Farmers and foresters to receive cash patronage from Yankee Farm Credit

The Yankee Farm Credit Board of Directors recently approved the distribution of a mid-year patronage dividend of $1.8 million to their more than 1,400 members who are involved in farming and forestry.

This special patronage payment is possible because 2018 net income is significantly over budget for the first half of 2018. Several factors contributed to this positive performance in net income, including: an increased focus on portfolio diversification, a steadfast focus on cost controls and one-time payments received from partner organizations. Yankee Farm Credit anticipates the payment will be distributed in the fourth quarter of 2018. This payment is separate from the $6.3 million patronage dividend that was paid in March 2018, which was based on 2017 earnings. The board will review net income at year-end with the anticipation that they will pay normal patronage in addition to this special patronage payment.

The board’s philosophy is that funds, which are not required to safely operate or capitalize the cooperative, should be returned to members. The special, one-time dividend reflects Yankee Farm Credit’s strong financial position, combined with the understanding and appreciation of the economic challenges faced by many members. Yankee’s strong earnings allow the co-op continue to grow sustainably, while returning a portion of those earnings to owner members.

“Kudos go to Yankee’s management and staff for their hard work and wise management of our members’ funds, especially during the challenging times of Yankee’s IT conversion,” said Paul Franklin, chair of the board.  “Their hard work resulted in achieving higher returns than necessary to meet Yankee’s budgetary needs. Increased revenues combined with one time refunds allows the board to approve this distribution of funds to Yankee’s members by a mid-year special patronage.” –– from Yankee Farm Credit.