Yankee Farm Credit Approves Special Cash Patronage

Yankee Farm Credit Approves Special Cash Patronage

Members to receive $1.8 million mid-year patronage

Williston, Vermont (August 24, 2018) The Yankee Farm Credit Board of Directors recently approved the distribution of a mid-year patronage dividend of $1.8 million to their more than 1,400 members who are involved in farming and forestry. This distribution equals a return of approximately 30 bps of the average daily balance on loans.

This special patronage payment is possible because 2018 net income is significantly over budget for the first half of 2018. Several factors contributed to this positive performance in net income, including; an increased focus on portfolio diversification, a steadfast focus on cost controls and one-time payments received from partner organizations. We anticipate the payment will be distributed in the fourth quarter of 2018. This payment is separate from the $6.3 million patronage dividend that was paid in March 2018, which was based on 2017 earnings. The board will review net income at year-end with the anticipation that we will pay normal patronage in addition to this special patronage payment.

Our board's philosophy is that funds, which are not required to safely operate or capitalize our cooperative, should be returned to members. The special, one-time dividend reflects Yankee Farm Credit’s strong financial position, combined with our understanding and appreciation of the economic challenges faced by many of our members. Yankee's strong earnings allow us to continue to grow sustainably, while returning a portion of those earnings to our owner members.

"Kudos go to Yankee's management and staff for their hard work and wise management of our members’ funds, especially during the challenging times of Yankee's IT conversion,” said Paul Franklin, Chairperson of the Board.  “Their hard work resulted in achieving higher returns than necessary to meet Yankee's budgetary needs. Increased revenues combined with one time refunds allows the board to approve this distribution of funds to Yankee's members by a mid-year special patronage."

About Yankee

Yankee Farm Credit is a member-owned cooperative that provides loans and financial services to farmers and other rural customers. Yankee is an agricultural credit association (ACA) within the national Farm Credit System. Yankee serves all of Vermont, four counties in New Hampshire (Cheshire, Coos, Grafton and Sullivan) and two counties in New York (Clinton and Essex).

For more information about Yankee, visit the Association’s website at www.yankeefarmcredit.com. The complete quarterly report is available on the website.

Contact

Erika Quick
Marketing Coordinator
802-879-4700
equick@yankeefarmcredit.com

Dairy Farmers, Industry Groups Meet in Albany

Dairy farmers and industry supporters met in Albany, N.Y. on Monday, August 13 to discuss the current milk price and pricing environment. Hosted by the Agri-mark milk co-operative and co-sponsored by CoBank and Farm Credit East, the day was spent looking at what could be done to improve conditions going forward.

A tweet by Anson Tebbetts, Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, Food, and Markets:

UNDERWAY. Dairy pricing meeting in Albany #NY. Laura Ginsberg from @VTAgencyofAg addressing forum about supply management programs. Details about meeting: https://t.co/JWW4fY6iaC pic.twitter.com/2rMB2Z9i9P

— Anson Tebbetts (@anson_ag) August 13, 2018

A historical timeline of previous attempts to better coordinate the supply of milk in the U.S was reviewed. Legal perspective of what other commodities do and what's acceptable with respect to public accountability was shared. Finally, presentations were made of a few proposals that have been put forth followed by a reaction from the audience and a panel of legal experts.

Bob Wellington, Sr. Vice President at Agrimark, ran the meeting, and encouraged attendees to review the proposals, submit comments, become familiar with them. Throughout the day he repeated,: "Our best chance for a positive solution is widespread involvement."

The proposals, along with a chance to comment on each have been posted on the following website:

Dairy Farm Income Enhancement Proposals

Meet our 2018 Summer Interns - Griffin Shaw

We are excited to have five interns join us this year. They will be an important part of several special projects this summer. We'll feature each one here, so you can get to know them. Please welcome them to the team!

Name: Griffin Shaw

Hometown: Bradford, VT

Where do you attend college and what do you study?

I’m a junior attending the University of Vermont and I’m studying Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and Finance.

How did you hear about Yankee Farm Credit?

I heard about Yankee originally from farmers in my hometown, but I learned about this internship from Dr. DeWitt, who is a board member for Yankee.

What branch and department do you work in? Do you have any specific projects?

I am working out of the Williston branch under Lisa in the credit department. I just finished up adjusting data that had errors from the conversion and I will be working on other projects in different departments along with other data cleanup.

What do you hope to get out of your internship that you may not get from a traditional classroom?
I hope to learn how businesses run in a day to day sense and how that fits into the overall goals of the organization, along with gaining practical experience that can be applied better than classroom knowledge. 

What do you hope to do after you graduate?

I hope to get my Masters in Accountancy and become a CPA. From there maybe move into forensic accounting and see where that takes me.

For more information on internship opportunities,

contact Ruchel St. Hilaire, at rsthilaire@yankeefarmcredit.com or 800-639-3053.

Meet our 2018 Summer Interns - Joshua Lagerquist

We are excited to have five interns join us this year. They will be an important part of several special projects this summer. We'll feature each one here, so you can get to know them. Please welcome them to the team!

Name: Josh Lagerquist

Hometown: Bedford, NH

Where do you attend college and what do you study?:

I currently attend the University of Vermont and will be a senior going into this Fall. I am a part of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural resources and am majoring in natural resources with a degree concentration in resource ecology.

How did you hear about Yankee Farm Credit?

One of my forestry lab partners and a fraternity brother of mine were interns with Yankee last summer. They both had very positive experiences and encouraged me to look into the potential opportunity of interning here as well!

What branch location and department are you working in? Do you have any specific projects?

I am working with the appraisal department and am currently based out of the Williston office. One of the nice things is that travel comes with territory when doing appraisal work and it has allowed me to visit the other branches and see more parts of the state. This summer I have been pulling sales data to further develop the sales database, doing some GIS and mapping work as well as shadowing during appraisal inspections.

What do you hope to get out of your internship that you may not get from a traditional classroom?

This internship has given me some really great opportunities to apply skills I have learned through my coursework and then utilize them to solve unique problems. Also, I am hoping to use this internship to help determine my career interests for future.

What do you hope to do after you graduate?

Nothing specific at the moment, I would like to travel a little bit but otherwise hope to hop right into a job or career that is related to my field of study!

For more information on our summer internship opportunities, please email Ruchel St. Hilaire

RStHilaire@yankeefarmcredit.com

Meet our 2018 Summer Interns - Courtney Bronson

We are excited to have five interns join us this year. They will be an important part of several special projects this summer. We'll feature each one here, so you can get to know them. Please welcome them to the team!

Name: Courtney Bronson

Hometown: Shoreham, Vermont

Where do you attend college and what do you study?
I graduated from Vermont Technical College in May with an Associate Degree in Agribusiness Management and Technology. This fall I will be a Junior attending Champlain College in their Bachelor’s in Accounting program.

How did you hear about Yankee Farm Credit?
I had known of Yankee because my mom works in the Middlebury office as a credit analyst, but before she started working here I had heard of them through my Sustainable Agriculture class at the Hannaford Career Center. In class we had talked about the many aspects of the Agriculture world and the career opportunities that are available besides the typical “farmer” that everyone thinks of. In the course of our discussion financing your business and the different careers in that area came up and we talked about businesses in Middlebury that lend specifically to the Agriculture world including FSA, VACC, and Yankee.

What branch and department do you work in? Do you have any specific projects?

I am  working in the Middlebury branch and am currently working in both the Financial Related Services (FRS) and Credit departments. In credit I have been helping with loan document catch-up on the backlog from the beginning of the year and verifying that loan documents are correct. For FRS, I compiled a master list of clients with names and addresses and also created a complete list of 2017 tax returns that were prepared by Yankee.

What do you hope to get out of your internship that you may not get from a traditional classroom?

I hope to get some real-world experience working on computer software and entering real data into programs used by businesses, and having the chance to see how their database works. In the classroom, I only get the chance to enter fake data from a book into trial software or the software used is designed just for learning/teaching purposes and isn’t used by companies to conduct their everyday business. Technology is such a large part of a world today that the knowledge I can gain from working with the different programs Yankee uses is something I could never get from a classroom.  I also have already gotten the chance to see how the loan process works through multiple stages and how much internal work gets done so the parts can come together to get the loan booked.

What do you hope to do after you graduate?

After I graduate from Champlain I plan to stay in Addison County and find an Agribusiness job; hopefully in financial services. I hope to continue showing my horses on both the local and regional level and maybe one day at the national level. I also plan to become a 4H leader in the near future, most likely for my old 4H club, and help educate kids and provide them with some of the amazing opportunities that were given to me. 

For more information on internship opportunities,

contact Ruchel St. Hilaire, at rsthilaire@yankeefarmcredit.com or 800-639-3053

Meet our 2018 Summer Interns - Kisa Nop

We are excited to have five interns join us this year. They will be an important part of several special projects this summer. We'll feature each one here, so you can get to know them. Please welcome them to the team!

Name: Kisa Nop

Hometown: Salisbury, Vermont

Where do you attend college and what do you study?
Dordt College (Iowa), I am a senior studying Business Administration: Human Resource Management with a minor in Spanish.

How did you hear about Yankee Farm Credit?
My dad worked at Yankee Farm Credit as an intern and as Loan Officer in the Farm Credit system before he went back into farming. 

What branch and department do you work in? Do you have any specific projects?
I am working in Middlebury in the Human Resources department (if this is an official department). I have been working on surveying Yankee on Employee Engagement and working with our new job descriptions.

What do you hope to get out of your internship that you may not get from a traditional classroom?

I hope to get hands on experience, learn from people who are actively practicing HR and business, and responsibility for my work, without responsibility it is hard to take ownership and be engaged with what you are doing.

What do you hope to do after you graduate?

Graduation is coming up quickly, and I would like to travel a little bit and work in the training area of HR. I enjoy interacting with people and helping them be successful!

For more information on internship opportunities,

contact Ruchel St. Hilaire, at rsthilaire@yankeefarmcredit.com or 800-639-3053

Meet our 2018 Summer Interns - Christian Parenti

We are excited to have five interns join us this year. They will be an important part of several special projects this summer. We'll feature each one here, so you can get to know them. Please welcome them to the team!

Name: Christian Parenti 

Hometown: Orford, NH

Where do you attend college and what do you study? 

Drew University, majoring in business and minoring in computer science, about to start senior year.

How did you hear about Yankee Farm Credit?

My Father is a forester for a local lumber company and has connections with Yankee, he heard they were offering internships so I applied and got in!

What branch and department do you work in? Do you have any specific projects? 

I am working out of the Derby branch and the White River branch. One of my main projects is working on the 2017 MyFarm Report with Yankee's business consultant Joanna Lidback.

What do you hope to get out of your internship that you may not get from a traditional classroom?

At Yankee I have found an incredibly personal experience combined with doing work that matters to the company and its clients, something you can’t get out of a classroom.

What do you hope to do after you graduate?

I’m keeping my options open but I am looking for a career in finance.

For more information on internship opportunities,

contact Ruchel St. Hilaire, at rsthilaire@yankeefarmcredit.com or 800-639-3053

Collaboration in the Vermont Forest Industry

-Josh Lagerquist

The 1st Annual Vermont Forest Industry Summit was recently held with the goal of increasing the level of collaboration and strengthening communication between individuals and businesses within the Vermont timber industry. Approximately 150 foresters, loggers, saw mill operators, land owners and other industry professionals gathered at Burke Mountain in East Burke, VT on Thursday June 28^th and  Friday June 29^th. Discussions regarding the viability of local wood production and consumption as well as the innovative practices going on in the forest industry are just two examples of some of the topics that were covered. Governor Phil Scott was also in attendance to sign two bills which positively impacted the forestry industry. 

            Key takeaways from this summit were that there is a large need for public education surrounding the concept of forest management. The goal is that this would improve the broad public perception of the industry as a whole. There is also a strong desire for greater communication between local wood producers and consumers with the intent of keeping more Vermont wood within the state. Overall, this was a very impressive summit that did a great job fostering conversations with many industry leaders who will continue to drive the success of Vermont’s forestry industry. The continuation of this event is most certainly something that many will be looking forward to in the following years.

For more information on Yankee's Appraisal and Financial Services for Wood and Timber lots, email Info@yankeefarmcredit.com or call 1-800-639-3053.

New Hampshire Ag Financiers-Recent Meeting Updates

-Katy Coombs, Loan Officer

On June 7th, I attended the third NH Ag Financiers (NHAF) meeting this year.  We had a representative from SCORE, a volunteer organization made up of retired business executives from major corporations, retired business owners, and subject matter experts that uses its expertise to mentor start-up and existing businesses.  It is a nationwide organization with over 10,000 volunteers.  There are 6 chapters in NH with 100 mentors. This is a free service for the life of the business with the mentors either acting as advisers in a more hands off role or physically getting into the business in one way or another and working with them to improve an identified area such as records, marketing, or human resources.  SCORE has recently partnered with the USDA to try to recruit both farm clients and farm volunteers.  NHAF has identified potential in working with this group to connect them with local farms.  Our next step is to attend a SCORE chapter meeting to talk about what each organization offers their market and how we can work together to best serve our farmers.

In the afternoon, I led a discussion on the dairy industry for the group and some guests.  We discussed the current state of the dairy industry. There was a lot of participation and interest in the discussion. Some good thoughts on possible ways to improve the situation included:

- State branding for products

- Creating new business models

- Comprehensible and accessible training

Major updates from the group were from FSA and UNH Extension. Jeff Holmes, the state director for FSA, discussed the new MPP enrollment and improvements to the program.  Payments should be starting to go out this week to those farms who signed up.  He also discussed the weather emergencies that have kept the FSA offices busy this year including the field damage from the storms from last October (which was covered with snow until recently), flooding and debris in fields and farms, and the confirmed tornado in Sullivan and Merrimack counties last month

Seth Wilner from the UNH Extension talked about the new focuses for Extension going forward.  Their three initiatives for the year are:

1. Benchmarking– farm financial health assessments and making data driven decisions.

2. Farm Transfer and succession planning – three year plans.

3. Women in agriculture – livestock production and business skills.

NHAF is a group that meets four times a year to discuss different ways we can work together to help NH agriculture, whether that means with financing, education, consulting, records, etc.  It is made up of agriculture professionals from around the state and we bring in guest speakers some times to educate us on a particular tool, industry, or area that will allow us to better help our farmers. Members of the group include Farm Credit East, FSA, Community Loan Fund, Land for Good, NH Ag Mediation, rural development, small business association, the NH Commissioner of Agriculture, and representatives from the congresswoman and senators offices.

For more information on the New Hampshire Ag Financiers group, you can email Yankee Farm Credit Loan Officer Katy Coombs at KCoombs@yankeefarmcredit.com

Annual Meeting Results

It was a busy April, here at Yankee. We held five annual meetings this year, starting on Monday April 9th, with a morning meeting in Chazy, NY then Middlebury, VT in the evening. Tuesday was in Quechee, VT, and we finishing up on Thursday, April 12th with a morning meeting in Newport, VT and the evening in St. Albans. We had an increase in overall attendance which was a welcome sight as 2017 was an eventful year for Yankee and there was much to communicate with members. Each meeting also offered members the opportunity to hear from director candidates, vote for directors in their region, hear from Brenda Frank, CEO and Paul Franklin, Board Chairperson about the state of the Association, and get introduced to a few current members of our FarmStart program,  an alternative to our traditional financing products, specifically designed to assist beginning farmers and cooperatives.

Voting concluded on Thursday evening at the St. Albans meeting. The ballots were counted and the results were announced before the meeting adjourned.

Elected to three year terms on the board of directors were:
Region 1-Craig Giroux
Region 2-Brad Maxwell
Region 3-David Folino

David Folino

Craig Giroux

Brad Maxwell

Congratulations to  Craig, Brad and David and thanks to Anne Lincoln, Mateo Kehler, Clifford Allard and Jane Clifford for participating in the elections as candidates.

Yankee CEO, Brenda Frank reflected on this year's meetings and the coming year.

"It was a tremendous support being able to talk with members over the week. Our team is dedicated to staying focused on the industries we serve while managing the many challenges of the coming year. The rising interest rate environment offers challenges for everyone at Yankee Farm Credit, but we stay committed to returning any additional profit to our members."

Paul Franklin, Board Chairperson commented on the importance of member support to the success of our Association.

"The board of directors is pleased to have such broad support and participation in the Association's annual meetings. The election process is so important to running this organization and we are pleased to welcome Craig and David to the board.

We appreciate your patience as Yankee's staff completes the conversion to new support programs. They offer new efficiencies and services, but also learning challenges and change for all of us. Make sure you look to the staff for any help you need with any of this or other lending issues.

We are proud to have had a successful year reflected in our patronage and look forward to continuing the year servicing our customers with a safe and strong Agricultural Credit Association."

Thank-you to the members that participated, and a special thanks to employees for organizing and running successful meetings. We welcome any feedback about annual meetings. If you have questions or comments, please let us know! You can email your thoughts to our Corporate Secretary, Jim Mills at jmills@yankeefarmcredit.com or call at 800-639-3053.

https://www.yankeefarmcredit.com/products-and-services/farm-start