Two of the nation's Farm Credit associations have completed the regulatory hurdles necessary to form a new co-op that will offer services stretching from Arkansas to Ohio.
Farm Credit Mid-America and Farm Credit Midsouth officially joined together at the beginning of April following the preliminary approval of the merger by the Farm Credit Administration in January. Final approval came in March following a favorable vote by stockholders of both cooperatives in February.
The new, combined entity will retain the name Farm Credit Mid-America and will provide financial services to 137,000 farmers and rural customers across 391 counties in six states.
The addition of Midsouth's territory expands the Farm Credit Mid-America footprint to include the Mississippi River Delta region west of Memphis, Tennessee. It adds locations in Arkansas and Missouri to the established locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. Rice and sweet potatoes, among other new commodities, will be added to the cooperative’s existing portfolio.
Farm Credit Mid-America now employs 1,650 individuals with 88 offices in the six-state area. The organization’s headquarters will remain in Louisville, Kentucky.
Dan Wagner will be retained as the president and CEO of Farm Credit Mid-America. James McJunkins, former chief executive officer of Farm Credit Midsouth, retired in March 2023 after nearly 30 years with in various Farm Credit roles
Dane Coomer, Franklin Fogleman, Jr. and Gary Sitzer — all formerly of Farm Credit Midsouth — will join Farm Credit Mid-America's board of directors.
Wagner noted that the new co-op's combined net income of $477 million and $38 billion in total assets owned and managed will allow Mid-America to be “well-positioned to capitalize on customer opportunities.”
Prior to the merger, patron-eligible customers received a combined cash patronage payout of $237.6 million in the first quarter of 2023. Of the total, $230 million was allocated to Farm Credit Mid-America customers and $7.6 million to Farm Credit Midsouth customers.
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Farm Credit Midsouth has returned more than $89 million to eligible customers since 2015. Farm Credit Mid-America has returned more than $1 billion in patronage over the past seven years.
The final acquisition comes after about nine months of deliberation between the board of directors for the two cooperatives; the intent to merge was filed in June 2022 with a targeted effective date of April 1, 2023.
“Together, we are fulfilling our purpose to secure the future of rural communities and agriculture by serving their needs with excellence,” Andrew Wilson, chair of Farm Credit Mid-America’s board of directors, said in a statement.
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