“The events of 2021 – and the year prior – provided key opportunities for our association to seek innovative solutions to achieve success while also finding new ways to be efficient and strengthen our relationships with customers. The ongoing commitment of our staff, the loyalty of our customers, and guidance by our Board of Directors all contributed to the association’s very strong financial performance last year.”

said Mark Littlefield, President, and CEO of Farm Credit West.

This strong performance provided the association with the foundation necessary for the Board of Directors to declare a cash patronage dividend equal to 125 basis points or 1.25% of the eligible customer-owners average loan balance. Core patronage of 1.00% was distributed this February with the second supplemental payment equal to 0.25% distributed in March. This was a direct result of Farm Credit West’s exceptional earnings and maintenance of a strong capital position in 2021.

As a member-owned cooperative, Farm Credit West has distributed over $1.186 billion in cash dividends since the patronage program’s inception in 2002. The varied geographic and commodity diversity of its activities in California and Arizona contributed to the strong earnings results in 2021. Below is a summary of the Association’s financial performance last year:

• Net income for 2021 was $326 million as compared to $296 million in 2020. Net income in 2021 was positively impacted by an increase in net interest income due to strong growth and performance stability in the loan portfolio.
• Earning assets grew to $12.8 billion at the end of 2021 from $11.9 billion at the end of 2020.
• Asset quality improved to 97% non-adversely classified loans at year-end 2021 compared with 95.6% at the end of 2020. Additionally, nonaccrual loans and other property owned decreased to $71 million at the end of 2021 compared to $100 million at the end of 2020.
• Total capital at the end of 2021 was $2.44 billion compared to $2.39 billion at the end of 2020.
• Farm Credit West’s primary capital ratio measurement is common equity tier 1 (CET1). The CET1 ratio was 13.8% at the end of 2021 compared to a CET1 ratio of 13.9% at the end of 2020. Both were well in excess of the regulatory capital requirements.

The post Farm Credit West Reports Financial Results for 2021 appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

The most recent Ag Census showed a 27% increase in the number of women managing or operating farms and ranches.  Coupled with this, more women than ever are involved in other agricultural careers or studying agriculture in post-secondary institutions. As the number of women involved in agriculture increases Annie’s Project is taking a closer look at agricultural women’s involvement with its new survey, the Agriculture Women’s Community & Leadership Survey. The survey is sponsored by Annie’s Project and Farm Credit and the results will be used to help design educational programs to expand women’s involvement in their communities and agricultural organizations.

Annie’s Project empowers farm and ranch women and growers to be better business partners through networks and by managing and organizing critical information. Farm Credit is a nationwide network of 72 customer-owned financial institutions.

“Our interest is to strengthen rural and agricultural communities by tapping into the talents of the women living and working there”

says Doris Mold, Annie’s Project Co-CEO.

Dr. Karisha Devlin, Annie’s Project Co-CEO adds,

“It is critical for us to also develop an understanding of the tools  that they need to become more effective leaders in their communities.”

Source: Annie’s Project

The post Annie’s Project partners with Farm Credit on new agriculture women’s community appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

Van Hoose said:

“Parents working and students studying from home has brought the urban/rural divide on broadband to the fore in a way we can no longer afford to ignore. That same broadband would help rural residents avoid medical appointments through telehealth initiatives – decreasing their exposure to others at the hospitals and clinics. At the other end of the infrastructure equation, we’ve already seen the problems with our food supply chain. Once these processing plants return to normal operations, they will rely on roads, bridges, locks and dams – that are crumbling by the way – to transport that protein to consumers. As Congress considers future COVID-19 relief packages, they need to prioritize rural America’s infrastructure.”

Farm Credit supports rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services, today and tomorrow. It has been fulfilling its mission of helping rural America grow and thrive for more than a century with the capital necessary to make businesses successful and by financing vital infrastructure and communication services.

Source: Farm Credit

The post Farm Credit Support Rebuild Rural Letter, Focus On Rural Infrastructure appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.