Farm Credit Welcomes New Partners to Its National Contributions Program

DENVER, April 17, 2012 – Farm Credit, a national provider of financing and related services to agriculture and rural America, awarded $420,000 in the first quarter of 2012 to young, beginning, small and minority farmer organizations, agricultural education programs, and other agricultural industry advocates. Farm Credit’s National Contributions Program provides $2 million a year in funding to support the lives and livelihoods of farmers and ranchers. The national funding compliments local and regional giving provided by Farm Credit entities across the United States and in Puerto Rico.

“Farm Credit supports both large well-established organizations and those who are working towards achieving their goals at the grassroots level,” said Christina Bowen, director of national contributions for Farm Credit. “This approach allows us to support the time-tested programs developed by National 4-H Council and the National FFA Foundation as well as innovative new programs being brought to the industry by relative newcomers.”

Recipient Natasha Bowens, director and founder of The Color of Food, plans to use Farm Credit’s contribution “to elevate the representation of minority farmers across the country, and bring awareness to the racial inequities in the food system while providing opportunities for farmers to access information, resources and support.”

The Farm Credit National Contributions Program’s application deadline for the second quarter of 2012 is May 31. Qualified applicants are invited to apply today at www.farmcredit.com. Click on the “Apply for Grants and Sponsorships” button.

Farm Credit National Contributions program first-quarter 2012 recipients:

American Farmland Trust AgriNomics Vision 2013 – American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers National Value Added Conference – C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at MSU The Color of Food Commodity Challenge – Center for Farm Financial Management CCA Annual Institute — Cooperative Communicators Association 2012 Alpha Zeta National Ag Leadership Conference – Fraternity of Alpha Zeta 2012 International Association of Programs for Agricultural Leaders (IAPAL) Annual Conference – LEAD New York Program at Cornell University

NCOSAFP 2012 Annual Meeting – National Council of State Agricultural Finance Programs A Celebration of the Hispanic Culture at the 2012 National FFA Convention – National FFA Foundation Minorities in Agriculture, National Resources & Related Farmers Educational & Cooperative Union of America National 4-H Forestry State MarketMaker Partner Innovation Award Competition – 2012 Value Added Ag Conference 6th National Small Farm Conference Generating Success Conference – Successful Farming The Food Dialogues – U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance Urban Farming – Food Empowerment Initiative

About Farm Credit: Lending Support to Rural America For 95 years, Farm Credit has been a national provider of credit and related services to rural America through a cooperative network of customer-owned lending institutions and specialized service organizations. Created by Congress in 1916, the Farm Credit System provides nearly $175 billion in loans and leases to farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, aquatic producers, timber harvesters, agribusinesses, and agricultural and rural utility cooperatives. For more information about the Farm Credit System, please visit www.farmcredit.com.

For more information: Margaret Fogarty, Farm Credit National Communications Director Email: Margaret.Fogarty@farmcredit.com | Phone: (303) 721-3284 URL: farmcredit.com Social: twitter.com/farmcredit | facebook.com/farmcreditnational

Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition Whole Farm Planning Programs Announced

Several Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition teams are implementing Whole Farm Planning programs for beginning farmers/ranchers starting Winter and Spring of 2012. To learn more, visit www.vabeginningfarmer.org.

Providing Beginning Farmers with Farm Seeker Certification (Spring 2012)
Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers — several VA locations
Ron Saacke — ron.saacke@vafb.com

Whole Farm Planning for New Farm Wineries and Vineyards in Virginia (Spring 2012)
Attimo Winery — Christiansburg, VA and other VA locations
Rik or Melissa Obiso— wine@attimowinery.com

Whole Farm Planning for Working Model Farm and Land-Based Learning Center in Floyd County (Spring 2012)
SustainFloyd — Floyd County, VA
Michael Burton — info@sustainfloyd.org

The Northern Piedmont Beginning Farmer Program (Winter/Spring 2012)
Fauquier County Agricultural Development —Fauquier County, VA
Ray Pickering — ray.pickering@fauquiercounty.gov
Jim Hilleary — coordinator@fauquiereducationfarm.info

Implementing Whole Farm Planning Curriculum in Southwest Virginia (Spring 2012)
Appalachian Sustainable Development — Abingdon, Far SWVA
Tom Peterson — tpeterson@asdevelop.org

Beginning Farmer Community Support on the Blue Ridge Plateau (Winter/Spring 2012)
Grayson LandCare — Grayson County, VA
Danny Boyer — dtdboyer@centurylink.net

Mentoring and Training Programming using Whole Farm Planning (Fall 2012)
Virginia Association for Biological Farming — several VA locations
Kathy O’Hara — kohara1@vbi.vt.edu
Kevin Damian — kdamian877@gmail.com

Partnering Coalition Organizations Supporting these Programs:
· Fauquier Education Farm
· Virginia Cooperative Extension
· Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Dave Lawrence Named to Virginia Tech’s VALOR Program Advisory Council

Farm Credit of the Virginias CEO Dave Lawrence has been named one of 17 advisory council members for Virginia Tech’s Virginia Agriculture Leaders Obtaining Results (VALOR) Program.

From the school’s press release:

http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2012/01/012012-cals-valoradvisorycouncil.html

BLACKSBURG, Va., Jan. 20, 2012 – Many of Virginia’s established leaders in the agricultural industry are donating their time to serve on the advisory council for the Virginia Agriculture Leaders Obtaining Results (VALOR) Program within Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The VALOR Program aims to prepare and develop leaders to meet future challenges in Virginia’s agricultural community, create collaborative solutions, and promote agriculture throughout the industry. “The contribution of time and talent from these individuals provides a solid foundation to help advance this premier leadership program,” said Megan Siebel, VALOR director. “The inaugural unveiling of VALOR and induction of its first class, anticipated for fall of 2012, is extremely exciting. The professional and pragmatic insight offered by the advisory council members is critical in these vital stages of program development. I am honored to oversee such a fantastic working group. The potential impact graduates will have on the agricultural industry in our state is immeasurable.”

VALOR advisory council members are

*   Michael Bertelsen, associate director, Office of International Research, Education, and Development, Virginia Tech;

*   Stan Brantley, president, Amadas Industries, Suffolk, Va.;

*   Mike Ellerbrock, professor of agriculture and applied economics, and director, Center of Economic Education, Virginia Tech;

*   Alan Grant, dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech;

*   Jewel Hairston, interim dean, School of Agriculture, Virginia State University;

*   Kern Houff, president, Railside Enterprises, Weyers Cave, Va.;

*   David Hughes, Rivermont Farm, Timberville, Va.;

*   Donna Pugh Johnson, president, Virginia Agribusiness Council;

*   Edwin Jones, associate dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech;

*   Gary Larrowe, county administrator, Carroll County Public Service Authority;

*   Dave Lawrence, president, Farm Credit of the Virginias;

*   Matt Lohr, commissioner, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services;

*   Vernon Meacham, director of development, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech;

*   Del. Robert Orrock, 54th District, Thornburg, Va.;

*   Wayne Pryor, president, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation;

*   Paul Rogers Jr., president, Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services; and

*   Rick Rudd, Community Viability Chair of Excellence and head, Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, Virginia Tech.

Seibel and the council members met in December to discuss specifics of the leadership development program and established criteria for applicants to apply to the program. The program will consist of experiential seminars for about 48 days over the 22-month period. Participants will include individuals with a vested interest in the success of Virginia agriculture who have exhibited leadership potential. For more information about the VALOR Program, please contact Megan Seibel<mailto:mseibel@vt.edu> (mailto:mseibel@vt.edu) at 540-231-2375 or visit the VALOR website.<http://www.aee.vt.edu/valor> (http://www.aee.vt.edu/valor)

Nationally ranked among the top research institutions of its kind, Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences<http://www.cals.vt.edu/> (http://www.cals.vt.edu/) focuses on the science and business of living systems through learning, discovery, and engagement. The college’s comprehensive curriculum gives more than 2,400 students in a dozen academic departments a balanced education that ranges from food and fiber production to economics to human health. Students learn from the world’s leading agricultural scientists, who bring the latest science and technology into the classroom.

FEDERAL FARM CREDIT BANKS FUNDING CORPORATION ANNOUNCES NEW CEO

Tracey McCabe appointed President and CEO, replacing Jamie B. Stewart who will retire from the Funding Corporation

Jersey City, NJ (January 3, 2012) – The Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation (www.farmcredit-ffcb.com) Board of Directors announced that Tracey McCabe will replace Jamie B. Stewart as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation. As established through the organization’s succession plan, Jamie B. Stewart will retire on March 5, 2012. The Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation is part of the Farm Credit System (www.farmcredit.com) and is responsible for issuing and marketing Farm Credit Consolidated Systemwide Debt Securities, managing investor relations and consolidating and reporting the financial results for the Farm Credit System.

McCabe was previously a Participating Managing Director with Goldman, Sachs & Co., most recently responsible for the Investment Banking Division’s equity derivatives and convertible origination business and their municipal capital markets business. She also has served as Division Head in Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities for Non-Japan Asia.

“The Funding Corporation’s Board considered many extraordinary candidates during the search for Jamie’s replacement”, said Less Guthrie, the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation board chair. “Tracey brings more than 25 years of experience in the financial markets and has earned a reputation as a trusted and respected leader. Equally important, she shares our appreciation for agriculture and the supporting rural infrastructure and understands the importance of a cooperative lending system focused exclusively on rural America. We are confident that Tracey will lead the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation as it builds on its reputation as a leading participant in the capital markets.”

The Farm Credit System has consistently demonstrated strong profitability, most recently reporting assets of nearly $228 billion and net income of nearly $3 billion for the nine months ending September 30, 2011.

“We are grateful to Jamie for his leadership during the past eight years, which was particularly valuable during this time of unprecedented market turmoil. Under Jamie’s direction, the Funding Corporation and the Farm Credit System maintained a strong reputation as a dependable provider of financial services and uninterrupted market access to fulfill our mission of providing financing for U.S. agriculture and rural America,” continued Guthrie.

About the Farm Credit System 

For 95 years, Farm Credit has been a national provider of credit and related services to rural America through a cooperative network of customer-owned lending institutions and specialized service organizations. Created by Congress in 1916, the Farm Credit System provides more than $170 billion in loans and leases to farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, aquatic producers, timber harvesters, agribusinesses, and agricultural and rural utility cooperatives. Unlike commercial banks, the banks and associations are cooperatively owned by their customers, are not authorized to accept deposits, and they principally obtain their funds through the issuance of Consolidated Systemwide Debt Securities. For more information about the Farm Credit System, please visit www.farmcredit.com.

# # #

CONTACT:
Regina M. Gill
Vice President
Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation
201-200-8061
rgill@farmcredit-ffcb.com

Dr. Dave Kohl Captures Listeners’ Attention When Speaking About ‘Return On Life’

Check out Ron Smith’s Farm Press blog that mentions Dr. Kohl, Chancellor of Farm Credit University and co-presenter of our very own Young Farmer Institute.  Was ROL a factor in your choice to be an ag producer?

http://southwestfarmpress.com/blog/rol-return-life-important-factor-when-making-farm-decisions

Farm Credit & Country Mortgages Sponsors Shenandoah Valley Agritourism Festival

Farm Credit & Country Mortgages was proud to be the presenting partner of this past weekend’s Shenandoah Valley Agritourism Festival in Waynesboro, VA.  Several employees were on hand to participate in the Festival’s activities at Hermitage Hill Farm, which included a farm animal petting zoo, a pumpkin painting contest, a best-dressed scarecrow contest, face painting, sheep dog demonstrations, blacksmithing demonstrations, and plenty of locally grown food.  In addition, there were three agricultural seminars with question and answer sessions after each.  Donated cans of food were part of the admission and went to benefit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

Farm Credit Rocks with the Best and Brightest Young Talent

Lender Receives the 2011 FFA Alumni Distinguished Service Award

INDIANANPOLIS, Oct. 19, 2011 – Farm Credit, a national provider of financing and related services to agricultural producers and agribusinesses, has launched a new youth outreach effort at the 84th Annual FFA Convention and Career Show under the theme “Farm Credit Rocks”. The booth offers attendees a high-energy experience, with a chance to play Rock Band Country, win free music downloads and receive a commemorative event photo at farmcreditrocks.com.

More than 55,000 FFA members are expected to attend thisyear’s event, and will have an opportunity to learn about the wide variety of career opportunities available within the Farm Credit System. As part of the national FFA event, Farm Credit is being presented with the 2011 FFA Alumni Distinguished Service Award, which honors those who have made outstanding contributions to FFA and agricultural education.

Farm Credit is being recognized for its ongoing and enthusiastic commitment supporting FFA programs. Last year the Farm Credit System reported:

• 6,160 volunteer hours for FFA

• 31 organizations with at least one employee involved in a local or regional FFA board or committee

• 59 organizations contributed financial resources to local or regional FFA events

“Strong alumni chapters help build strong FFA chapters and we appreciate the relationship we have with Farm Credit in both their FFA alumni support, and all of the other program areas Farm Credit sponsors,” said Maggie Halferty, FFA Senior Regional Director. “To be recognized with the FFA Distinguished Service Award means so much to all of us at Farm Credit,” said Greg Taylor, Vice President at AgriBank and National FFA Board member. “Our partnership with FFA allows Farm Credit to connect and engage with the young people who represent the future of this industry in so many meaningful ways, and in the next five to ten years we plan to be there for these same kids–whether they’re looking for a lender or an employer or both.” “Farm Credit offers terrific opportunities for rewarding careers with many avenues for growth and development,” said Ashley Searles, Director of Recruitment from Louisville-based Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, “Our goal with FFA is to connect with young, dynamic agriculturalists to educate them about the career opportunities that exist nationally with Farm Credit.”

The Farm Credit System is comprised of 84 cooperatively-structured retail lending associations and five wholesale banks, with a mission to improve the income and wellbeing of American farmers and ranchers by furnishing sound, adequate and stable credit. With national career opportunities located in both rural and metropolitan areas, farmcredit.com/careers currently lists more than 150 available positions in all areas of business operations including credit, finance, leasing, human resources, insurance, audit, information technology, legal and marketing.

### About FFA National FFA, also known as Future Farmers of America, educates its 540,000 middle and high school students about the science, business and technology of agriculture. The 2011 Convention is being held October 19 -22 in Indianapolis, IN.

Farm Credit is a national sponsor of the organization, and many of Farm Credit’s regional entities support local chapters with both financial donations and volunteer hours. About Farm Credit: Lending Support to Rural America For 95 years, Farm Credit has been a national provider of credit and related services to rural America through a cooperative network of customer-owned lending institutions and specialized service organizations. Created by Congress in 1916, the Farm Credit System provides more than $175 billion in loans and leases to farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, aquatic producers, timber harvesters, agribusinesses, and agricultural and rural utility cooperatives. For more information about the Farm Credit System, please visit www.farmcredit.com.

The Fourth Inning – Position Your Business to Win

by Al “Chip” Saufley, Regional Lending Manager

The great recession is proving to be quite resilient. With the prospects of a double dip seemingly increasing, many small business owners and agribusinesses may be asking themselves (or should be asking themselves): What can I do to better insure the viability of my business? Many business owners have reacted to the recession by employing a turtle approach, pulling into their shell with the expectation that this recession would run its course inside of a two year timeframe, the typical duration of a recession. This obviously is no typical recession as we are in year four, with prospects of it extending out four or more years from now. So a sports analogy would be: we are in the fourth inning. If you haven’t emerged from your shell, you need to, there are more innings to be played and your business needs you to take action to improve the odds of your company emerging as a leaner and recommitted business able to succeed in a volatile environment.

Find the fat. Good times allow excess costs to creep into operations. Complete a review of your costs of operations to identify where these have crept in over time. It is rare to find one or a few big ticket items, but more typical to find small, seemingly innocent items. A good practice is to compare operating costs as a % of revenues over a period of years. Have components of COGS or SG&A expenses increased in seemingly insignificant increments over time to the point where they are now a percent or two over prior year’s performance? Next, determine if the rise in cost components are controllable (voluntary) or uncontrollable (involuntary). Get after those voluntary increases first as they represent the most readably correctable elements of your cost structure. The involuntary costs are generally a bit tougher to wrestle through, but offer significant long-term reward for the effort. They often involve a close review of service providers and suppliers, and ways of doing business with customers which may have a long and valued history with your business. The challenge is to be sure you are being equitable to them and yourself.

Find the gold. Look for new business and new business opportunities. These are not the same; new business means business with new or existing customers in the same areas of business you have been undertaking and new business opportunities means new lines of business you may not have been a part of previously. Question your existing or prospective customers to see if you are meeting or can meet all of their needs within the scope of business you presently conduct; have other suppliers discontinued operations or cut services you are readably able to provide (profitably)? New business opportunities are potentially a bit riskier if you do not have a good handle on what it will cost you to provide a new good or service, but one area to give study to: better utilization of your company’s existing expertise and equipment in non-traditional ways. Let’s say your business cycle results in heavy use of resources during the spring and fall; are there alternate uses of those resources, or portions thereof, in the less busy summer and winter months? In either case, proceed armed with the principle that a new opportunity is only a good opportunity if you are covering the costs and risks associated with it.

“BUT I THOUGHT I WAS PRE-APPROVED!”

by Teresa Karst, loan officer, Ripley, WV

Many times I have been asked to provide a new borrower with a pre-qualification letter before a realtor agrees to spend time showing properties to the potential buyer.    I have also been asked by realtors to provide a pre-qualification letter for the potential buyer.    Each time this happens, I ask, “are you wanting a pre-qualification or a pre-approval?”   Most times, the look on their face or the silence on the other end of the phone let’s me know that they are not aware that there is a difference, but what a difference it can be!  

Most buyers today will schedule an appointment with their originator to determine how much they can afford to borrow for their new home.   This appointment is before the house hunting actually begins.   That’s when it becomes important to understand the difference between being pre-qualified for a loan and pre-approved for a loan.   The difference between the two terms will be crucial when you make an offer on your dream home.

Let’s start with the term pre-qualified.   Your loan originator will collect information from you about your income, your debts and down payment funds.  Your credit report will be pulled.  The originator will then discuss loan options that are available to you and will issue a pre-qualification letter showing the amount you are pre-qualified to borrow.   This letter is just an estimate of what you are eligible to borrower; it is not a commitment to lend. 

Getting pre-approved, however, will go a little farther.  You will actually be required to complete a mortgage application and provide documentation to support the information you have provided.  This will include income documentations in the form of W-2 forms, paystubs or income tax returns.  Assets will be verified with bank records.  It will require that the source of your down payment funds be verified.    Again, your mortgage options will be discussed with you and your application will be submitted to an underwriter for review.   After the application has been underwritten, a pre-approval letter is issued which will indicate the amount you are qualified to borrow.   This process can take several days to complete.

Even then, the pre-approval letter is not binding; it will be subject to a satisfactory appraisal and certain other conditions.  If anything changes in your financial position such as losing your job, changing jobs, getting additional debt, interest rates rise, etc., the information will need to be updated and the loan re-underwritten prior to final approval.

Each of these processes can be very effective and helpful depending on the needs of the buyer.  But don’t make the mistake of thinking you are pre-approved when actually you were only pre-qualified.

 

Farm Credit’s Producing Excellence Series Celebrates Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs in Agriculture

Producing Excellence celebrates business leaders and entrepreneurs in American agriculture and demonstrates the difference that Farm Credit’s partnership makes in their lives. Using a series of Farm Credit customer profiles, we will highlight the strength, ingenuity and integrity of our nation’s successful farmers and ranchers during our 95th anniversary year.  Click on any of the three photos below to visit those individual profiles and to see links to the entire series.

Lisa and Gerry Kasberg use the waste from their cotton gin to produce high-quality compost.

Maykia Yang & Jim Xiong with their family, some of whom are also poultry farmers.

Joe Freeman, here with his wife, retired from his first career to start a Mississippi cattle farm.