AgSouth Farm Credit Still Strong

Nov. 8, 2011 - PRLog -- STATESBORO, Ga. (November 7, 2011) – AgSouth Farm Credit CEO Bill Spigener recently announced that the customer-owned cooperative had net earnings of $9.3 million during the third quarter of 2011. Year-to-date earnings total nearly $26.4 million and were below 2010 earnings by approximately $3 million.

According to Spigener, “The decrease in earnings was the result of unusual circumstances occurring in 2010 that did not reoccur in 2011. The Farm Credit Insurance Corporation issued a refund in 2010 exceeding $1.7 million due to the overfunded status of the insurance plan, which boosted 2010 earnings. Likewise, in the first nine months of 2011, the association increased contributions to the loan loss reserves due to continued economic weakness and the anticipated effects it will have on our portfolio.”

According to CFO Alisa D. Gunter, “The association remains financially strong, and credit is available for farmers, agribusiness, landowners and other borrowers. We are very happy to be celebrating 95 years of serving rural America this year, and plan to be around for a long time.”

As a cooperative, AgSouth provides patronage refunds, a form of profit sharing, to its member-borrowers. Since 1991, the association has returned more than $295 million in cash to its borrowers. As of September 30, 2011, AgSouth had more than 7,400 members, $1.65 billion in assets and $254 million in capital and allocated accounts.

About AgSouth
AgSouth Farm Credit provides loans for land, equipment and production agriculture; crop insurance; leasing; and home mortgages. The association is headquartered in Statesboro, Ga., with administrative offices in Spartanburg, S.C., and Orangeburg, S.C. The cooperative’s 26 branches serve 59 Georgia and 34 South Carolina counties. For more information on AgSouth or its earnings, contact Alisa D. Gunter at 864 585 6234 x 6737 or visit www.agsouthfc.com.

# # #

AgSouth Farm Credit offers loans for real estate, agriculture and homes. It also offers additional services such as leasing and crop and life insurance. AgSouth has been commited to serving rural America since 1916.