You’re probably familiar with the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” This particularly applies in agriculture.

Even when the sun shines and the perfect amount of rain falls, it’s a tough business. Markets can dry up faster than crops. Machinery breaks when you need it most. Yet farmers and ranchers generally don’t give up. They just work harder and smarter, optimistic that next year will be better.

But no matter how tough you are — mentally, physically or financially — it helps to have a lender who understands what you’re going through.

Your staff at Alabama Farm Credit understands the cyclical nature of agriculture. Many of us grew up in agriculture and still have personal connections to the land. We know that dealing with risk and managing a large budget can be stressful.

Alabama Farm Credit wants you to succeed. As a responsible lender, we encourage all of our customers to make the best decisions for their needs. At the same time, we must ensure that the co-op continues to flourish. When we do well financially, every member-borrower benefits. That’s one of the advantages of financing with our co-op — we look out for our borrowers’ interests.

For Alabama Farm Credit, 2018 was good year. Thanks to our strong financial results, we were able to return a $9.38 million cash patronage to our borrowers. That patronage payment effectively reduced your interest rate for 2018 by 1.25 percentage points.

I sincerely hope that 2019 will be an excellent year for all of our customers. However, if the going gets tough, come see us. Whether you need a word of encouragement or financing advice — or want to share some good news — we are always here for you.