Business Spotlight - April 2024
First South Farm Credit

 

What makes your business organization stand out?
Generations of farm families have relied on First South Farm Credit for loans and ?nancial services. In fact, we are the largest single agricultural lender in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

First South serves approximately 11,000 member/borrowers with loans outstanding totaling over $3.1 billion through its network of 44 branch offices in its three-state territory. As a part of the national Farm Credit System, First South has been serving rural communities for over 100 years.

Our First South Ozark, Alabama, office has more than 100 years of combined lending experience to help you with a variety of loans including:

• Country Home Loans - for the purchase of a rural residence, re?nancing a rural residence, country home construction and even improvements to an existing country home;
• Recreational or hunting property;
• Timber loans - for land purchases, reforestation, equipment purchases, operating lines of credit, chip mills, sawmills and other processing facilities;
• Land improvement loans - for land leveling, dirt work, irrigation, fencing, access road construction, and pond and reservoir construction; and
• Other ag and farm loans such as equipment, poultry, livestock, crop production, agribusiness and aqua culture loans.

Describe an exciting recent highlight for your business/organization?
First South announced on March 7 that it will distribute $25.5 million in patronage refund checks to its member/borrowers in April. A patronage refund is a payment from a cooperative to a member/borrower based on its earnings and ?nancial performance in proportion to the borrower’s use of the cooperative.

“Thanks to our member/borrowers, 2023 was another year of strong performance. As a result, the First South Board of Directors has declared a cash patronage of $25.5 million, representing a refund of 16.11 percent of the interest earned on loans by our member/borrowers. This continues our commitment to the cooperatives principal of returning earnings to our customer,” said Gines Pérez, First South CEO.

“This is the 29th consecutive year for First South to continue the commitment of sharing in our success with our member/borrowers,” stated Tommy Nelson, First South Farm Credit Board of Directors chairman. “Over this period of time, First South has distributed patronage refunds, totaling over $486 million, to our member/borrowers.”

Pérez said, “By offering competitive interest rates and distributing a portion of our pro?ts to our member/borrowers, we reduce their effective cost of borrowing.”

What advice would you o?er to someone looking for the type of services your business provides?
Whether you’re looking to buy some land, a country home or need ?nancing for ag or farm purposes, First South has the experience to help guide you through the process and make an informed decision. Our office is conveniently located at 4442 U.S. Highway 231 South, Ozark, Alabama. We can be reached at (334) 774-2666 or by visiting us on our website at www.firstsouthfarmcredit.com.