Farm Credit of the Virginias, a cooperative lending institution serving Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland, will return $33 million to its customer-owners through their annual patronage program.
FCV’s cooperative framework allows the association to return a portion of its profits back to customer-owners on an annual basis. During 2024, agricultural producers and rural homeowners faced another year of challenges with economic uncertainty, high interest rates and severe weather events. Fortunately, FCV maintained a strong financial position, so their board of directors elected to return more than 80 percent of net profits to their customer base through the patronage refund program. The association hopes that this refund will enable customer-owners to feel more equipped to navigate continued economic challenges affecting the agricultural industry and rural communities.
The patronage program effectively lowers the cost of borrowing from FCV. This year’s $33 million distribution equates to having an interest-free loan for approximately three months and represents approximately 26 percent of the net interest accrued on loans. In total, the association has returned more than $498 million to its members since 2001.
“We’re glad to be able to return crucial dollars to our customer-owners and reinvest money in our rural communities through our patronage refund program,” said Brad Cornelius, FCV’s CEO.
Cornelius continued, “Patronage is just one of the many benefits of doing business with our customer-owned cooperative. The refund is our way of showing our customers that we appreciate their business and we will always do our best to support their goals and dreams.”
