Association Insider Newsletter

Check out our latest newsletter:

January 2014 Issue    

Contents:

· Our Values
· 4H Dairy Conference Sponsorship
· Congratulations to our Scholarship Recipients
· Financial Status as of 9/30/13
· Upside Down Cranberry Pudding
· We Now Offer Business Consulting Services!
· Please Welcome our Newest Employees
· Do You Know What Your Modified Adjusted Gross Income is for Insurance Purposes?
· FarmStart Initiative

As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions, please drop us an e-mail or call Ruchel at 800-639-3053.

VT Grazing & Livestock Conference

Jean Conklin and Ryan Scelza attended the 18th Annual VT Grazing & Livestock Conference that was held January 17th - 18th at the Lake Morey Resort in Fariless, VT. This year's theme was "Farm Management Decisions: More Than the Sum(s) of Their Parts." The keynote speaker was Dr. Ben Bartlett of Log Cabin Livestock in Traunik, MI. There were various workshops available for all attendees ranging from Low-Stress Livestock Handling to Soil Health Basic and Grazing Fundamentals. Jean and Ryan reported that the event was well attended and offered a diverse variety of vendors.

FarmStart - Adam and Melissa Beaulieu

Adam and Melissa Beaulieu, of Ryegate, VT are Yankee’s newest FarmStart investment! 

Adam graduated from Vermont Technical College in 2010 and went on to be a herdsman at the Stuart Farm in Stratham, NH.  Melissa has a degree in Accounting and worked for a CPA out of college.  Adam and Melissa have two children, Jabin and Lexi and are excited to start their own family farm.

Adam and Melissa spent a good portion of 2013 planning for this move, finding the right farm to rent, and talking with their FarmStart Advisor, Clara Ayer, a loan officer in the White River Junction office.  Adam and Melissa are a great fit for the FarmStart program because they have a strong work ethic and are passionate about their future in farming.  The FarmStart program is designed to help startup farmers build credit history, sound financial skills and business management with the help of their advisor while they are beginning their business.

Adam and Melissa are currently renting a dairy farm in Ryegate, Vermont.  They are starting out milking 35 cows with plans to grow to 50 cows through internal heard growth.  FarmStart is providing funds to purchase dairy cows and some other start-up expenses.

For more information on FarmStart, please call your local Yankee Farm Credit office.  

St Albans Coop Young Cooperators Annual Meeting

On December 12th, Yankee Consultant Liz Bayne and Senior Vice President Mike Farmer attended the St Albans Young Cooperators Annual Meeting and gave presentations to the group.

Liz's presentation focused on farm transfers. She spoke about how to prepare and plan for a farm transition to the next generation, how to structure a transition plan and provided some basic information on estate and gift tax rules.

Mike spoke about financing strategies for inter-generational farm transfers and advised the group on the importance of good records and having open communication with their loan officer to share and meet their business goals.

 About 50 farmers were in attendance. The group had excellent questions and lots of positive energy for stepping up their involvement in their operations.

Ryan Scelza

Ryan Scelza, a Credit Analyst in our White River Junction office, was recently promoted to Credit Analyst/Participation Specialist. In his new role, Ryan will be working with the Association's purchased participation portfolio while continuing to assist the branch credit staff.

Please join us in congratulating Ryan in his new role.