Spring 2016 Financial Partner Magazine

2016 Director Candidates FarmCreditEast.com

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training ground Investing in Our Staff to Better Serve Our Customers News & Views p.2

Cover Story p.4 CEO Letter p.3 Farm Credit History p.8

Washington Update p.10

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NE W &views S Insights & Perspectives Be sure to check out Farm Credit East’s Northeast Agriculture 2016: Insights and Perspectives. This year’s edition provides analysis and perspectives on agriculture, commercial fishing and the forest products industries from Farm Credit East leadership and industry experts across the country.

Insights are provided on: • Adapting for success in today’s business environment • Northeast farm economy • Tax planning • 2016 outlooks for the grain and oilseed, tree fruit, wine, greenhouse and nursery, timber and sea scallop industries • Ag labor expectations for 2016

FarmCreditEast.com

2016 Farm Credit East Scholarship Farm Credit East awards $1,500 scholarships to qualified students each year. We look for students committed to having a career in agriculture, commercial fishing or the forest products industries. Eligible students must have a permanent address within Farm Credit

East’s territory and be pursuing full-time post high school education in fall 2016.

Visit FarmCreditEast.com/Scholarship to submit your application.

Deadline: Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Open Director Seat in Central Region Director Andrew Gilbert was recently elected to the CoBank, ACB Board and, in accordance with our Bylaws, will step down from the Farm Credit East Board after the director elections are completed in late April. The Board of Directors will appoint an individual to serve as director until the 2017 Annual Meeting. To be considered, an eligible stockholder must be from the central

region (Burrville, Claverack, Cobleskill, Greenwich, Middletown, Potsdam and Sangerfield offices). Interested stockholders should provide a resume to Corporate Secretary Robert A. Smith at robert.smith@farmcrediteast.com by April 4, 2016. This director seat will be up for election in 2017.

Calling all talented photographers!

The Farm Credit East Photo Calendar Contest is open.

To view this year’s report, visit

FarmCreditEast.com/InsightsAndPerspectives.

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We’ve received many creative images representing Northeast agriculture and country life from customers, employees and friends over the years. We hope that your shutter finger has been busy and that you will upload some of those wonderful shots for our 2017 calendar.

We look for photos representing Northeast agriculture during every season, so don’t forget to send in the snowy scenes you captured this winter too! We encourage creative photos from all industries, from fishing to dairy to forest products, and all other industries in between.

Ready! Aim! Shoot! Visit FarmCreditEast.com/Calendar to upload your best shots. Deadline: July 31, 2016

“I truly believe that if you hire smart, motivated individuals with integrity, you can build a successful organization.”

CEO’s Message

Expertise in Farm Credit East–

Important to Your Success Bill Lipinski, CEO, Farm Credit East Expertise is an important differentiator for Farm Credit East. Along with customerownership and governance, patronage and industry commitment, expertise is key to being the preferred provider of loans and financial services in our marketplace.

We all know that having the highest level of expertise doesn’t just happen. It requires continual education, innovation and organizational drive.

Farm Credit East’s commitment to training and learning opportunities for our staff is critical to our service to our customers. As an organization, we are proud of our staff’s dedication and we’re pleased to be an employer of choice for individuals choosing to work in agriculture, forest products and other rural enterprises.

I truly believe that if you hire smart, motivated individuals with integrity, you can build a successful organization. To support employee success, we provide effective training, engage staff and uphold company values. Given the dynamic industries we serve and the changing regulatory environments in which we

and our customers operate, it takes a real commitment to provide advanced training and learning opportunities to ensure staff remains current.

I view training as an integral part of our overall Human Capital Plan. Key pieces include: • Support development and educational scholarships for youth and college students • Attract and retain highly qualified individuals • Ingrain our culture of industry commitment and customer service • Build credit and financial services skills and industry knowledge • Ensure all new employees have experienced mentors • Cultivate knowledge and problem solving skills • Develop employees to be the best in the industry and leaders in Farm Credit East • Grow future organizational leaders through individual and group opportunities • Identify employees to step into new roles of responsibility

Our efforts don’t stop with training.

We believe strongly in employee engagement and empowerment. Our staff is involved in the future of the organization and their contributions are encouraged.

This helps to ensure a team of highly collaborative and focused employees.

As an organization, Farm Credit East believes strongly in benchmarking to understand our strengths and our areas of opportunity. For employee engagement, we survey employees and benchmark our scores with those of other financial institutions. This ensures that we are not complacent and allows us to focus resources and attention where it is needed.

In closing, it is essential to your success that our employees are engaged and recognized. It takes a team with diversity, commitment and expertise to be successful in this competitive world — I am proud of our Farm Credit East team.

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It’s been said, “You don’t make it to the Olympics without a coach.”

And while the Olympics may not be on your horizon, this sentiment also applies to our day-to-day lives. Coaching — or training — is a life-long process. There will always be advances in technology, developments for efficiency and changes to regulations. To be successful, you need to be one step ahead of change — and the only way to ensure this is through continual learning.

At Farm Credit East, we are customer-focused. We are committed to delivering credit and financial services to improve our customers’ profitability, net worth and risk management. We’ve embraced the importance of developing employees’ expertise to enable them to best serve our customers. To ensure staff is equipped with the tools and information needed to deliver on this commitment, we encourage continual education, intellectual curiosity and invest in technology to enhance productivity and customer service.

We recently sat down with five Farm Credit East employees, each in different roles and each at various tenures in their career, to learn more about how training programs have enriched their skills and enhanced their ability to serve customers.

Day One: Customer-focused Our family of employees comes from diverse backgrounds — some raised on farms, with some still farming today, others went to agricultural universities, while others do not have a farm background, but are experienced in lending or financial services, such as accounting, tax preparation and record-keeping. Whatever their background, we are committed to ensuring employees receive the support they need to be experts in their work responsibilities and in the specific industries we serve.

To best serve our customers, we believe employees need exposure to all aspects of our business. Each employee goes through the same early career development series, which includes ag-specific courses in credit, tax services and legal compliance.

“I came to Farm Credit knowing nothing about farming,” said farm business advisor Kirk Williams. “I quickly learned that if you don’t understand farm lingo, you’ll be lost. The tax courses I took early on taught me about accounting specific to agriculture.”

Credit analyst Jacob Vainio agreed. “As an accounting major, I understood taxation, but I did not know the specialized forms for dairy and other industries,” he said. “The tax courses educated me on ag specific forms.

The credit courses provided case studies on how to approach different situations.”

Farm Credit East does not have a one-size-fits-all lending model, so employees need to understand various types of farm situations. They need to be knowledgeable of industry cycles to assist customers through difficult times and it’s important they understand the seasonality of the businesses and industries we serve to structure payment schedules accordingly.

Additionally, a skills coach works with each new employee to train them on the day-to-day processes and technical skills needed to do their job well. A skills coach is an existing employee in a similar job function.

They provide structure and set expectations for the new employee as they settle into their role.

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Fundamental to exceptional customer service While training programs are important in the early stages of one’s career to ensure organizational values and procedures are understood, they are also important on a continual basis to make sure employees stay current on trends, market conditions, regulations and technology. Throughout an employee’s tenure, they participate in ag-specific curricula to understand all aspects of agricultural lending, taxation, record-keeping and payroll.

“Annually I participate in a senior tax program which deals with high-end tax issues,” said Kirk. “The more dynamic a farm business, the more complex it is. This training helps me to deal with different personalities and understand various tax laws, so that when I meet with a farm family I can provide alternative solutions for them to consider — either on communication, business structure or how to navigate complex tax laws.”

Meet Our Round Table

Cara Penley / Appraiser, Bedford, NH Grew up on a dairy and crop farm in Western New York.

Tenure: Five years

Jacob Vainio / Credit analyst, Auburn, Maine Raised in Northern Maine, surrounded by the forest products industry.

Tenure: Three years

“I most enjoy the relationships I’ve built with customers. I work with different people every day and I really value those interactions.”

“I enjoy meeting with customers and working with them to figure out the best way to meet their objectives.”

Farm Credit East regularly hosts webinars to keep staff informed on changes to processes or legislation to enable them to help customers remain compliant in the ever-changing world of payroll and income taxation. Alleasa Hosmer is the payroll specialist for the association. In this role, she stays on top of all payroll rules and regulations and transmits pertinent information to staff across the association. Additionally, online self-study courses are available to train staff on how to use different technology or to understand cyber security risks.

Industry specific seminars are also encouraged. Farm Credit East hosts these sessions, which include tours of farm operations and presentations from industry experts, or staff attend external industry programs.

“I’ve benefited most from industry specific training,” said Jacob.

“I learn the details of farm operations and understand challenges to better relate to my customers and understand their businesses.”

Many job specialties, such as tax accounting, payroll process6

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ing, business consulting, appraisal and crop insurance, require advanced certification. For example, in addition to three rigorous ag-specific tax courses, tax specialists must complete an accounting exam and at least 48 hours of continuing education every two years. Our appraisers must obtain the highest level of certification, a Certified General License. This license requires at least two and a half years of experience and completion of a national accreditation exam to obtain, and a minimum of 60 continuing education hours biannually to maintain.

To obtain her appraisal certification, Cara Penley, appraiser for the Bedford, NH office, attended primarily external workshops.

“I traveled nationwide attending classes with the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers,” she explained. “These courses increased my knowledge on ag related topics, especially within industries that I may not work with every day.”

“I really enjoyed these sessions because I was able to see how things are done across the country,” she continued. “I also developed a network of expert appraisers that I can reach out to for questions and insights. Appraisals are reliant on sales data, so the larger my network, the better access I have to this data — and that’s beneficial to my customers.”

Nationally, the Farm Credit System offers various leadership development programs and learning opportunities. These provide a means to network with staff from other Farm Credit associations, share experiences, learn best practices and improve the collective knowledge base.

This national, and sometimes international, exposure also enables staff to bring new ideas and techniques to customers.

“If I know a customer is looking for a particular shelving unit or successful children’s activities for their agritourism operation and I come across examples on a farm tour, I can share those ideas,” said Erin Pirro, farm business consultant. “Sometimes you don’t

realize it’ll be useful right then, but there are huge benefits in the network you build and the ideas you garner that can be called upon or put into action in the varied businesses we serve.”

Team of Experts Let’s not forget our most valuable asset — the expertise gained from our focus on agriculture, commercial fishing and forest products businesses for nearly 100 years. Our customers have access to a wealth of knowledge gleaned over the past century.

Our employees have experience in various farm dynamics and can apply lessons learned to farm businesses in similar situations.

If an employee is not well versed in the forest products industry, with just a quick phone call, they can tap into the knowledge of one of our forests products industry experts in Maine or Northern New York.

Alleasa Hosmer / Regional farm accounting representative and association payroll specialist, Greenwich, NY Raised in a rural area of Western New York.

Tenure: Four years “I appreciate the responsibility that Farm Credit East has entrusted in me. It challenges me to stay on top of rules and regulations to ensure staff and customers stay up-to-date.”

Two-Way Street Education doesn’t stop with our team of employees. Farm Credit East is just as committed to training and providing information to customers to help their businesses be successful, as we are to developing our staff to assist you. In 2006, we initiated the Knowledge Exchange program to provide customers with up-to-date outlook and market information, financial insights and regulatory and policy information. Additionally, we offer seminars to develop the skills of young farmers taking on management roles via our GenerationNext series and Harvesting a Profit curricula.

Staff also conduct training programs for customers. Kirk mentioned an annual webinar he conducts to help new farmers understand how tax laws impact their business. He commented, “I’ve benefitted tremendously from presenting these sessions.

Someone once told me that repetition strengthens the impres-

Erin Pirro / Farm business consultant, Enfield, Conn.

Grew up on a Connecticut sheep farm.

Tenure: 15 years “I work with some of our hardest charging customers.

They challenge me to stay in front of them, and I relish that. The best part of my job is seeing them achieve their goals.”

An important aspect of the team approach is that younger staff learn directly from experienced employees, many of whom have been working in these industries for decades. These veteran employees understand customer opportunities and challenges and farming’s business cycles. Our focus on ag-specific expertise and continuing education, coupled with experienced mentors, is the cornerstone of our training philosophy.

“The biggest part of my development was by far my appraisal mentor,” said Cara. “The appraiser I have become has so much to do with his expertise and experience. He helped me to learn the technicalities of crunching numbers for appraisals, as well as to understand the customer dynamic and how to handle different, sometimes difficult, situations.”

“I was blessed to learn from the best,” added Kirk. “In my interview, I was told I would be challenged time and time again.

I continue to be challenged, but it’s welcome because each challenge better develops my skills to serve my customers.”

Kirk Williams / Farm business advisor, Claverack, NY Grew up in Jamaica and moved to New York after college.

Tenure: Eight years “I work with customers on their taxes and tax planning and I love providing information and alternatives for the complex issues they face.”

sion and with each session, I’ve developed a deeper understanding of tax laws.”

It’s a two-way street — we’re a relationship lender, so much of our education and development comes from our everyday customer interactions. Multiple times throughout our round table discussion, participants commented on how they relish challenges. They appreciate customers and fellow employees who ask questions. Staying on top of changing rules and regulations inspires our employees to work harder to ensure accurate information is provided at the best value for our customers.

Cara shared an anecdote her mentor once told her, “The customers who challenge you are the ones that shape you into a better appraiser. It’s those that ask questions, make you think through your process and expect you to explain it to them in a way that they understand.”

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As we celebrate our 100 year anniversary in 2016, we are including articles on the history of the Farm Credit System.

This is the second article in the series, covering the 1930s through to the 50s.

Nearly 20 years after the Farm Credit System was founded, America was in turmoil. The Great Depression had worsened; the banking system was in shambles; and the farm sector was depressed, with farm foreclosures and financial distress reaching epic levels by the 1930s.

Commercial banks, struggling for survival, were liquidating their farm lending portfolios as quickly as they could due to both their own liquidity needs and the high risk of agricultural lending. New loans were not being made. Then, with the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a team of unlikely “architects” emerged who would work together to revive American agriculture. This team consisted of Roosevelt, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Roosevelt’s trusted advisor, and William I. Myers, a professor of farm finance at Cornell University.

Prior to Roosevelt’s election, Myers had been working on a plan to not only deal with the current farm finance problems, but to also build a permanent Farm Credit System to provide all of the credit needs of farmers and their cooperatives. Myers later explained his reasoning, “I was convinced at that time that the farm mortgage situation was getting to be a very crucial matter due to the inability of good farmers to get mortgage or production credit and the agricultural economy had ground to a halt.1” So he developed a plan which outlined a System built on cooperative principles, with the goal of full farmer ownership in the future.

Myers presented his plan to Morgenthau in December 1932, who in turn shared it with President Roosevelt. This plan became a key element of Roosevelt’s agenda for rescuing American agriculture.

the road to complete borrower-ownership by james putnam, chief business officer, farm credit east

The spring of 1933 was known as the First Hundred Days, during which a record agenda of laws and new programs were passed, including the Glass-Steagall Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Securities Act, the National Industrial Recovery Act, the Emergency Farm Mortgage Act, the Agricultural Adjustment Act and the Public Works Administration.

Roosevelt’s first action, just 23 days after his inauguration, was to reorganize all farm lending programs into the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), taking over from its predecessor, the Farm Loan Board. The FCA would serve as an independent regulator of the Farm Credit System and various other federal lending programs.

In May, the Emergency Farm Mortgage Act was passed and signed into law. This Act assigned the Federal Land Banks with the task of rewriting farm mortgages in default, regardless of lender, to terms that would enable the farmer to retain his farm while repaying the loan under new affordable terms.

The final law to rescue American agriculture, the Farm Credit Act of 1933, was signed on June 16, the 100th day itself. Its major provisions included: • Establishment of twelve Production Credit Corporations (PCCs), one in each of the original Farm Credit Districts. The PCCs were charged with chartering, capitalizing and bringing into operation a nation-wide system of Production Credit Associations (PCAs), the precursor to today’s Agricultural Credit Associations (ACAs), to serve the short and intermediate credit needs of America’s farmers. PCAs were to provide operating and capital credit for terms up to five years.

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1.

. N. Stokes, Jr., Credit to Farmers: The Story of W Federal Intermediate Credit Banks and Production Credit Associations (1973), p. 22.

The spring of 1933 was known as the First Hundred Days, during which a record agenda of laws and new programs were passed, including the Agricultural Adjustment Act

• Chartering of thirteen Banks for Cooperatives, one in each of the original Farm Credit Districts, and a 13th to be known as the Central Bank for Cooperatives, headquartered in Washington, DC. The Bank for Cooperatives System was authorized to provide both operating and capital credit to marketing and supply cooperatives. The District Banks were expected to serve most cooperatives as their direct lender. The Central Bank was to serve very large cooperatives and participate with the District Banks in loans above their lending limit.

The Farm Credit Act of 1933 marked the completion of the building of the Farm Credit System launched with the Farm Loan Act in 1916 and the Agricultural Credits Act in 1923. Together, Morgenthau and Myers can be attributed with rescuing thousands of farms under mortgage foreclosures, thereby greatly benefitting generations of American farmers. Their efforts helped to build a strong Farm Credit System, which became increasingly important in the decade that followed, as America entered World War II. The war presented US agriculture with a tremendous

challenge — one which our nation’s producers responded to magnificently. Food and fiber needs expanded rapidly during this period to feed both America’s troops (12.2 million by 1945) and America’s allies in Europe who were cut off from normal food supplies. The Farm Credit System helped to provide the capital needed by farmers and their cooperatives to ramp up and mechanize production to meet demand. Thanks to this increased production, farmers were able to repay government capital in the Federal Land Bank (FLB) System by 1947, making the FLB System 100 percent farmer-owned and fulfilling the initial vision of the System’s founding fathers.

The 1950’s brought another milestone for the Farm Credit System. Exactly 20 years after Myers, Morgenthau and Roosevelt enacted their plan to rescue American agriculture, the Farm Credit Act of 1953 was signed by President Eisenhower. This legislation separated the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), re-establishing FCA as an independent regulatory agency governed by the Federal Farm Credit Board. This separation buffered the System from partisan political influence, clearing the path for complete farmer ownership by 1968.

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washington Update Tom Cosgrove Senior vice president for public affairs

Support for the Farm Credit System A broad coalition 100 years ago and today.

As Farm Credit East joins the Farm Credit System in commemorating the System’s centennial, we reflect on the events that led to the creation and evolution of the Farm Credit System.

Our in-house historian, chief business officer Jim Putnam, has traced some of the political and economic forces that led to the development of the Farm Credit System and identified individuals involved in the effort. Suffice it to say, it was a diverse group.

While the law was signed by Woodrow Wilson, a former Democratic president, key supporters included a former Republican Governor of Ohio, Myron Herrick. United States Senator Duncan Fletcher from Florida played a key role in enacting the legislation, as did Herbert Myrick, a publisher of farm periodicals from Massachusetts. They both received the only two commemorative pens from the signing of the law. Myrick later served on the initial board of directors of the Federal Land Bank of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Numerous other leaders, in finance and in agriculture, were concerned about the lack of available credit for agriculture and came together in the decades leading up to the enactment of the Farm Loan Act of 1916 to seek solutions to this problem.

From a public policy perspective, the creation of the Farm Credit System is instructive — the coalition of supporters represented a range of interests, political perspectives and geography. The need for that kind of broad-based Congressional 10

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support is still important today to allow the System to continue its mission to support rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services today and tomorrow.

The following Northeast members of Congress have cosponsored the resolutions as of the writing of this article.

US Senate

Susan Collins — Maine Angus King — Maine

Chris Murphy — Connecticut

Jeanne Shaheen — New Hampshire

US House of Representatives

Chris Collins — New York

Joe Courtney — Connecticut

Elizabeth Esty — Connecticut

Chris Gibson — New York Richard Hanna — New York

William Keating — Massachusetts Ann Kuster — New Hamphire

Frank LoBiondo — New Jersey

James McGovern — Massachusetts

Chellie Pingree — Maine

Elise Stefanik — New York Paul Tonko — New York

As the System marks the 100th anniversary of the Farm Loan Act of 1916, resolutions to commemorate the System’s centennial have been introduced in both houses of Congress, H. Res. 591 and S. Res 349. In February, the Farm Credit Council held its annual meeting in Washington D.C. and while there, attendees from across the Farm Credit System met with members of Congress to ask them to cosponsor the resolutions. Farm Credit East board members visited the offices of 19 Northeast representatives and senators.

Nationally, 36 senators and 99 representatives have agreed to cosponsor the resolutions thus far. This represents a strong bipartisan group from a broad geographic diversity. In February, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY) gave a statement on the floor of the House of Representatives congratulating the Farm Credit System on its centennial.

You can see if your member of Congress has cosponsored one of the resolutions by visiting congress.gov, searching S. Res. 349 or H. Res 591, and looking up the cosponsors. If your representative or senators have cosponsored one of the resolutions, thank them, and if not, please ask them to do so. A large number of cosponsors on the resolutions will emphasize the message of continued widespread support for the Farm Credit System and that the availability of credit for agriculture and related industries is just as important today as it was in 1916 when the System was founded.

2016 On behalf of the nominating committee, Farm Credit East is pleased to present the 2016 slate of candidates for the association’s Board of Directors. Seven qualified candidates are seeking election to four open seats. There are three open director seats to be elected for four-year terms, and one open seat to be elected to a two-year term:

• One from the Eastern Region (2 years; Maine stockholder)

• One from the Eastern Region

• One from the Central Region

• One from the Western Region

At the close of the current election cycle, the Farm Credit East Board will consist of 17 directors: 14 elected directors, one appointed customer director and two appointed outside directors.

The Board The Farm Credit East Board sets a clear direction for the cooperative on behalf of all customer-owners. The Board works closely with CEO Bill Lipinski to set policy, establish long-term business plans, evaluate business results and provide feedback to the management team.

The nominating committee The nominating committee is composed of 23 Farm Credit East members and 23 alternates. The association membership elects the nominating committee at the annual stockholders meeting. This committee works hard to identify qualified candidates to ensure that the association attracts a skilled and diverse Board. In addition, the committee makes every effort to recommend at least two candidates for each open seat.

Election process You’ll find the information you need to make an informed voting choice for the 2016 Farm Credit East Board of Directors, including:

• An annual meeting information statement, which voting members received in the mail

• This article’s profile of each candidate

• Information on our website at FarmCreditEast.com/Director-Elections

Ballots will be mailed to voting members after the annual meeting on March 28.

candidates for the board of directors

Every Vote Counts!

By voting, you convey your continued commitment to Farm Credit East and thanks to fellow members who are seeking election to the Board. spring 2016

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Matthew W. Beaton

Matthew J. Piscitelli

Business names: Sure-Cran Services, Inc. and Beaton’s, Inc.

Business name: olson greenhouses, inc.

Location: raynham, Mass.

Location: Wareham, Mass.

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Eastern Region: Seat One

Vote for 1 candidate for a 4-year term Auburn, Bedford, Bridgeton, Dayville, Enfield, Flemington, Middleboro, Presque Isle and Riverhead offices.

Description: Sure-Cran Services, Inc. is a custom management company providing services to over 550 acres of cranberry bogs in southeastern Massachusetts. Beaton’s, Inc. has 170 acres of cranberry bogs in Carver, Rochester and Wareham, Mass.

Description: Olson Greenhouses, Inc. is a wholesale grower of premium potted annuals and perennials. The farm has six covered acres and 70 acres of outdoor production and markets to grocery chains, garden centers, landscapers and flower markets.

Personnel: Matt is president of Sure-Cran Services, Inc. He also owns and operates Beaton’s, Inc.

Personnel: Matt owns Olson Greenhouses, Inc., in equal partnership with Clive Olson.

Farm Credit member since: 1992

Farm Credit member since: 2006

Leadership positions: Matt has been a Farm Credit East director since 2006 and is currently serving his fourth year as Board vice chair. Prior to election, he was a member of the Middleboro branch customer service council and of the association nominating committee. Matt is director of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association and serves as member of the Massachusetts Cranberry Revitalization Task Force. He is also a member of the CoBank nominating committee.

Leadership positions: Matt has served on the Middleboro branch customer service council and the association nominating committee. Within his community, he regularly hosts meetings and gives farm tours to various groups, clubs and schools. Demographics of participants vary from school children to boy scouts, garden clubs, chambers of commerce and peer industry groups. This involvement has kept him active in the agricultural community, while providing a forum to gain exposure while speaking publicly.

Why I am seeking reelection to the Board: I realize the importance of credit and financial services for Northeast farmers and agribusinesses. Having served during two recent mergers, I am confident in my abilities to provide leadership and experience, ensuring Farm Credit East remains strong to help our customers navigate the inevitable cycles of agriculture, forest products and fishing.

Why I am seeking election to the Board: As a serial entrepreneur, I’ve found maintaining relationships with banking institutions is key to success. I’ve developed a strong bond with Farm Credit East over the past decade and would like to become an integral part of this institution that has had such a large role in the growth of my business.

Why vote for me: As a fifth-generation farmer, I am committed to the current and future success of Northeast agriculture. I believe the leadership skills and experience gained during my 10 years on the Farm Credit East Board can be an asset for our cooperative as we enter a down-cycle in many of our commodities.

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Why vote for me: I strongly believe I offer a unique business perspective to the Farm Credit East Board. My broad background in floriculture and entrepreneurship has allowed considerable experience with varied business models, plans and strategies. I will apply this experience to provide a viewpoint that may not have otherwise been put forward.

Henry E. “Hank” McPherson

James A. Robbins II

Business name: mcpherson timberlands, llc

Business name: robbins lumber, inc.

Location: searsmont, maine

Location: hermon, maine

East 2

Eastern Region: Seat two

Vote for 1 candidate for a 2-year term (candidates must be from maine)

Auburn, Bedford, Bridgeton, Dayville, Enfield, Flemington, Middleboro, Presque Isle and Riverhead offices.

Description: McPherson Timberlands, LLC conducts forest operations, markets forest products and pursues timberland acquisitions for its own account and that of investors.

Description: Robbins Lumber, Inc. is a fully integrated log yard, sawmill, dry kilns and planer mill that produces 28 million board feet of Eastern White Pine.

Personnel: Hank is president of McPherson Timberlands, LLC. His son, Mark, is also involved in the business.

Personnel: James is president of Robbins Lumber, Inc. His sister, Catherine, and brother, Alden, also work in the business.

Farm Credit member since: 1997

Farm Credit member since: 1984

Leadership positions: Hank sits on the Farm Credit East Board and serves on the Board governance committee. He previously served as chair of the Farm Credit of Maine Board. In 2003, he was commissioned by Governor Baldacci to study the effects of Liquidation Harvesting and in 2011, was appointed by Governor LePage to the Commission on Reform of the Governance of Land Use Planning in the Unorganized Territory as established by L.D. 1534. Hank has also volunteered for many civic and community efforts.

Leadership positions: James has served on the Auburn branch customer service council and the association nominating committee. He serves on his town’s Planning Board of Appeals and on Northeast Lumber Manufacturers Association’s (NELMA) Board of Education. James is member of the Northeast Retail Lumber Association; Maine Wood Products Association; Northeast Kiln Drying Association; Forest Research Associates; and the Northeast Loggers’ Association. He served as chair of Maine’s SFI Implementation Committee and past president of the Maine Wood Products Association.

Why I am seeking reelection to the Board: With the intensity of regulation and technology advancements, the farming, fishing and forest products industries require a sophisticated financing partner. Farm Credit has been one of the most important reasons for the stability of my business and I want to give back.

Why vote for me: Over my 18 years as director, I have accumulated enormous knowledge about co-op banking and the Farm Credit System, including involvement in the successful merger of Farm Credit of Maine with Farm Credit East. The director seat I am seeking will be eliminated in two years and I would like to continue my service to stockholders for those remaining years.

Why I am seeking election to the Board: Farm Credit East has played a large role in the success of my fifth-generation family business. It is imperative to the lumber industry to have a lending agency like Farm Credit East that understands the intricacies and timing issues of a wood business.

Why vote for me: The Farm Credit East Board needs representation of its natural resource based businesses. I bring more than 20 years of manufacturing experience in logging, sawmill operation, log buying, inventory management and secondary processing of wood products. I have learned the importance of identifying and hiring good people and I am dedicated to the success of my fifth-generation business.

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Douglas W. Shelmidine Business name: sheland farms, llc Location: adams, n.y.

Central

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Vote for 1 candidate for a 4-year term Burrville, Claverack, Cobleskill, Greenwich, Middletown, Potsdam and Sangerfield offices.

Description: Sheland Farms, LLC is a multi-generational family dairy farm with 1,750 acres and 900 cows.

Personnel: Doug is the general manager and chief financial officer of Sheland Farms. His brother, Todd, and son, Erik, manage the herd and his son, Devon, manages crops.

Farm Credit member since: 1989 Leadership positions: Doug serves on the Farm Credit East Board audit committee and previously served as chair of the AgInitiative committee. Prior to election, he served on the Burrville branch customer service council. Doug chairs the Jefferson County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board. He serves on the Jefferson County Local Development Corporation Agricultural Committee and the New York Farm Bureau Dairy Committee.

Additionally, he is member of the New York Farm Viability Institute Dairy/Pro Dairy Advisory Committee and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association.

Why I am seeking reelection to the Board: Farm Credit East is essential to the future of Northeast agriculture to provide stability and opportunity through its lending and services. I have the skills, knowledge, experience, time and commitment to be a contributing director for the cooperative and its members.

Why vote for me: Coming from a family business similar to many of Farm Credit’s members, I believe I represent the cooperative’s diverse membership. My experience in numerous leadership roles and the training and knowledge I have gained during my first term on the Board, will help me to be a more effective director.

14

financial partner

David E. “Skip” Hardie

Dennis J. Rak

Business name: Walnut Ridge Dairy, llc

Business names: Double A. Vineyards, Inc. and Double A. Willow

Location: lansing, n.y.

Location: fredonia, n.y.

West

western Region

Vote for 1 candidate for a 4-year term Batavia, Cortland, Geneva, Hornell and Mayville offices.

Description: Walnut Ridge Dairy, LLC milks 1,400 cows and operates 2,000 acres. All of the farm’s crop production, which consists of corn, alfalfa and grass, is used to feed the cows.

Personnel: Skip is a partner of Walnut Ridge Dairy, LLC, along with Steve Palladino, John Fleming and Keith Chapin.

Farm Credit member since: 1977 Leadership positions: Skip has served on the customer service council of the Cortland branch. He serves on the American Dairy Association/Dairy Council’s executive committee and Board.

Skip is chair of the NYS Milk Promotion Advisory Board; secretary of Dairy Management Inc.; director and nominating committee chair of the US Dairy Export Council; charter member of Cayuga Marketing; member of Cayuga Milk Ingredients; and chair of the Town of Lansing Agricultural Land Preservation Board.

Why I am seeking election to the Board: I have always been very interested in the future of Northeast farms and farmers.

Serving as a Farm Credit East director would give me a terrific opportunity to help shape the future growth and success of Northeast agriculture.

Why vote for me: I have the desire and the vision to serve as a director. For the Northeast to remain a viable agricultural region, Farm Credit East must become even more flexible and creative.

As director, I will help to keep our cooperative innovative and strong, while supporting efforts to advocate for Northeast agriculture.

Description: Double A. Vineyards, Inc. produces high quality grapevine nursery stock and grows about 335 acres of Concord and Niagara grapes and 60 acres of wine and table grapes.

Double A. Willow grows hybrid shrub willow for production of renewable energy.

Personnel: Dennis is president of Double A. Vineyards and Double A. Willow in partnership with his wife, Sue. Their sons, Adam and Abram, work in the business.

Farm Credit member since: 2003 Leadership positions: Dennis has served on the Mayville branch customer service council. He is a director of National Grape Cooperative, chair of its governance committee and member of both the compensation and executive committees. He sits on the National Clean Plant Network Governing Board and chairs its funding committee. Dennis also serves on the Welch’s Board and is vice chair of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency Board.

Why I am seeking election to the Board: A strong Farm Credit East is critical for Northeast agriculture. Farm Credit has been a key partner in the growth of Double A. Vineyards and I would like to use my experience to help continue the farmer driven cooperative.

Why vote for me: With my background in the grape and wine industry, as well as my experience in development of dedicated energy crops, I believe I would bring expertise to the board that is not currently represented. I also think my extensive experience working in a board situation is an asset.

spring 2016

15

FINANCIAL PARTNER is for the customers, employees and friends of Farm Credit East. Farm Credit East is a farmer-owned lending cooperative serving the farm, commercial fishing and forest products businesses in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. Part of the national Farm Credit System, Farm Credit East is a fullservice lender dedicated to the growth and prosperity of agriculture.

Farm Credit East 240 South Road Enfield, CT 06082-4451 Address Service Requested

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HOW TO REACH US: Whether you want to praise us, complain, ask our advice or just let us know what’s on your mind, we’d like to hear from you. WRITE: Kristie Schmitt, Editor, Farm Credit East, 240 South Road, Enfield, CT 06082-4451. CALL: 860.741.4380.

E-MAIL: kristie.schmitt@farmcrediteast.com.

Copyright © 2016 by Farm Credit East, ACA. All rights reserved. Farm Credit East is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer.

FINANCIAL PARTNER is printed on recycled paper.

FARM CREDIT EAST CARES

TO DATE:

$345,000 donated to: 224 Northeast farm families impacted by natural disasters 125 Northeast charities, including food banks and hunger relief efforts; youth programs; educational institutions and agricultural education programs; veteran assistance programs; charitable religious organizations; community and health support organizations; and programs to enrich the agriculture community.

Farm Credit East Cares Helps Provide Meals to 225 Families Farm Credit East Cares was initiated in 2011 for the Farm Credit East family to give back to the local communities in which they live and work. Staff makes voluntary contributions to this fund throughout the year and then selects the charitable organizations to receive donations each fall.

This year, our Flemington, New Jersey office wanted to direct their funds to help less fortunate community members during the holiday season. They reached out to the New Jersey Agricultural Society to see if they planned to distribute holiday meals and they eagerly stepped up to help!

The New Jersey Agricultural Society’s Farmers Against Hunger Program (FAH) coordinated the project. They provided potatoes and squash, which had been “gleaned” and donated from various farms statewide. Through Farm Credit East staff donations, a Farm Credit East contribution match and the vegetables provided by FAH, 225 families received a holiday meal. Flemington staff also helped put together and distribute meals.

RISE Community Service Partnership was selected as the recipient organization for these meals and kept their food pantry doors open extra hours on December 21 to facilitate this special distribution. “This was the best gift ever!” said Leslie Koppel, RISE executive director and Monroe Township resident. “We did not expect this donation and were very lucky to provide a wonderful holiday season to our families.”