ArborOne Farm Credit part of Crop Insurance Discussions

Don Boice and Debbie Fowler of ArborOne Farm Credit attended a round-table discussion about the proposed changes to the federal crop insurance program Monday, March 22, 2010, in Washington DC. This meeting was organized by the Farm Credit Council, the trade organization for the Farm Credit System, and attended by Farm Credit crop insurance experts, representatives of the Risk Management Agency and members of the FCC.

Congress is considering making changes to the crop insurance program next year. This insurance is a crucial part of farmers’ risk management planning which makes it important to Farm Credit.

“We are at the table and making a difference,” said Don Boice, Chief Relationship Manager at ArborOne.

William Murpy of the Risk Management Agency was present and interested to hear Farm Credit representatives’ comments.

“This is the beginning of a well-respected and informative relationship with RMA,” Debbie Fowler, Crop Insurance expert with ArborOne.

Future meetings are planned for this group to continue the crop insurance discussions.

ArborOne Farm Credit is an agricultural and rural financing cooperative covering the twelve counties of the Pee Dee region in South Carolina and a member of the Farm Credit System, a national federation of lending cooperatives serving agriculture and rural America since 1916.

Crop Insurance Sales Closing Day

Monday, March 1st, should be on every farmer’s calendar. March 1 is the sales closing day for crop insurance. What’s that? Sales closing day is the final day to make any changes (adding crops, entity changes, etc.) to an existing crop insurance policy or to write a new policy on spring crops.

ArborOne’s relationship managers are out making sure all customers and potential customers have made necessary updates.

"This is an important touch of our customers," says Andrea Benton, an ArborOne crop insurance coordinator. "It ensures that they and their operations are adequately protected for the 2010 crop year."

About ArborOne Farm Credit
ArborOne Farm Credit is an agricultural lending cooperative owned by its member-borrowers. It provides farm loans for land, equipment, livestock and production; recreational property loans; crop insurance; and rural home mortgages. It is part of the national Farm Credit System, a network of financial cooperatives established in 1916 to provide a dependable source of credit to farmers and rural America. ArborOne covers the twelve counties of the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. For more information, visit www.ArborOne.com.

More Than Loans for Land and Livestock - ArborOne Farm Credit

ArborOne Farm Credit is the cover story for the February Issue of the Greater Pee Dee Business Journal. In an in-depth article by Dan McCue accompanied by Benton Henry's photographs, ArborOne and its employees are introduced to readers.

President and CEO Jack Shuler is quoted, "Everyone here is dedicated to serving rural America..." And that is just what ArborOne Farm Credit does.

To read this article and view the pictures, please follow this link.

Bright Forecast Predicted for ArborOne Farm Credit Customers

Florence, SC (December 7, 2009) – ArborOne Farm Credit, an agricultural lending cooperative, today announced the retirement of $1.39 million of the 2001 Surplus held by the company to be paid to its member-customers. ArborOne Farm Credit is forecasting over $4 million in net earnings for 2009.

As a member of the Farm Credit System, ArborOne is a member-owned cooperative which means our customers are our owners. We return a percentage of our profits to our member-customers through patronage refunds. The ability to pay these patronage refunds is a key indicator of the financial strength of ArborOne Farm Credit. Patronage has been paid every year since 1988. A portion of this patronage is paid in cash and the balance, or surplus, is left on account to capitalize the association. The revolvement of $1.39 million in Surplus represents the balance held from 2001.

"The downturn in the general economy impacted the entire financial industry this year and as such we were not immune, however our earnings are better than we anticipated earlier in the year," said ArborOne Farm Credit President Jack Shuler. "The association remains financially strong, weathering this economic storm and has credit available to farmers, agricultural business owners, landowners and other rural borrowers."

About ArborOne Farm Credit
ArborOne Farm Credit is an agricultural lending cooperative owned by its member-borrowers. It provides farm loans for land, equipment, livestock and production; recreational property loans; crop insurance; and rural home mortgages. It is part of the national Farm Credit System, a network of financial cooperatives established in 1916 to provide a dependable source of credit to farmers and rural America. ArborOne covers the twelve counties of the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. For more information, visit www.ArborOne.com.

Lawson Named SC State Executive for FSA

Mr. Laurie C. Lawson has been appointed by the Obama administration as the South Carolina state executive director for the Farm Service Agency at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Deeply involved in South Carolina agriculture and a longtime friend of ArborOne Farm Credit, congratulations Mr. Lawson.

Read the full SCNow.com story.