Farm Credit Mid-America will return a portion of its earnings to farmers across its service region, including $14.2 million to Arkansas producers, through its annual patronage program.
The farmer-owned cooperative announced it will distribute $280 million in net earnings to eligible customer-owners in March.
“Returning capital to our customers is just part of how we do business as a cooperative,” said David Albin, Farm Credit Mid-America senior vice president of agricultural lending in Arkansas. “Our customers manage risk every day. Patronage gives them a little extra flexibility, whether that’s strengthening their balance sheet, improving cash flow or helping them plan for the season ahead.”
The 2026 distribution brings the total returned to farmers over the past decade to more than $1.75 billion.
Because Farm Credit Mid-America operates as a cooperative, its customers are also owners and receive a share of the organization’s earnings based on the amount of business they conduct with the association.
Patronage payments are commonly used by farmers to pay down operating or term debt, offset spring input and planting costs, reinvest in equipment or land, and strengthen working capital.
“Over the last decade, we’ve returned more than $1.75 billion directly to the people who make agriculture work,” said Tara Durbin, the cooperative’s chief lending officer of agriculture. “A portion of that capital stays in Arkansas where it supports farms, families and rural communities, which is exactly what our cooperative system was designed to do.”
Farm Credit Mid-America provides financial services to agricultural producers, rural homeowners and agribusinesses in Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee.
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