Northwest Farm Credit Services pays record patronage dividends

From Northwest Farm Credit Services 

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Northwest Farm Credit Services Board of Directors announced the association will pay $145 million in cash patronage dividends to customer-members throughout the Northwest, which is 1.25 percent of their eligible average daily loan balances.

Payments will start in mid-February

“We’re pleased to pay nearly half our 2019 earnings back to the customer-members who helped create the association’s success,” Northwest FCS President and CEO Phil DiPofi said. “They in turn can reinvest dollars back into their businesses, families and rural communities, providing a boost to our rural economies.”

DiPofi said the association’s strong financial foundation and diverse loan portfolio position it well to help customer-members deal with the inevitable ups and downs of agriculture, including political, economic and weather-related volatility.

“Our board and management team are committed to operating a high-performing association, which includes maintaining a strong financial profile, investing in the business for the future, and providing meaningful, reliable patronage dividends for our customer-members,” DiPofi said.

Since the program began in 2000, Northwest FCS has paid patronage dividends every year, totaling more than $1 billion in patronage to customer-members located primarily throughout the Northwest.

Northwest FCS is a $13 billion financial cooperative providing financing and related services to farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, commercial fishermen, timber producers, rural homeowners and crop insurance customers in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Northwest FCS is a member of the nationwide Farm Credit System that supports agriculture and rural communities with reliable, consistent credit and financial services. For more information, go to http://northwestfcs.com .