The Value of Connections

As a relationship lender, connecting with our customers and our communities is at the heart of everything we do. It’s those relationships that we’ve had with customer businesses for generations that have allowed Farm Credit East to be successful for more than 100 years.

Over the last several years, we’ve seen a significant shift in the variety of ways we can stay connected. While the enhanced tools are beneficial to keep us connected, the value of person-to-person connection cannot be lost.

In our most recent Financial Partner, Board Chair John Knopf provided insight into the board’s focus on customer engagement. He stressed the importance of capturing feedback and staying connected in this increasingly virtual world. As a cooperative owned by our customers, this engagement is critical.

In the year ahead, part of this strategy will include several customer meetings to be held across our territory in early March. Both a board member and I will provide customers with a cooperative update and present our vision for the future. I look forward to connecting with many of you at these meetings.

The board and management have also been focused on positioning the cooperative for the future. As we continue to meet regulatory obligations and address competitive pressures, we’ve identified areas we need to evolve the cooperative to ensure we can continue to be a reliable source of credit for Northeast agriculture and deliver the best-in-class service our customers expect.

To be your lender for the future, we are moving toward innovative products and tools. We’re also evaluating product delivery, for both credit and financial services, to ensure we remain competitive, continue to deliver best-in-class service and retain top talent. We’ve made changes to our business over the past few years to prepare for this shift, so the year ahead will focus on implementation to move the cooperative forward.

The key takeaway for cooperative owners is that your cooperative is doing very well, and we need to evolve to remain competitive. As we build our legacy for the future, we need to be forward-thinking and innovative to advance our strategy. At the end of the day, we are still people doing business with people, and we won’t lose sight of that.

Your cooperative is paving an exciting path forward and I look forward to keeping you all informed along the way.