FCS Financial, an association of the Farm Credit System, entered its 100th year of financial support to Missouri’s rural communities and agriculture; a year that culminated on July 17, exactly 100 years after President Woodrow W. Wilson signed the law authorizing Farm Credit’s original charter.
Perhaps more remarkable than our longevity is the fact that, over the course of a century, the average person may still not fully understand who we are or what we do. People hear “FCS Financial” or “Farm Credit” and they may assume we provide financial services, insurance or have something to do with government. If that’s been our story through our 99th year, we want to do our part to ensure that FCS Financial and Farm Credit begin the second century by telling “the rest of the story.”
The Farm Credit System dates back to the early 1900s, when farmers had difficulty obtaining financing. The U.S. Congress saw a need for steady, reliable, competitively priced credit to preserve what they thought was an important part of the economic sector: rural America. Congress created a unique charter within the financial services industry with that mission in mind. Since then, Farm Credit has been a consistent and reliable option for rural and agricultural financing.
FCS Financial quite simply provides financing and related services to farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, and rural communities. We do not accept deposits or offer a vast array of products. Our charter is much narrower and sector specific than traditional lending institutions. This is our unique niche, and we like it. With a staff – most of whom reside right here in the communities we serve – that is highly experienced in lending and in agriculture, we spend our days serving our neighbors. It doesn’t get better than that.
We are not a government agency and are not taxpayer supported; we are a cooperative that is privately owned by the people who borrow from us. Our cooperative structure means profits are distributed to our borrowers – that is, the farmers, landowners and agribusinesses who own us.
Some people wonder why credit needs to be designed specifically to serve farming communities. It has a lot to do with providing stability in an industry that faces unique challenges, and one that is so critical to the health, safety and economy of our country.
Agriculture is an increasingly capital-intensive business. The cost of land, equipment, feed, seed and fertilizer has grown astronomically over the last 20 years. The cost of that capital is a critical factor in the farming business model. Furthermore, by its very nature agriculture is unpredictable – any number of world events can spell calamity for a season’s crop production. Farming is vital to this nation, and yet has so many uncontrollable variables. Our business model ensures there’s an ongoing source of financing available in good times and when times get rough, to keep rural America strong and prosperous.
There’s also reliability. By design, our market footprint is very narrow – we serve agriculture and rural communities, and we do it continuously and conscientiously.
Fortunately for farmers and ranchers in our area, FCS Financial reached its centennial stronger than ever. We have a healthy amount of capital. We are a streamlined and efficient organization. We are also responding to the needs of the next generation – young, beginning farmers who will be the backbone of tomorrow’s rural communities – while continuing to serve established farmers.
Agriculture touches every life every day. And as the financial engine that keeps American agriculture running, FCS Financial and Farm Credit will continue to be there to help our rural communities keep pace.
David Janish the CEO of FCS Financial.
