Sustaining Our Cooperative For The Future

SUSTAINING OUR COOPERATIVE FOR THE FUTURE

“ENSURE FARM CREDIT EAST REMAINS A RELIABLE SOURCE OF CREDIT AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INTO THE FUTURE.

As a financial cooperative, owned by the customers we serve, sustainability is one of our founding principles. For more than 100 years, we have been a reliable source of sound credit for the region’s agriculture, forest products and commercial fishing businesses.

50 years ago, we launched a suite of financial services, which has grown to include payroll and tax preparation and planning, to further support our customers’ businesses.

As customers evolve their operations for the future, including increased focus on sustainable and regenerative practices, we will continue to provide reliable credit and value-added financial services to support them in these endeavors.

In 2022, as we looked to develop our sustainability framework, we created a new position for senior vice president of sustainability and corporate initiatives. The focus of this role is to support and develop programs that evolve Farm Credit East’s social, environmental and economic sustainability.

In the summer of 2022, Farm Credit East’s Board of Directors’ annual planning session included an in-depth discussion on sustainability. The board determined that one of Farm Credit East’s primary roles in this space is to support customers as they develop their own sustainability efforts. This includes providing value-added information through Farm Credit East’s Knowledge Exchange program and assisting producers with identifying and applying for sources of funding to help them achieve their goals in this area.

The board identified another key piece of Farm Credit East’s sustainability story is sharing our customers’ sustainability efforts. Over the past two years, Farm Credit East has highlighted a number of customers implementing climate smart and other environmentally beneficial practices at their operations. This includes features in Financial Partner magazine and videos showcased on social media and at customer meetings. We will also continue to support programs that recognize producers’ sustainability efforts, such as the Sand County Foundation’s Leopold Conservation Award. Our first annual sustainability report shares more details about our efforts. The following page outlines Farm Credit East’s strategic priorities. The pages that follow highlight how sustainability is woven into each of these priorities. All these efforts are intertwined: from the good work our customers are doing, to our employees’ involvement in local communities, our support of the industry’s next generation and our safeguards to ensure Farm Credit East remains a reliable source of credit and financial services into the future.

Laurie Griffen Mike Reynolds Board Chair CEO

FARM CREDIT EAST STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

DRIVE OUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS

Provide educational resources and financial services to assist customers in their sustainability efforts.

QUALITY

Enable an inclusive employee culture to provide an outstanding experience for our team.

OPERATIONAL

EXCELLENCE Position

SUSTAINING OUR PEOPLE

HELPING CUSTOMERS MANAGE THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT

Sustainable practices in Northeast agriculture, forestry and fishing operations are not new. However, with today’s technology advances, implementing some practices, such as those that produce renewable energy, can be costly and time consuming.

Farm Credit East provides educational and informative resources through its Knowledge Exchange program while also offering grant writing services to assist customers in obtaining funding to implement or improve upon sustainable initiatives.

Grant Assistance

With funding applications typically being quite involved, Farm Credit East’s knowledge of the available programs and working relationships with those administering them allows us to address the nuances of completing a successful application.

Farm Credit East’s goal in working with customers on grant applications is to understand what the customer is trying to achieve and then seeking funding sources to help cover project costs. Farm Credit East can also provide feasibility and economic analyses.

Services We Provide

Farm Credit East helps customers identify incentives and assists in completion of grant applications through programs like the USDA’s Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP), which funds renewable energy projects like solar, wind or anaerobic digestion to produce electricity, or renewable natural gas. Farm Credit East also helps customers arrange energy efficiency audits and works with utility companies that provide customer incentives for the installation of renewable or energy efficient systems.

Education & Resources

Farm Credit East has compiled a grants and incentives for Northeast agriculture report to provide a resource for Northeast producers to identify funding opportunities. The report includes grant programs, tax incentives and loan programs from various funding sources available to agricultural producers and other entities involved in agriculture or related industries. Visit FarmCreditEast.com/grants to download this report.

Satur Farms, Cutchogue, New York

Last October, Satur Farms, a vegetable farm on the eastern end of Long Island, connected their newly installed solar array on the grid. Farm Credit East played a key role in helping them secure grant funding to implement this project.

“The cost of electricity was distressing,” commented Paulette Satur. “Not to mention the important sustainability piece, so we engaged Farm Credit East’s grant writing services in late 2021 to apply for a REAP grant.”

The array was installed on a part of the property that was unsuitable for production. The array produces around 68 kilowatts to cover the majority of their farm’s electricity needs.

“We could have never done what we did without Farm Credit East and USDA,” continued Paulette. “It’s important for industry organizations, such as Farm Credit East, to keep producers apprised of this type of funding. We’re too busy to know what we don’t know, so this type of information is extremely valuable.”

Satur Farms, Cutchogue, New York

CREATING AN INCLUSIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT

Delivering an outstanding customer experience starts with the employee experience. It’s our employee team who connects the cooperative to its customers and keeps the association operating. In a recent employee survey, our team indicated some of the following attributes are important to their Farm Credit East experience.

Growth Opportunities

Farm Credit East offers ongoing training and development and when opportunities arise, aims to promote from within the organization. In fact, nearly our entire senior leadership team was promoted over time to obtain their current positions, with many having worked for the cooperative for more than 25 years.

In 2016, we formalized a young professionals group. Their mission is to inspire and connect current and future generations at Farm Credit East. “Young Professionals has been a great opportunity to build relationships with likeminded staff at similar points in their careers,” said Austin Weaver, Farm Credit East Accounting Specialist and Young Professionals Chair. “The impact our initiatives have on the organization and overall involvement has been very rewarding, both professionally and personally.”

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

In 2020, Farm Credit East established a leading diversity workgroup with the goal of creating an employee culture that embraces the different skills, talents and experiences each employee brings to the table.

“We want each and every employee to be able to bring all of their skills, abilities, interests and experiences so that they can fully engage in their work. If those can’t be fully utilized because they are different in some way, we all miss out on opportunities,” said Erin Pirro, business consultant and leading diversity founding member.

Over the past three years, this group has evolved. One of its first initiatives is the Voices discussion series, which provides the entire Farm Credit East team a safe space to build community around diversity and inclusion. “I now realize that everybody has some layer of diversity to

them and it’s important to understand those layers to be inclusive,” said Matt DiSciacca, loan officer and member of the leading diversity steering committee. “If someone doesn’t feel included or accepted — or they feel they need to hide a part of themselves at work — they won’t be engaged.”

“Everyone has unique knowledge, skills and intangible assets to contribute,” said Rodney Patterson, CEO of The Learner’s Group, Farm Credit East’s Diversity, Equity,

Inclusion and Engagement consultant. “And being able to contribute those provides higher levels of engagement for the employee and success for the business. This is the essence of the Human Equity strategy, and I’m excited to work with Farm Credit East to help implement Human Equity as the cornerstone of Farm Credit East’s Human Resources strategy.”

Employee Assistance Program

Farm Credit East employees have access to a third-party assistance and counseling service free of charge. From financial and legal assistance to resources for addressing issues surrounding family, relationship, work, career or other personal challenges, employees have 24/7 access to resources and counseling services.

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I NOW REALIZE THAT EVERYBODY HAS SOME LAYER OF DIVERSITY TO THEM AND IT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THOSE LAYERS TO BE INCLUSIVE.

Farm Credit East summer interns meet in the Enfield, Conn., office.

SUPPORTING CUSTOMERS INTO THE FUTURE

INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE FINANCING

Since our founding, Farm Credit East has been a relationship lender. We are committed to the success of our customers, and with that in mind, focus on whole farm financing to serve their businesses’ needs. Those needs vary based on the industry, where the business is in its life cycle and the owners’ long-term goals — and our financing is flexible to help them meet those goals.

Innovative and sustainable financing is nothing new for Farm Credit East. This has always been our lending philosophy. From competitive interest rates to flexible payment schedules to match customers’ business structure and/or seasonality, Farm Credit East understands agriculture and has built its credit products and financial services to serve the unique needs of the industry’s producers.

One prime example of innovative and sustainable financing is Farm Credit East’s partnership with American Farmland Trust (AFT). Farm Credit East is collaborating with AFT to facilitate its New England Farmer Microgrants

Program. As the grants are provided on a reimbursement basis, grantees with limited resources can apply through Farm Credit East’s FarmStart program to get funding to complete the project up front with the proceeds from the grant repaying the FarmStart investment upon completion of the project. This creative approach has provided greater access to AFT’s grant assistance for farmland access, succession and transfer support, and adoption of regenerative practices.

As a lender who has served the region’s agriculture for more than 100 years, Farm Credit East is here for the long term, just as our customers are. Northeast producers strive to be sustainable in their businesses, both economically and in regard to protecting natural resources. Farm Credit East provides financing to assist members in implementing these practices, including special lending products to facilitate capital projects and other necessary investments.

Linkletter & Sons, Inc., Athens, Maine Farm Credit East has been a partner to Linkletter & Sons, Inc., a vertically integrated forest products business, for upwards of 25 years. Over the course of that time,

the business has expanded, with the end goal of being a stump-to-customer operation.

About 15 years ago, with changing market dynamics as a result of the reduction in low grade wood demand from the pulp and paper industry, the Linkletters built a pellet plant to find a sustainable market for their low-grade wood. Six years ago, in an effort to further expand the utilization of low-grade wood from the Central Maine area, the operation built a biomass energy facility. The Linkletters consume a portion of the energy generated by this facility for their operations and sell the remainder to the New England Power Grid. “Farm Credit East has been integral in helping us to expand and integrate all our parts together. They always seem to be there for us when we need them,” said Bob Linkletter.

“The Linkletters have been very innovate in the projects they’ve implemented over the years,” commented Senior Commercial Loan Officer, Scott Kenney. “And we’ve been equally creative in our financing solutions, utilizing investment tax credits and New Markets Tax Credits, which are rooted in projects that promote long-term sustainability.”

Linkletter & Sons, Inc., Athens, Maine

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FARM CREDIT EAST PROVIDES SPECIAL LENDING PRODUCTS TO FACILITATE CAPITAL PROJECTS AND OTHER NECESSARY INVESTMENTS.

DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION

Farm Credit East understands the future of agriculture lies in the next generation and new entrants into the industry. That is why we have developed innovative financing and training and development programs to serve those coming into the industry.

FarmStart

Established in 2005, this first-of-its-kind initiative in the United States assists entrepreneurs and new cooperatives just getting started in agriculture, commercial fishing or forest products by providing working capital investments up to $75,000. Since inception, FarmStart has made 364 investments totaling over $17 million.

Calabash Garden, Newbury, Vermont

Calabash Garden, a regenerative agriculture saffron farm, got up and running about five years ago using a combination of funding from FarmStart and the Vermont Community Loan Fund. “Our initial startup costs were huge, and FarmStart provided that upfront funding to help us get started” said Jette Mandl-Abramson.

As they got started, Jette, along with her husband Zaka, aimed to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. “We are developing the saffron market in the United States, but also developing regenerative agriculture techniques to sequester carbon, mitigate erosion, filter water — in other words, all the things nature does on its own when undisturbed,” said Jette. “It is extremely important for us to be part of the climate change solution.”

Beyond financing, FarmStart has also offered Jette and Zaka additional educational resources that they have found beneficial in building their business. “Our FarmStart advisor

has been a fantastic resource on so many levels,” commented Jette. “It’s something special to have a lending entity that is also able to support you in various ways to be successful. They’re looking at more than just the bottom line — they’re taking into account the long-term sustainability and overall health of our business.”

YBSV Incentives

Farm Credit East offers incentives to those who qualify as young (35 or younger), as well as young producers who are beginning (10 years or less experience), small (less than $250k in annual gross sales), or veteran (post-Gulf War-era II). In 2022, incentives in excess of $396,000 were provided

toward discounts on Farm Credit East’s financial services and training programs, FSA guaranteed loan fees, farm accounting and management software fees, and interest rate assistance.

74 individuals participated in both in-person and virtual seminars that took place over the winter of 2022-23.

“As someone who works on their family farm and is now taking it over, I have so much to still learn, but after completing GenerationNext, I have a better understanding of the overall picture,” said Katie Carlson, of Carlson Orchards in Harvard, Mass. “GenerationNext opened my eyes to aspects of the business I hadn’t touched upon yet and after finishing this seminar series, I feel the foundation for my success has been laid.”

GenerationNext

A series of annual seminars that focus on developing the skill sets of next generation managers. More than

Calabash Garden, Newbury, Vermont. Photo credit: Oliver Perini

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COMMITTED TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES

One of the reasons Farm Credit East understands our customers’ credit and financial services needs is our team is involved in the communities we serve, volunteering their time and holding leadership roles in local community and industry organizations. As an organization, Farm Credit East supplements that involvement with financial support. Employee time and monetary support is such a powerful combination to support the industries we serve and the communities where we live.

— Dave Lane, Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Initiatives

2022 STEWARDSHIP CONTRIBUTIONS

Farm Credit East stewardship spans from support of agricultural organizations and community events to support of agricultural recognition programs, such as the New York State Agricultural Society and the Leopold Conservation Award Program — and everything in between.

Table Rock Farm, in Castile, N.Y., was the 2021 recipient of the New York Leopold Conservation Award. An 1,800acre farm growing corn and alfalfa to feed a herd of 1,150 dairy cows, the Table Rock team understands the importance of working closely with researchers to improve conservation, cows and their crops. Farm Credit East was pleased to increase its financial sponsorship of the Leopold Conservation Award in 2023 to support the program’s recognition of the important work operations like Table Rock Farm are doing to improve the industry and the environment.

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In partnership with CoBank, Farm Credit East’s funding bank, Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement has contributed more than $3 million since its inception in 1996. AgEnhancement grants support projects that promote and support the industries Farm Credit serves, youth and leadership development as well as outreach for diversity and inclusion.

Meghan Hauser, Table Rock Farm, Castile, N.Y.

Table Rock Farm, Castile, N.Y.

Knox, Inc., a Hartford, Conn., based non-profit seeking to improve the quality of life in the city through horticulture and environmentally centered programs, is a past AgEnhancement recipient. Farm Credit East is proud to partner with Knox on its urban farming program, providing financial support and more recently supporting its successful application to the USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program. As part of the grant, Farm Credit East has delivered financial management training to Knox participants as they prepare for independent farming careers. Programs like this are an important part of Farm Credit East’s diversity and inclusion outreach as they provide a pathway for new entrants in agriculture.

Lipinski Rural Initiatives Award

The Lipinski Rural Initiatives Award was established by Farm Credit East’s Board of Directors in 2020 to recognize former Farm Credit East CEO Bill Lipinski. A joint effort with CoBank, the award aims to recognize innovative and transformational efforts to revitalize Northeast rural communities. Now in its third year, the award has recognized six organizations each receiving $25,000 to support their work.

2022 recipients included Cayuga Milk Ingredients/ Cayuga Marketing, two affiliated dairy organizations, and The Foundation for Rural Service. Cayuga Milk’s award supported programs for both dairy manufacturing and farm employees, including providing opportunities for networking and to improve their knowledge and technical skills. The award to the Foundation for Rural Service, a 501(c)3 created by NCTA – The Rural Broadband Association, supported broadband access projects in the rural Northeast.

Committed to the Next Generation

From student scholarships for those in FFA and those pursuing a higher education in an agriculture-related field, to scholarships for agricultural teachers through our partnership with the Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE), Farm Credit East is committed to supporting the next generation of agriculture.

In 2022, we awarded $65,000 in higher education scholarships to 38 student recipients, including three

scholarships to students of diverse backgrounds; we supported 14 FFA students’ Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects; and provided $25,500 in scholarships to support 17 educators’ attendance at CASE institutes where they are provided with training and resources to teach courses in the CASE curriculum to high school students.

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In fact, Clarissa first volunteered at the encouragement of her branch manager more than a decade ago when she began serving on the county fair board. “Helping educate the community to keep a connection to agriculture is incredibly rewarding, and I’m able to complete this important work thanks to Farm Credit East’s support and flexibility.”

Farm Credit East Cares

EMPLOYEES GET INVOLVED

“Whether we are educating the community about agriculture, helping coach a little league team or serving those less fortunate, Farm Credit East has always been willing to help and support the employees willing to put forth the time,” said Senior Credit Analyst, Clarissa Kniskern.

Initiated by Farm Credit East employees in 2011, Farm Credit East Cares aims to give back to the farmers and rural communities we serve. Each year, funds are raised through the contributions of Farm Credit East employees across the organization and distributed to farm families and organizations impacted by disasters; to various Northeast charitable organizations; and to local, regional or state not-for-profit charitable organizations focused on youth involvement in agriculture or local agricultural promotion. Since the program’s inception, it has contributed more than $1 million to Northeast charitable organizations and farm families. “Being able to support our community is incredibly important to the Farm Credit East team,” said Farm Credit East Tax Specialist, Lindsay Eckman. “Farm Credit East Cares provides a great vehicle for employees to be a part of something that can have a significant impact on the communities we live in as well as those impacted by disasters across the nation. The most rewarding part is hearing from the recipients of our designated funds and how much every dollar means to them.”

Lipinski Rural Initiatives Recipient- Cayuga Milk Ingredients

Flemington, N.J., Office’s Charity Golf Tounrament

VOLUNTEER HOURS LOGGED BY THE FARM CREDIT EAST TEAM IN SUPPORT OF AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS IN 2022.

SUSTAINING OUR BUSINESS

PROTECTING CUSTOMER INFORMATION

In today’s ever-changing, increasingly digital world, protecting customer information is of utmost importance. As complex as today’s technology is, hackers, cyber criminals and threat actors are equally savvy. This makes monitoring systems a 24/7, 365-day-a-year task.

“Our goals are to continue the business, keep everyone functional, allow customers to conduct business with us, all

while keeping data security top of mind and making sure we have the right safeguards in place,” said Deanna Pellegrino, Farm Credit East’s Information Security Manager.

“Organizationally, we’ve taken our strategy to a whole new level over the last few years,” said Daryn Deveau, Senior Vice President of Security, Data, IT Infrastructure.

“We adhere to the standards of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and constantly grade ourselves against this leading industry standard to ensure we’re moving our program in the right direction.”

Managing Risk

Risk has to be managed 24/7, and organizations must constantly evaluate, mitigate and adjust accordingly. Farm Credit East’s risk appetite statement defines the organizationally accepted risk appetite for cyber risk programs. This statement is communicated and approved all the way to the Farm Credit East Board of Directors to ensure all decisions are aligned throughout the entire organization.

Employee Training

Farm Credit East’s robust employee training program is the cornerstone of its security program. In addition to regular security trainings, Farm Credit East enacts an ongoing email phishing training. This process targets employees based on their job role and grades their success rate in identifying phishing attempts. The trainings have helped Farm Credit East staff further develop a security mindset.

Modern Tools

Farm Credit East employs best-in-class tools and is constantly assessing those tools as it relates to the current threat landscape. An example is Farm Credit Connect, Farm Credit East’s new customer portal. The portal aims to further protect customer information by not sending it over email, where information can be easily compromised, and instead keeping it within Farm Credit East’s secure platforms.

As Farm Credit East plans for the future, it aims to innovate with these same goals in mind — provide our employees and customers with the tools they need to interact and conduct business in the safest way possible.

OUR COMMITMENT TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Building on guidance provided by the board of directors in August 2022, Farm Credit East will continue assessing the Association’s environmental footprint. Utilizing a preliminary assessment of our internal environmental footprint completed by an outside consultant in 2022 using 2021 data, our environmental focus will be on reducing energy use in offices. Energy use in our buildings, including heating fuel and electricity, represented a significant portion of our overall footprint.

“Farm Credit East has made several energy efficient upgrades to our facilities in recent years, including lighting, heating and cooling systems, and windows,” said Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Grant. “As we complete future building renovations, our plan, as it makes sense environmentally and financially, is to take advantage of available resources to incorporate a full building audit in order to maximize these benefits and support our sustainability efforts.”

Farm Credit East is developing a process to ensure that all building construction or renovations are completed with environmental improvements. We are fortunate that all the states in our loan service area have programs to assist businesses in assessing buildings for energy efficiency improvements. Prior to embarking on any new building projects, we will engage these services to ensure building enhancements are completed with an eye toward sustainability.

“PROVIDE OUR EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO INTERACT AND CONDUCT BUSINESS IN THE SAFEST WAY POSSIBLE.

AUBURN, ME

615 Minot Avenue

Auburn, ME 04210-4052

800.831.4230 / 207.784.0193

BATAVIA, NY

4363 Federal Drive

Batavia, NY 14020-4105

800.929.1350 / 585.815.1900

BEDFORD, NH

2 Constitution Drive

Bedford, NH 03110-6010

800.825.3252 / 603.472.3554

BRIDGETON, NJ

29 Landis Avenue

Bridgeton, NJ 08302-4396

800.219.9179 / 856.451.0933

BURRVILLE, NY

25417 NY Route 12

Watertown, NY 13601-5730

800.626.3276 / 315.782.6050

CHAZY, NY

9784 Route 9, P.O. Box 507

Chazy, NY 12921

800.545.8374 / 518.554.4015

CLAVERACK, NY 190 State Route 9H

Hudson, NY 12534-3819

800.362.4404 / 518.851.3313

COOPERSTOWN, NY

7397 State Highway 80

Cooperstown, NY 13326-3307

800.762.3276 / 607.282.3002

CORTLAND, NY

One Technology Place

Homer, NY 13077-1526

800.392.3276 / 607.749.7177

COUNTRY LIVING

7397 State Highway 80

Cooperstown, NY 13326-3307

800.762.3276 / 607.282.3002

CROP GROWERS

One Technology Place Homer, NY 13077-1526

800.234.7012

DAYVILLE, CT

785 Hartford Pike

Dayville, CT 06241-1739

800.327.6785 / 860.774.0717

DERBY, VT

250 Commerce Way

Newport, VT 05855 (Mailing) Derby (Physical), VT 05829

800.370.2738 / 802.334.8050

ENFIELD, CT

240 South Road

Enfield, CT 06082-4451

800.562.2235 / 860.741.4380

FLEMINGTON, NJ

9 County Road 618

Lebanon, NJ 08833-3028

800.787.3276 / 908.782.5215

GENEVA, NY

1450 Route 14 Phelps, NY 14532-9542

800.929.7102 / 315.781.7100

GREENWICH, NY

394 State Route 29

Greenwich, NY 12834-2650

800.234.0269 / 518.692.0269

HORNELL, NY

1155 Airport Road

Hornell, NY 14843-9144

800.929.2025 / 607.324.2020

MAYVILLE, NY

28 E. Chautauqua Street

Mayville, NY 14757-0163

800.929.2144 / 716.451.1063

MIDDLEBORO, MA

67 Bedford Street

Middleboro, MA 02346

800.946.0506 / 508.946.4455

MIDDLEBURY, VT

320 Exchange St.

Middlebury, VT 05753

800.545.1169 / 802.388.2692

MIDDLETOWN, NY

669 East Main Street

Middletown, NY 10940-2640

888.792.3276 / 845.343.1802

POTSDAM, NY

One Pioneer Drive

Potsdam, NY 13676-3273

800.295.8431 / 315.265.8452

PRESQUE ISLE, ME

26 Rice Street

Presque Isle, ME 04769-2265

800.831.4640 / 207.764.6431

RIVERHEAD, NY

1281 Route 58

Riverhead, NY 11901-2097

800.890.3028 / 631.727.2188

ST. ALBANS, VT

130 Upper Welden St. St. Albans, VT 05478

800.545.1097 / 802.524.2938

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT

52 Farmvu Dr. White River Jct., VT 05001

800.370.3276 / 802.295.3670