"They have a competitive advantage in that area," said Xiaowei Cai, an assistant professor in agriculture at Cal Poly. The associations typically have staff with deep backgrounds in agriculture who can offer expertise in the best ways to use new capital to improve farming operations. They've worked with their customers for generation after generation." "They're like old-style banks," said Steven Slezak, an agribusiness instructor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The borrowers have a vested interest in making sure their association is well run.Ī common theme for the associations is relationships. "The cooperative ownership is really what makes the system work," said Keith Hesterberg, president/CEO of the Fresno Madera Farm Credit, an association in Fresno. In that sense, the association's power structure is akin to a credit union. What makes the farm system different is that the farmers who borrow money are the very same stockholders who elect the board of directors that oversees their association's management.įor example, American AgCredit is owned by roughly 7,000 shareholders, each a borrower who purchased a single share of stock for $1,000. As with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for housing, the farm system seeks to ensure the availability of credit for a critical part of the nation's economy. The Farm Credit System is a government-sponsored enterprise, born of President Theodore Roosevelt's Country Life Commission and established by Congress in 1916. Riebli said he has borrowed from the association under its different names for close to 50 years. "That's a big reason why we continue to do business with them." "Our lending partners have stuck with us through thick and thin," said Arnie Riebli, an owner of Petaluma-based Sunrise Farms, the largest egg farm in Sonoma County. In a similar manner, farmers said the association's success is largely due to the long-standing relationships that its staff have forged with the farm community - connections that have been tested over the decades. Local farm leaders give American AgCredit high marks for its widespread support of local fairs, farm youth groups, agriculture events for school children, college ag programs and all sorts of farm organizations. ![]() They declined to divulge the estimated cost. If the association's board of directors gives its blessing, the new complex could be built by late 2015, officials said. The three-story project, proposed across Aviation Boulevard from the Airport Stadium 12 cinemas, is slated this week to go before the county's design review board. The best evidence is its plan to build a new 120,000-square-foot headquarters next year off Airport Boulevard, a complex that might house other wine, farm and tourism groups in a one-stop agricultural center. Much of its growth came through mergers and acquisitions, including one four years ago that was unprecedented for linking up farm credit associations in two different regions of the country: Kansas and California.Īmerican AgCredit, which now has 33 branches in six states, is preparing for even more growth. With $6 billion in assets and 422 employees - including about 110 in Santa Rosa - the association has been on a blazing growth spurt for more than two decades.
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