Farm Credit of the Virginias, a cooperative lending institution serving Virginia, West Virginia, and western Maryland, returned $32 million to its customer-owners through their annual patronage program.
Farm Credit of the Virginias’ cooperative framework allows the association to return a portion of its profits back to customer-owners on an annual basis. During 2023, agricultural producers and rural homeowners faced another year of challenges with inflated input costs and interest rates. Nevertheless, Farm Credit of the Virginias’ financial position remained strong and their board of directors elected to return 81 percent of their net profits to their customer-owners, with the hope that this patronage distribution would allow their customer-owners to feel poised to navigate continued economic uncertainties affecting the agricultural industry and our rural communities.
The patronage program effectively lowers the cost of borrowing from Farm Credit of the Virginias. This year’s $32 million distribution equates to having an interest-free loan for more than three months and represents approximately 27 percent of the interest accrued on loans.
“We’re thrilled to be able to return crucial dollars to our customer-owners and reinvest money in our rural communities through our patronage refund program,” Brad Cornelius, Farm Credit of the Virginias CEO, said,
Cornelius continued, “We’re committed to serving our customer-owners through the good times and bad. Patronage dividends are our way of showing our customers that we appreciate their business and we will always do our best to support their goals and dreams. Patronage is just one of the many benefits of doing business with our customer-owned cooperative.”
