Farm Credit Services Gives Record Refunds

Farm Credit Services of Western Arkansas recently began distributing a record $4.5 million in patronage refund checks for 2004 to its members.

FCS is the largest of three farmer-owned financial cooperatives in Arkansas. It serves the state’s 41 counties west of Little Rock from Texarkana to Missouri. The firm saw its total portfolio at 2004’s end reach $560 million, up 6.6 percent from $525 million in 2002.

Locally, FCS’ loan volume in Benton and Washington counties was $109.2 million, up 1.8 percent from $107.2 million in 2003. Patronage checks, which function like profit-sharing returns or dividends, for the two-county area were up 5.6 percent from $915,000 to $966,000 a year ago. The company’s number of area customers has held steady around 1,000 during the last few years.

“The people who borrow from us actually share in the profits,” said Randy Dedmon, FCS’ Bentonville branch manager and a 28-year company veteran.

“If you borrow from another lender, their owners share in the profits, too,” he said. “We’re just a cooperative, and we refund our profits back to our customers.”

The two-county loan totals are up 6.5 percent from $102.5 million in 2002 and 11.4 percent from $98 million in 2001.

FCS has branches in Fayetteville, Bentonville and Siloam Springs where it’s moving into a new office. The 1,750-SF Siloam Springs facility cost $228,000 to build and is expected to open this fall.