Farm Credit distributes refunds
Published 10:22 pm Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Credit: Congressman Randy Forbes, center, met recently with Farm Credit President Greg Farmer, left, and local farmer and Farm Credit director Robert Spiers to discuss issues important to the agriculture community and to help announce the amount of patronage refunds returned by Farm Credit in Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District. (Submitted photo)
Agricultural lender Farm Credit is distributing more than $15.7 million in patronage refunds to its member/borrowers in Virginia. For Colonial Farm Credit, this equates to approximately 20 percent of the interest members paid on their loans.
Greg Farmer, president and CEO, noted that “as a result of our strong capital position and sound credit quality, we are able to pay the highest percentage of patronage in our history, while effectively reducing our customers’ net cost of borrowing by almost one full percentage point.”
Colonial Farm Credit, MidAtlantic Farm Credit, and Farm Credit of the Virginias operate under a cooperative structure, which enables them to give back a portion of their income to customers as patronage refunds.
They have consistently paid patronage refunds for more than a decade.
Robert Spiers, a Farm Credit director and local farmer, said, “Farm Credit understands farming and rural living, and its importance. This patronage refund is just one more way they give value to our community.”
The three Farm Credit associations provide more than $4.2 billion in financing to more than 25,700 customer-owners in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.
These organizations loan funds and provide financing expertise to farmers, agribusinesses and rural homeowners for land and home purchases and farm operating purposes.
