Promotion - Nick Bullock

I am pleased to announce that Nick Bullock has been promoted to Senior Farm Tax and Records Specialist.

Nick joined Yankee in October of 2011 after owning his own tax preparation business in St Johnsbury, VT for 10 years.

Nick currently serves as the President of the Vermont Tax Practitioners Association and is a member of the UVM Tax School advisory board and an instructor for the school.

Nick holds a BA in Business from Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA and also spent some time overseas studying at Oxford University’s Westminster College.

Nick became a first time homeowner last spring and has been busily deconstructing and reconstructing his new home ever since.

Please join me in congratulating Nick on his new position!

Applying the P-PC Balance

I just reviewed the latest milk price forecast. As an ever-optimistic person, it’s hard to conclude that there is just not much for good news in the dairy industry out there. Milk prices have been adjusted downward again for the short run, meaning grinding through another few months of tight cash flow. Combine that with any number of other frustrations – increased regulation, foiled expansion plans, family conflict, etc. At least grain prices seem to be holding steady at relatively low levels, (as we hold our breath waiting to see what the weather brings this cropping season).


Instead of writing another article about strategies for periods of low milk prices, I’m going off on a tangent to ask you about your P-PC balance. No, this has nothing to do with “political correctness” but for those who have read Dr. Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you may recognize this term.


The seven habits Dr. Covey describes in his book contribute to effectiveness. Effectiveness lies in the balance of Production of desired results and the Production Capacity to achieve those desired results. In the book, he illustrates this balance through Aesop’s fable of the golden goose. Surely you remember it: A farmer, going through tough times, finds out that one of his geese lays golden eggs. Each morning the goose has a golden egg waiting for him. The farmer sells the eggs and gets rich but it turns out, that’s not enough for him. One day he decides to kill the goose so he can get all the golden eggs out at once. Once he killed the goose though, he opened it up and found nothing. Effectively, he destroyed his production capacity.


As dairy producers, we are well aware of the P-PC balance when it comes to our cows. Our desired result is quality milk production. We know that if we try to overcrowd or push the cows too much, it can backfire on us in terms of stress, herd health, reproductive issues, etc. This in turn impedes our ability to obtain the quality milk we desire. Thus finding the balance or “sweet spot” for making milk from healthy cows as efficiently as possible is a perennial goal.


The same principal can be applied to owners/managers. What are your own personal or professional desired results? Do you have the capacity to reach them? Are you burnt out, downtrodden or just plain tired? What will it take to refresh or restore that diminished capacity? Those things we do for ourselves tend to get shuffled aside especially during the busiest of times; but it’s those times that we need to be most effective. For some it might be easily found throughout the day – a morning cup of coffee, a short visit with a son/child/grandchild, a cat nap in a quiet corner. It may be taking a bigger break to exercise, go out to dinner with a spouse or significant other, maybe even taking the long way home from town.


However you find it, whatever works for you, it’s important.


I saw a quote the other day that brought a sheepish smile to my face, “Dairy Economists all agree: The milk price will go up…sometime.” It will!

“It’s precisely those who are busiest who most need to give themselves a break.” -Pico Iyer

New Employees - Charlie Messenger and Greg Pugh

We're excited to introduce you to two new employees in our Middlebury office:

Charlie Messenger joined the Yankee/Crop Growers team as a crop insurance Marketing Agent on Monday, May 2.

Charlie has spent the better part of his life involved in agriculture and has a strong commitment to promote and support agriculture in the local communities. He lives in Weybridge, VT, where he and his wife, Teresa, have two sons, Sam and Patrick. Sam is a sophomore at UVM and Patrick, a junior at Middlebury High School. Charlie has been coaching youth sports in Middlebury all his life and currently coaches Middlebury High School baseball.

Gregory Pugh joined the Yankee team as a Credit Representative on May 16th. Greg graduated from SUNY at Cobleskill last December with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Business Management.

Our goal is to have Greg learn the credit business in Middlebury but to also have him available to help wherever he’s needed. 

2016 Loggers' Expo

The 2016 Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Expo was held at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Jct. on May 6th & 7th. The expo alternates each year within the northeast, usually between Maine and Vermont and is organized by the Northeastern Loggers’ Association.  Yankee Farm Credit and Farm Credit East were proud sponsors of the Annual Loggers’ Banquet, held on May 5th. Farm Credit has sponsored the award banquet for 11 years.  Awards were given to a distinguished group of forestry experts including:

• Outstanding Logging Operator-Britt Moulton, Moulton Logging, INC. West Charleston, VT.
• Outstanding Sawmill Operator-Clifford Allard, Allard Lumber Company, Brattleboro, VT.
• Outstanding Secondary Processor Operator- Ray Colton, Colton Enterprises, Pittsfield, VT.
• Outstanding Service to the Forest Industry-Scott Piper, Plymouth, NH.
• Outstanding Leadership in the Industry-Henry Gundlach, Norfolk, CT.
• Outstanding Contribution to Forest Industry Education-William Leak, Barrington, NH.
• Outstanding Use of Wood-North Country Union H.S. and Career Center-Thoreau’s Cabin Project, Newport, VT.
• Outstanding Industry Activist-Ron and Nancy Bottom, Hampton, NH.

Yankee Farm Credit and Farm Credit East partnered to represent Farm Credit to a crowd of over 6300 registered attendees including the up to 250 exhibitors sharing the expo space inside and out. There was an abundant variety of individuals representing the forestry industry spanning the northeast area from Quebec to Connecticut. Families, business partners and large equipment fans were all present. We were happy to see so many past and current Farm Credit customers touring the expo and stopping by the booth!

For more information on the Loggers’ Expo or the Northeastern Loggers’ Association, visit:

Northernlogger.com

Q1 2016 Financial Results

Once spring arrives, it’s time for Yankee to announce the first quarter financial results. Yankee can announce that we had another good quarter. Net income was level as compared to the same period last year. The Association saw increases in net interest income and fees for financial services offset by a provision for credit losses and increased operating expenses. The balance sheet shows that loans were down from year-end, but the decrease is traditional for this time of year. The quality of the loan portfolio remains strong through the first quarter. All of these good results have one factor in common – good members.

Quarterly net income for Yankee was $2.6 million, unchanged from the same period in 2015. Increases of $408 thousand in net interest income and $101 thousand in fees for financial services were mostly offset by an increase in the provision for loan losses of $375 thousand and a $148 thousand increase in other expenses.

Quarter-end loans held by the Association at March 31, 2016 were $449.3 million, down 0.2 percent from year-end. The loan portfolio continues to be concentrated in the dairy industry, with 49 percent of the loans invested in dairy businesses. The second largest concentration is timber, with 16 percent of the loan volume at quarter-end.

Credit quality across Yankee’s loan portfolio remained strong during the quarter and well within the risk-bearing capacity of the Association. At quarter-end 0.4 percent of the Association loans were classified as nonperforming, unchanged from the end of 2015. There were no loan charge-offs or recoveries in the quarter. The Association’s capital position remains strong.

The 2015 patronage refund to members in the amount of $4.9 million was paid 100% in cash on March 23, 2016.

Click here for the full quarterly Report to Shareholders, and here for the quarterly financial news release.

Farm Credit Fellows

UVM Farm Credit Fellows Oliver Bevan, Kristen Caron, Melissa Cronin, Alexander Doolittle, Jana Gailiunas, Mathew Jacobson, Dan Truso and UVM contact Charlie Ferreira

Farm Credit East hosted the 2016 Farm Credit Fellows program on April 14^th and 15^th at their headquarters in Enfield, CT.  There were thirty-four students participating from Cornell University, University of Maine, University of Vermont, and University of Connecticut.  It was a group of interactive and enthusiastic students along with passionate presenters educating and preparing them for their future roles in agriculture and the Farm Credit System.  Presentations by representatives from the Funding Corporation, CoBank, Financial Partners, Farm Credit East, and the Farm Credit East board of directors explored all of the opportunities offered by the Farm Credit System.

Thursday started off with a tour of the Farm Credit museum in the Enfield office.  This gave the participants a good introduction to the history of Farm Credit.  They were then given a more in depth explanation of how the entire Farm Credit System works starting with the Funding Corporation.  Susan Bilotta, Vice President-Finance of the Funding Corp, explained how the funding process works and the relationships they have with the banks, investors, and associations.  This presentation was followed by Mike Fleming, Senior Relationship Manager at CoBank and Farm Credit Leasing, and Christina Zick, Credit Analyst at CoBank, for a presentation about CoBank and its role in the Farm Credit System.  Chief Administrative and Risk Officer from Financial Partners, Inc., Dan Carey, and Chief Risk Officer at Farm Credit East, Bill Bathel, came together to discuss the role of technology providers in the Farm Credit System and the constant need to be upgrading and changing technology.  The presentations for Thursday wrapped up with Bill Lipinski, CEO of Farm Credit East, talking about the opportunities and benefits of the associations and their role in agricultural success.  The day ended with the introduction of a case study and a mock interview with a “borrower.”

Friday, the group jumped right back into the case study, exploring the arguments on approving and denying the loan.  They were split into two groups; a “yes” group and a “no” group, and worked with a group of employees to prepare their analysis arguments for a mock Loan Committee.  After a brief presentation from Jim Putnam, Chief Business Officer of Farm Credit East, on achieving balance in the system and the credit process, the two groups presented to the mock Loan Committee where the loan was eventually approved with conditions.  The program ended with Farm Credit East Director, Matthew Beaton, a cranberry farmer from South Massachusetts, sharing with the fellows his seven keys to success. 

The students will each spend a week in a Farm Credit branch this coming summer.  Yankee will be hosting six fellows in three different branches, five from UVM and one from Cornell.