Farm Credit of the Virginias (FCV), a cooperative lending institution serving Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland, will return $33 million this month to its customer-owners through their annual patronage program.
FCV’s cooperative framework allows the Association to return a portion of its profits back to customer-owners on an annual basis. During 2024, agricultural producers and rural homeowners faced another year of challenges with economic uncertainty, high interest rates and severe weather events. Fortunately, FCV maintained a strong financial position, so their board of directors elected to return over 80% of net profits to their customer base through the patronage refund program. The Association hopes that this refund will enable customer-owners to feel more equipped to navigate continued economic challenges affecting the agricultural industry and rural communities.
The patronage program effectively lowers the cost of borrowing from FCV. This year’s $33 million distribution equates to having an interest-free loan for approximately three months and represents approximately 26% of the net interest accrued on loans. In total, the Association has returned more than $498 million to its members since 2001.
FCV’s CEO, Brad Cornelius, said, “We’re glad to be able to return crucial dollars to our customer-owners and reinvest money in our rural communities through our patronage refund program.”
Cornelius continued, “Patronage is just one of the many benefits of doing business with our customer-owned cooperative. The refund is our way of showing our customers that we appreciate their business and we will always do our best to support their goals and dreams.”
