AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce the addition of Heather Bentley as a Member Service Representative in the Washington Office.  A native of Connecticut, Mrs. Bentley has four years of banking experience; prior to working at a bank, she worked in retail management for fifteen years.  Heather is a hobby farmer and has horses, chickens, goats and ducks. She also likes to garden. Heather lives in Washington, Georgia with her husband Kheled and her son and daughter, Jason and Hadleigh. 

Mrs. Bentley is excited about using her passion and experience in agriculture and banking experience to service the financing needs of residents of Lincoln, Oglethorpe, Taliaferro and Wilkes Counties.

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to award Thomson Farmers Market, Vickery Village Farmers Market, Downtown Perry Farmers Market and Union County Farmers Market each a $2,500 grant to help supplement their advertising and promotional objectives.  “We support farmers. Our goal for developing this Farmers Market Grant program was to help promote those markets that support local farmers and the rural economy, while also providing access to fresh and healthy food and preserving farmland,” said AgGeorgia Chief Marketing Officer Corey Cottle.

Kim-Cora Kay, Director of the Thompson Farmers Market, stated, “The market is a small but mighty market and this grant will surely help with building community awareness of its existence.  Our mission is to create a place for consumers to meet local farmers and crafters and form friendships that will extend past the markets season.  We hope the market will revitalize the Thomson downtown area by highlighting the local culture of our community.” The market is located at the Train Depot in the heart of downtown Thomson.

The Vickery Village Farmers market ranges in size from 20 to 30 vendors and is set up in the courtyard of the business area of Vickery Village Forsyth, located in Cumming.  The director of marketing expressed their excitement on receiving the grant. “After a short hiatus, we are excited to start our market this fall and we appreciate AgGeorgia Farm Credit for their support.  Supporting our local farmers is a valuable part of the fabric of our culture – eat healthy, eat local.  Farmers markets provide us with an opportunity to showcase the best produce available to our customers.  We are proud to host our market at Vickery Village and look forward to seeing our customers and farmers soon!”  

The Downtown Perry Farmers Market recently changed locations at the beginning of the year, moving to a lot just a couple of blocks away behind the old courthouse.  The new location has more vendor spots available, and the grant money will be used to advertise and promote the market to bring in new customers and new farmers.  “I am so excited that the Perry Farmers Market was selected as one of AgGeorgia’s grant recipients. These funds will help us to continue to promote our growing market located right in the heart of Historic Downtown Perry,” says Alicia Hartley, Downtown Manager of The City of Perry.

Located in Blairsville, the Union County Farmers Market has 84 covered stalls with about 70 percent consisting of agricultural products.  Additionally, the market makes available a full-functioning community cannery and an off-leash dog park.  “The Market was developed to give growers, big and small, a place to sell their goods,” said Farmers Market Director Kristy Peney.  “It was then decided that artisans, beekeepers, bakers, potters and painters could sell their handmade goods.  So when we boast ‘Home Grown and Handmade,’ you know that you are purchasing products that have been produced right here in the Union County area,” she said. “We are so honored to receive this grant to help boost our ability to get the word out about our incredible farmers market.”  

This is the second year the cooperative has offered a Farmers Market Grant, and funds have been set aside to offer this grant again in 2023. For more information on how to apply for the grants, contact Jessica Bassett, Marketing Specialist with AgGeorgia Farm Credit, at jbassett@aggeorgia.com.

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce a second distribution of the year to borrowers of the cooperative. $9,419,433 million is being paid to members who held loans with AgGeorgia in 2014, with checks expected to be delivered by the last week of June. This comes after AgGeorgia’s board already declared a cash dividend of over $13 million in April to borrowers who had loans in 2021.  The upcoming distribution brings the total paid to member-owners this year to $22,487,515. 

“Given soaring input costs, it is a great feeling to know we have helped our members’ cash flows considerably by paying out over $22 million in 2022,” said Jack Bentley, Chairman of AgGeorgia’s Board of Directors. 

The June payout consists of surplus revolvement from AgGeorgia’s 2014 Patronage Refunds.  Surplus portions were taxable when declared at that time, so no additional income taxes are due on the disbursement.  Members with outstanding surplus earned from 2015-2020 will continue to receive surplus checks over the next several years, subject to annual board approval, while AgGeorgia completes its transition to the all-cash patronage plan. Starting with the 2021 refund, patronage refunds are now paid in all-cash rather than a cash/retained surplus split. 

2022 marks the 34th consecutive year the cooperative has returned profits to its borrowers, with over $426 million in cash being paid out since 1988.
 

AgGeorgia Farm Credit’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Henry Clinton (Clint) Wortman, Jr. to the board.  Mr. Wortman will fill the unexpired term (through 12/31/2022) of Ronney S. Ledford of Dooly County, who represented AgGeorgia in this position for over 35 years before retiring from the board in February.  Mr. Wortman will be eligible to be elected by AgGeorgia’s member-borrowers later this year for another term.

“We are tremendously grateful for the leadership and wisdom that Mr. Ronney provided over his tenure as an Association Director,” said AgGeorgia Board Chairman Jack Bentley.  “With the departure of such an esteemed member of the ag community, it was important that we found a suitable replacement to represent our stockholders. As a farmer that is highly respected within both the Brooks County area and agriculture circles, Clint fits that bill.” 

Mr. Wortman received a degree in Finance from Auburn University in 1990 and returned to the family farm.  A third generation farmer, his grandfather established a large dairy farm and formed Jackson & Wortman, LLC, with Clint’s father, Henry.  In 2002 they transitioned the farming entity to row crops of corn, cotton, peanuts and soybeans, in addition to pecans and beef cattle. 

Mr. Wortman has been a member-borrower of AgGeorgia Farm Credit for over 15 years.  He is married to Jenay Parrish Wortman and together they have two children, Lance, a junior at Auburn University, and Jessie, a freshman at Auburn.

Our Leader magazine covers news from our members, our Association and our local agriculture community.

In the Spring 2022 Issue:

• AgGeorgia Gives Back: Staff Members Step-Up with Support
• Enjoying the Hard Work of Farming: Kirkland Smith and his longtime love of farming
• Property for Sale
• Association News

Download the Spring 2022 Issue.

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce the hiring of Andy Crook as Farm Credit Express and Leasing Ambassador.  Originally from Bibb County, Andy has lived in Houston County for over twenty years. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics.  Mr. Crook will be responsible for overseeing Farm Credit’s point of sale equipment financing program available through many dealerships in Georgia.   He will also be instrumental in developing and coordinating a leasing program that will offer financing options with possible tax advantages for diverse equipment, facilities, and fixtures, such as pecan shelling facilities, cotton gins, cold storage facilities, and a variety of other buildings as well as rolling equipment. 

Mr. Crook’s twenty years of equipment sales experience, along with his extensive knowledge and familiarity of the industry, will prove beneficial to the equipment dealers and the customers they serve, as well as AgGeorgia members interested in leasing options for equipment and facilities.

Andy has two daughters, Mary Caroline and Anna Kate, and enjoys hunting, fishing and anything outdoors.  AgGeorgia welcomes Mr. Crook to our Association and looks forward to the success of these two programs under his leadership.

AgGeorgia Farm Credit has announced that dividends totaling $13,068,082 have been declared by its board of directors, with checks anticipated to be delivered to members’ mailboxes the first week of April.  All of the distribution is in cash, as opposed to prior years where refunds were divided between cash and surplus to be paid years later. 

“When the decision was made to move to all-cash dividends last year, we certainly couldn’t have contemplated the current inflationary economic landscape,” said CEO Rob Crain. “However, I am certainly glad we made the change.  Given the impact elevated input costs have on our members, I am elated that AgGeorgia’s solid financial position affords us the unique opportunity to provide a welcome offset by putting more money in our borrowers’ pockets at a very opportune time.”

“I always enjoy when we issue Patronage Refunds, because it’s the best way we can show our borrowers they truly are the owners of the business,” said Jack Bentley, Chairman of the AgGeorgia Farm Credit Board of Directors.  “Our mission is to improve the lives of Georgia’s farmers, families, and rural communities, and our board recognizes that returning profits to our borrowers is key in accomplishing that goal.” 

The refund, from 2021 earnings, lowers the average member’s stated rate by 1.30%.  This marks the 34th consecutive year the cooperative has returned profits to members through the Patronage Refund Program, with over $417 million in cash being paid out since 1988.
 

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce the hiring of Jeff Meservey as an Accountant in the Perry Office.  Jeff attended Middle Georgia State University with studies in Business Administration/Accounting.  He has over fifteen years of accounting experience in Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and most recently, as a Senior Accounting Analyst with a major corporation.  Mr. Meservey is a native and current resident of Houston County where he resides with his wife, Stephanie, and their son, Jackson.

AgGeorgia welcomes Mr. Meservey to our Association and looks forward to the contributions he will make in serving the members of the cooperative through his experience and educational background.

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce the additions of Madison Bailey and Brittany Haley as Member Service Representatives in the Royston Office.  The Member Service Representative is first line of contact to assure current and prospective members a great experience. 

Madison is a native of Hart County and comes from a family of farmers.  Growing up, her parents had eight broiler houses and her grandfather had cattle.  Mrs. Bailey worked as the Catering Director for Chick-fil-a and most recently worked at the Royston Animal Hospital. She moved back to the Bowersville area from Gainesville in 2020 and she and her husband, Nick, took over her grandfather’s cattle operation. 

Also a native of Hart County, Brittany was an active FFA member with the Franklin County FFA Chapter and is an avid Equestrian. Her family owns and operates a poultry farm and previously operated a swine farm called Back Forty.  Mrs. Haley most recently worked as a service writer at James Short Tractors and Equipment. Her other previous employment experiences include working at the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services, Whitworth Women’s Facility, Northeast GA Animal Shelter, and Dolly Parton’s Stampede as an Equestrian Performer.  Brittany has a daughter, Sawyer, with her husband, Cory.

Mrs. Bailey and Mrs. Haley look forward to using their agriculture and lending experience to service the financing needs of residents of Banks, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Madison and Stephens Counties.