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GreenStone FCS: preparing for changing ag climate

The CEO of GreenStone Farm Credit Services of Michigan and Wisconsin says they are well positioned to weather the current farm economy.

Dave Armstrong tells Brownfield they saw a storm brewing more than two years ago and started training employees about the lessons learned from the 1980s farm crisis.  “How do you interact with people that put it all on the line their whole life, maybe even for generations of family farming, and are being challenged with keeping that legacy alive?—I think that paid off for us”

He says the organization also put debt cap limits in place when land values started to escalate.  “We’re also going out with those producers that we have identified as being somewhat stressed, particularly now in dairy here in Michigan as well as corn and soybean producers, and identify those situations early and set down, go through the cash flow statements, the balance sheets, and start lining up not just one alternative or option, but several.”

Armstrong, speaking with Brownfield during their centennial celebration in Lansing, says lenders want clear and open communication, even if that’s the hard truth, to keep as many farmer customers in business as possible.

GreenStone is the seventh largest lender in the Farm Credit System with about $8 Billion in assets.

AUDIO: Interview with Dave Armstrong