The Cooperative Difference
Find out how AgTrust’s co-op structure benefits our customer-owners.
AgTrust Farm Credit is a customer-owned agricultural lending cooperative and a proud member of the Farm Credit System. But what does that mean and where does the money come from?
Well, to start, AgTrust Farm Credit doesn’t accept deposits and isn’t funded by the government. The Farm Credit System is a nationwide network of locally owned and controlled financing cooperatives. Funding comes from the sale of highly rated Farm Credit bonds and notes, in addition to retained capital.
As borrowers repay their loans with interest, AgTrust Farm Credit keeps only what it needs to operate. It returns the rest to customer-owners.
That’s right! AgTrust Farm Credit is committed to sharing earnings with customer-owners through a cash
payment called a patronage dividend. The greater our earnings, the more we can pay. This is because we are a cooperative.
So what guides cooperatives and keeps the co-op structure successful?
All cooperatives operate under a set of guiding principles that ensure they are dedicated
to their communities and committed to their customer-owners.
Voluntary and open membership
Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all people able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
Democratic member control
Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The co-op rule is one vote per member
Members’ economic participation
Members contribute equally to and democratically control the capital of the cooperative. This benefits members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative rather than the capital they have invested
Autonomy and independence
Cooperatives are autonomous self-help organizations controlled by their members. If the co-op enters into agreements with other organizations or raises capital from external sources, it does so based on terms that ensure democratic control by the members and maintain the cooperative’s autonomy
Education, training and information
Cooperatives provide education and training for members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperative. Members also inform the general public about the nature and benefits of cooperatives.
Cooperation among cooperatives
Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.
Concern for community
While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of communities through policies accepted by their members.
How does the governing board work?
AgTrust Farm Credit supports rural communities and agriculture by promoting the success of our customer-owners. Our cooperative structure helps us carry out that mission in every county we serve.
Borrowers become owners when they get a loan and purchase stock in the cooperative. And each year, customer-owners elect their peers to represent their interests on the board of directors.
Our board of directors is responsible for the cooperative’s overall health. Ten of the directors are customers
elected by their fellow customers, and two are outside directors elected by the other board members. This form of governance offers transparency to our customer-owners.
Our cooperative structure sets us apart from other lenders. This is one of the greatest benefits of doing business with us!