Farm Credit of the Virginias returns $33 million in cash dividends to customers

Staunton, VA - Farm Credit of the Virginias (FCV), a cooperative lending institution serving Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland, will return $33 million this month to its customer-owners through their annual patronage program.

FCV’s cooperative framework allows the Association to return a portion of its profits back to customer-owners on an annual basis. During 2024, agricultural producers and rural homeowners faced another year of challenges with economic uncertainty, high interest rates and severe weather events. Fortunately, FCV maintained a strong financial position, so their board of directors elected to return over 80% of net profits to their customer base through the patronage refund program. The Association hopes that this refund will enable customer-owners to feel more equipped to navigate continued economic challenges affecting the agricultural industry and rural communities.

A Farm Credit employee personally delivers a Patronage Refund check. Image Credit - Farm Credit of the Virginias

The patronage program effectively lowers the cost of borrowing from FCV. This year’s $33 million distribution equates to having an interest-free loan for approximately three months and represents approximately 26% of the net interest accrued on loans. In total, the Association has returned more than $498 million to its members since 2001.

FCV’s CEO, Brad Cornelius, said, “We’re glad to be able to return crucial dollars to our customer-owners and reinvest money in our rural communities through our patronage refund program.”

Cornelius continued, “Patronage is just one of the many benefits of doing business with our customer-owned cooperative. The refund is our way of showing our customers that we appreciate their business and we will always do our best to support their goals and dreams.”

About Farm Credit of the Virginias

Farm Credit of the Virginias provides over $2.3 billion dollars in financing to more than 12,000 farmers, agribusinesses and rural homeowners throughout Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland. Farm Credit is a cooperative capitalized largely through investments made by farmers, ranchers and the rural homeowners and businesses that borrow from them. In fact, as part of a nationwide network they are the largest single provider of agricultural credit in the United States and have been for over 100 years. Farm Credit helps maintain and improve the quality of life in rural America and on the farm through its constant commitment to competitive lending, expert financial services and for facilitating and sharing knowledge and resources through the Farm Credit Knowledge Center. For more information, visit www.FarmCreditofVirginias.com.