“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