Farm Credit Fellows

UVM Farm Credit Fellows Oliver Bevan, Kristen Caron, Melissa Cronin, Alexander Doolittle, Jana Gailiunas, Mathew Jacobson, Dan Truso and UVM contact Charlie Ferreira

Farm Credit East hosted the 2016 Farm Credit Fellows program on April 14^th and 15^th at their headquarters in Enfield, CT.  There were thirty-four students participating from Cornell University, University of Maine, University of Vermont, and University of Connecticut.  It was a group of interactive and enthusiastic students along with passionate presenters educating and preparing them for their future roles in agriculture and the Farm Credit System.  Presentations by representatives from the Funding Corporation, CoBank, Financial Partners, Farm Credit East, and the Farm Credit East board of directors explored all of the opportunities offered by the Farm Credit System.

Thursday started off with a tour of the Farm Credit museum in the Enfield office.  This gave the participants a good introduction to the history of Farm Credit.  They were then given a more in depth explanation of how the entire Farm Credit System works starting with the Funding Corporation.  Susan Bilotta, Vice President-Finance of the Funding Corp, explained how the funding process works and the relationships they have with the banks, investors, and associations.  This presentation was followed by Mike Fleming, Senior Relationship Manager at CoBank and Farm Credit Leasing, and Christina Zick, Credit Analyst at CoBank, for a presentation about CoBank and its role in the Farm Credit System.  Chief Administrative and Risk Officer from Financial Partners, Inc., Dan Carey, and Chief Risk Officer at Farm Credit East, Bill Bathel, came together to discuss the role of technology providers in the Farm Credit System and the constant need to be upgrading and changing technology.  The presentations for Thursday wrapped up with Bill Lipinski, CEO of Farm Credit East, talking about the opportunities and benefits of the associations and their role in agricultural success.  The day ended with the introduction of a case study and a mock interview with a “borrower.”

Friday, the group jumped right back into the case study, exploring the arguments on approving and denying the loan.  They were split into two groups; a “yes” group and a “no” group, and worked with a group of employees to prepare their analysis arguments for a mock Loan Committee.  After a brief presentation from Jim Putnam, Chief Business Officer of Farm Credit East, on achieving balance in the system and the credit process, the two groups presented to the mock Loan Committee where the loan was eventually approved with conditions.  The program ended with Farm Credit East Director, Matthew Beaton, a cranberry farmer from South Massachusetts, sharing with the fellows his seven keys to success. 

The students will each spend a week in a Farm Credit branch this coming summer.  Yankee will be hosting six fellows in three different branches, five from UVM and one from Cornell.