News
Great Plains Selected to Represent 10th Farm Credit District
Over the past few years the Farm Credit Administration Board and staff have visited associations in various parts of the country. The concept and objective of the program was to get the people in the FCA who are involved with the development of regulations and policy out on the farms and into the associations to listen to the people that are ultimately affected by what the FCA does.
In February of 2008, Great Plains Ag Credit was one of two associations selected to represent the 10th Farm Credit District in this year’s program. Our board and management were honored to be chosen to showcase agriculture in our area. CoBank was invited to join as a tour host and their input was invaluable throughout all phases of the program. CoBank, known as rural America’s cooperative bank, not only finances agricultural cooperatives in our area but is also a strong financial partner of Great Plains.
After months of planning, over 30 representatives of FCA including Leland Strom, Chairman of the FCA Board, and fellow FCA Board member Nancy Pellett arrived in Amarillo on October 14th. Most had traveled from McLean, Virginia but some were from regional offices in Dallas and Bloomington, Minnesota. We found them to be an energetic group, open minded to the information presented and grateful for the opportunity to view agriculture in the Texas panhandle.
Throughout the tour it was our goal to demonstrate not only our strong agricultural base but also the dependence of our rural communities on the survival of the family farm and related agribusinesses. The unexpected result was that we found these folks to be down-to-earth members of the Farm Credit family. Just like the staff at your local Great Plains office, they are interested in the best result for agricultural producers and ensuring a reliable source of credit to finance agriculture and rural America.
(Photo at Amarillo Cotton Warehouse – left to right: Matt Wilson, GPAC; Lynn Scherler, CoBank; Scott Covey & Doug Nix, Warehouse; Leland Strom, FCA; Dean Moreau, CoBank; Tim McDonald, GPAC; and, Nancy Pellett, FCA)