AgSouth Farm Credit Reports Year-End Earnings of $49.4 Million

STATESBORO, Ga. - March 12, 2015 - PRLog -- AgSouth Farm Credit CEO William P. Spigener, Jr., recently announced that the customer-owned cooperative had net earnings of $49.4 million during 2014.

Spigener stated that the strong earnings can be attributed to increased lending activity and a one-time $17 million special distribution from AgFirst Farm Credit Bank. He added that, "The 2014 special distribution exceeded our expectations and added to our core earnings, resulting in a very good year for our members."

Alisa D. Gunter, Chief Financial Officer, said, “While income generated from our secondary market lending was down in 2014, the agriculture lending, leasing, and crop insurance staff did a great job in selling our products and services.  If you are in agriculture or have a rural lifestyle dream, then you need to be borrowing from AgSouth.”

At the January meeting of the Board of Directors, Chairman Charles C. Rucks of Spalding County, Ga., said, “We are grateful to our stockholders and customer base who help make this cooperative so successful. We look forward to returning our profits to our members for the 24th year in a row through our patronage program. This spring AgSouth's members will receive approximately $30 million in patronage distributions, including nearly $9 million in cash. That's just one of the many benefits of doing business with a cooperative like AgSouth."

About AgSouth

AgSouth Farm Credit is one of the strongest agricultural lending cooperatives in the Southeast. As of December 31, 2014, AgSouth had over 8,500 members, $1.59 billion in assets and $306 million in capital and allocated accounts.

AgSouth Farm Creditprovides 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 24 branches serve 59 Georgia and 34 South Carolina counties. For more information on AgSouth, contact Lisa Gunter, CFO, at 800-310-4805extension 6737 or email LGunter@AgSouthFC.com.