was a member of the FCA board and then moved to USDA for four years.
The FCA is an independent federal agency that oversees the Farm Credit System of cooperatives, which are one of the major sources of lending to agriculture and rural America.