I am pleased to announce that Geoff Yates has been promoted to Senior Vice President/Director–Financial Services. Geoff has long served the Association as Vice President/Director–Appraisal Services and as Chief Appraiser. Last year he assumed additional responsibility for other financial services including crop insurance and the recordkeeping and tax preparation services. This promotion to Senior Vice President recognizes Geoff’s leadership and the Association’s commitment to financial services. He continues to be Chief Appraiser.
Geoff has worked for Farm Credit since 1980. He started at the South Burlington office of the Federal Land Bank Association (FLBA) and Production Credit Association (PCA) of South Burlington. His first position was Manager of Financially Related Services. For a number of years as part of that job, Geoff provided consulting services to farmers.
In the 1990s the financial services industry began to place a greater emphasis on appraisals. The requirements for appraisals were increased and Congress decreed that appraisals would be done by independent appraisers not loan officers. Geoff led the way for the Association to meet these new requirements. He built up the Association’s Appraisal Department and became a sought-after and respected resource on appraisal matters throughout the Northeast, both inside and outside Farm Credit.
Geoff hails from Great Britain and holds the equivalent of a Bachelors Degree in Farm Management from Seale Hayne Agricultural College in Devon, England. He also holds a Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University. Prior to Farm Credit he worked for Cornell Cooperative Extension as a Regional Farm Management Specialist based at Miner Institute. Geoff serves as a trustee of the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, New York.
Please join me in recognizing Geoff’s valuable and continuing contributions to the Association!
