Not one lawmaker or witness at a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing Thursday said capital and margin rules weren't necessary to protect futures and swaps markets from bad players and volatility, but there was plenty of discussion on how these rules could negatively affect end-users - namely farmers. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., chairman of the Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee, noted that while Congress had been explicit in exempting farmers from much of the regulatory burdens of the Dodd-Frank reforms, the rules that resulted from the 2010 legislation could affect agricultural producers if they drive intermediaries, like futures and swap dealers from the markets. Most of the rules resulting from Dodd-Frank have been implemented, but some, like capital requirements - which ensure that a trading firm has enough assets to pay all of its obligations - are still under development. The implementation of margin rules for non-cleared derivatives - which would require trading firms to put up collateral - will start this September. Today's hearing was the second in a series to examine the implementation of Dodd-Frank over the past five years. In February, the panel held its first hearing to talk about swap data standards and transparency. Thursday's hearing examined “the unintended consequences” of some of the most important regulations following the financial crisis: the new capital standards and margin requirements for banks, non-bank swap dealers, and other market participants.