EXHIBIT 31.1

National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation

Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

(18 U.S.C. Section 1350)

I, Sheldon C. Petersen, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K, and all reports on Form 8-K containing distribution or servicing reports filed in respect of periods included in the year covered by this annual report, of the Rural Electric Cooperative Grantor Trust (KEPCO) Series 1997;

2. Based on my knowledge, the information in these reports, taken as a whole, does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading as of the last day of the period covered by this annual report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the distribution or servicing information required to be provided to the trustee by the servicer under the pooling and servicing, or similar, agreement, for inclusion in these reports is included in these reports;

4. I am responsible for reviewing the activities performed by the servicer under the pooling and servicing , or similar, agreement, and based upon my knowledge and the annual compliance review required under the pooling and servicing, or similar, agreement, and except as disclosed in the report, the servicer has fulfilled its obligations under that agreement; and

5. All of the reports on assessment of compliance with servicing criteria for asset-backed securities and their related attestation reports on assessment of compliance with servicing criteria for asset-backed securities required to be included in this report in accordance with Item 1122 of Regulation AB and Exchange Act Rules 13a-18 and 15d-18 have been included as an exhibit to this report, except as otherwise disclosed in this report. Any material instances of noncompliance described in such reports have been disclosed in this report on Form 10-K.

Date: March 9, 2017



By:	/s/ SHELDON C. PETERSEN
	Sheldon C. Petersen
	Chief Executive Officer

A signed original of this written statement required by Section 302 has been provided to National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation and will be retained by National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.

RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE GRANTOR TRUST KEPCO SERIES 1997 10-K