VANTAGE POINT
Community Banks and Agribusiness A Perfect Partnership
John McNair President & CEO Community Bankers Association of Georgia
The last several months have forced Georgian’s and all Americans to recognize and appreciate the many wonderful conveniences of modern life. Once such convenience- which has only around for less than 100 years - is the modern grocery store. Prior to the events of the last several months, like most Americans, I have taken for granted the ability to walk into a grocery store or restaurant and buy food. Because we really enjoy the freshest food possible - especially fruits and vegetables- Lisa and I are in our local grocery stores almost every other day. Obviously, over the past few months all of that was turned upside down; thereby, forcing the McNair family and the general citizenry to consider just how fortunate we are to have such easy access to food. In this issue of Georgia’s Communities First, it is our distinct pleasure to feature several community banks that provide needed funding and banking services to Georgia’s amazing agribusiness economy.
According to a 2018 white paper publication produced by the ICBA, while community banks only represent 17 percent of all U.S. bank assets, they provide roughly half of all agricultural credit from the banking sector and more than 60 percent of small-business loans. Further, community banks under $10 billion in assets provide nearly 75 percent of all banking industry ag loans. Those under $1 billion in assets extend about 52 percent of non-real estate loans and 57 percent of real estate credit to the farm sector. These are very significant and material statistics and when put into context of the past few months become even more meaningful. According to the SBA PPP statistics, the Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting industry received over 135,000 PPP loans for just over $7.7 billion dollars. Since community banks were the primary suppliers of needed PPP loans, the importance of the local, community-based lender to the overall agriculture industry cannot be overstated.
Georgia’s farmers are amazing! Contributing close to $72.5 billion each year to the state’s economy, Georgia agriculture encompasses everything from broilers, beef cattle and pecans to food processing and agricultural education programs. The Peach State is home to 42,000 plus farms encompassing more than 9.5 million acres of land, each with an average size of 228 acres (Source- Farmflavor.com). Agriculture related products produced by our Georgia farmers are help feed and sustain people all over the world. Equally as significant is the vital role Georgia’s community banks play in making this all happen.
I hope you will enjoy reading and learning about our featured market segment this issue. If you are like me, I am sure your appreciation for some of life’s necessities has become magnified. The symbiotic relationship between community banks and agribusiness is a vital one that results in billions of people all over the world having access to high quality food. At CBA of Georgia, we are grateful for all of our farmers and agribusiness community banks that make all happen so seamlessly.
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