Just in time for the holidays, thousands of farmers, ranchers and other rural landowners are receiving checks from their lender, Texas Farm Credit.
The $4.6 million distribution is a benefit of doing business with the customer-owned cooperative. Texas Farm Credit keeps only the earnings it needs and returns the rest to its members through its patronage program, effectively lowering their borrowing costs.
Texas Farm Credit’s board of directors approved the December payment based on the cooperative’s strong financial health.
“Because our association continues to be well-capitalized, we are able to return earnings to the borrowers who make our success possible,” said Mark Miller, Texas Farm Credit chief executive officer. “It is a pleasure to pass along this benefit of our cooperative structure to our stockholders.”
The 3,857 checks are going to customers who had loans with Texas AgFinance, FCS and AgriLand, FCS, which merged in 2014. The funds represent surplus earnings that were allocated to borrowers in 2009 for future payment and retained as capital to fund growth.
In April, Texas Farm Credit also returned a portion of its 2015 earnings to its members, bringing this year’s total distribution to a record $11.4 million. This is the 18th consecutive year that the cooperative has returned cash to its customers, and the sixth consecutive year that it has retired allocated surplus.
Texas Farm Credit finances agricultural operations, agribusinesses, homes and rural real estate.
It is headquartered in Robstown, Texas, and has lending offices in Athens, Bandera, Beaumont,
Bonham, Brenham, Clarksville, Fairfield, Gainesville, Hebbronville, Nacogdoches, Paris,
Pleasanton, Raymondville, Robstown, San Antonio, Sulphur Springs, The Woodlands, Tyler, Uvalde and Weslaco. It is part of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of rural lending cooperatives established in 1916.
