ArborOne Farm Credit pays over $2 million in patronage dividends
Spring is coming up green in more ways than one for Pee Dee area farmers, many of whom will find a welcomed envelope in their mailboxes this week. ArborOne Farm Credit, the region’s leading agricultural lender, is mailing $2.1 million in patronage refund checks to its customer-owners.
ArborOne Farm Credit is structured as a cooperative, meaning its customer-owners literally “own the bank” and run the organization by electing its Board of Directors. By law, profits made by cooperatives must either be returned to member-owners or reinvested in the company at the end of each fiscal year.
Since 1988, ArborOne Farm Credit has paid over $93 million in cash patronage refunds, which represent a portion of Arbor One’s net earnings to eligible customer-owners. Each eligible customer’s cash-back refund is based on the interest paid during the calendar year—so the more business a customer has with ArborOne, the larger their patronage check.
“Despite the downturn in the ag economy and the curveballs that Mother Nature has thrown us over the past two years, ArborOne Farm Credit remains financially strong. We are pleased to return a portion of our profits to our customer-owners for the 28th straight year,” said Kathy S. Heustess, President and CEO of ArborOne Farm Credit. “Day in and day out, our customers amaze us with their continued resiliency as they strive to feed and clothe our nation and the world. Together, we are Farmer Strong,” she added.
The ArborOne Board of Directors approves each year’s cash-back distribution in December and considers a number of factors in its decision, including the cooperative’s financial performance for the year. This year, the patronage declared represents approximately 35 percent of the interest earned on loans during 2016.
Patronage refunds are just one of the many benefits offered by ArborOne Farm Credit, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016.
“It sure is nice to get a check in the mail, especially at this time of year,” said Andy Rodgers, an ArborOne Farm Credit customer and row crop farmer from Scranton in lower Florence County. “In the spring, we are usually putting all of our money in to our crops, so this is the perfect time for a check to come,” Rodgers added.
ArborOne is a proud member of the national Farm Credit System and serves the following counties: Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Lee, Marion, Marlboro, Sumter, and Williamsburg. Since 1916, Farm Credit has provided a reliable and consistent source of credit for farm families and rural communities. ArborOne finances farm operations, equipment, land, and also makes rural home loans. The cooperative also offers crop and life insurance to its members.
For more information, please visit www.arborone.com or find them on Facebook.