• Long-term farm and country home loans
  
• Intermediate-term loans for buildings, machinery and other equipment
  
• Intermediate-term loans for land, construction, livestock and improvements
• Short-term production loans for both full-time and part-time farmers
• Loans for ag-related businesses
• Wood industry loans for operating capital, timberland acquisition, standing timber
  

Unlike commercial banks, our cooperative structure means that a portion of the profits generated from our lending activity is returned to our borrowers in the form of patronage refunds. These patronage refunds are based on the proportion of interest earned on an individual loan. This significantly reduces the cost of borrowing for our customers, and patronage refunds are split between a direct cash payment and an allocated surplus account in the member's name.

As a complete financial institution for the agricultural field, we also provide a full range of other financial services for our customers, including:

• Secondary market financing for homeowners
• Multi-peril and crop hail insurance
• Truck and equipment leasing
• Credit life insurance
• Term life insurance
  

The team at Farm Credit are financial professionals with the experience and knowledge to provide the help you need when you need it. And we know agriculture and country living. We're federally chartered, but locally operated by people you know and trust.

Our combination of competitive rates, personal service and extensive local knowledge is unmatched in the financial world. Just contact us and see what we can do for you.

Locations

We serve 96 counties in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, with 23 branch offices conveniently located near you.

Click here to locate a branch office.

Board of Directors

Each Farm Credit association is governed by a local Board of Directors representing all areas of our territory. All Directors are member-borrowers and are elected by the membership. Each member, regardless of the size of his account, has one vote in who is elected to our Board of Directors. Read our Audit Committee Charter.

Farm Credit of the Virginias Directors:

• William J. Franklin, Jr., Chairman, is a beef cattle farmer.  He serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Scott County Telephone Cooperative.  He serves on Virginia Telecommunications Industry Association Board, the Carolina-Virginia’s Telephone Association Board, the Scott County Cellular Board, and the Tennessee Industry Telecommunications, LLC Board.  His term of office is 2006-2010.
• John E. Wells, Vice Chairman, is a full-time beef farmer. He is a member of the West Virginia Cattlemen’s Association, Wirt County Farm Bureau, and is vice president of Jackson County Calf Pool Cooperative.  His term of office is 2005-2007.
• James H. Addington is the outside director.  He is president of Addington Oil Corporation.  His term of office is 2006-2008.
• Ronald L. Bennett operates a dairy farm.  His term of office is 2006-2009.
• Donna M. Brooke-Alt operates a dairy farm.  Her term of office is 2006-2009.
• Paul M. House operates a dairy farm.  He serves on the AgFirst Farm Credit Bank Board.  His term of office is 2005-2007.
• Melody Jones serves as an outside director.  She is a certified public accountant.  Her term of office is 2007-2010.
• James A. Kinsey operates a forage based purebred angus operation.  He serves on the CoBank, ACB Board and on the Federal Farm Credit Funding Corporation Board.  His term of office is 2006-2009.
• Charles B. Leech, IV is owner-operator with his family of a dairy farm.  He serves on the Rockbridge Farmers Cooperative Board and on the Rockbridge Augusta Dairy Herd Improvement Association Board.  His term of office is 2004-2007.
• Ralph L. Puckett operates a cow/calf and feeder cattle operation in addition to raising burley tobacco and hay.  He is a Field Sales Associate for Southern States, Inc. and serves on the Washington County Farm Bureau Board.  His term of office is 2006-2010.
• Walter L. Schmidlen, Jr. is a dairy and beef farmer and owns a farm machinery dealership.  He serves on the AgFirst Farm Credit Bank Board.  His term of office is 2005-2007.
• Barry W. Shelor operates a dairy farm.  He serves on the Patrick County Farm Bureau Board.  His term of office is 2006-2008.
• Raymond L. Simms is a beef cattle farmer.  He serves on the Spotsylvania County Farm Bureau Board, the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association Board, the Virginia Beef Cattle Improvement Association, and the Tri-County/City Soil and Water Conservation District.  He is also the president of Fredericksburg Feeder Calf Association.  His term of office is 2006-2010.
• Gregory A. Smith operates a dairy and steer-fattening farm in partnership with his brother.  He is president of Ashland Farms, Inc.  He is also president of the Culpeper Farmers Cooperative and serves on the Madison Livestock Exchange Board.  His term of office is 2005-2007.
• Donald Reese operates Reese Farm Inc. in Scottsburg, Virginia. He is a member of the Virginia Farmers Direct Marketing Association and serves on the board of the Halifax County Farm Bureau, was well as the Halifax County High School Agricultural Committee.  His term of office is 2006-2009.
• Alfred W. Stephens, Jr. is a dairy farmer.  He serves as secretary on the Wythe/Bland DHIA and serves on the Wythe County Farm Bureau Board.  His term of office is 2005-2008.
• Thomas V. Thacker is a poultry farmer.  He is serving on the Cargill Turkey Growers Council.  His term of office is 2006-2009.
• Joseph W. Wampler is a general livestock and poultry farmer.  His term of office is 2006-2008.
• W. W. Sanford, III, is a dairy and beef farmer in partnership with his family.  He is a director of Maryland-Virginia Milk Producers and serves on the Contingency Planning Committee for Orange-Madison Cooperative.  His term of office is 2006-2010.

About the Farm Credit System

The Farm Credit System is a nationwide network of cooperative lending institutions that provides credit and financial services to farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, agricultural cooperatives, rural utility systems and agribusinesses. The system provides more than $61 billion in loans to over half a million borrowers.

The system was created in 1916 by an act of Congress and is the largest single provider of agricultural credit in the United States. The strength and stability of the system is reflected in the size of the national system -- over $90 billion in total assets, but the real benefit of the operation is dealing with a local office with hometown people who know their business, their communities and their customers.

Unlike commercial banks, we do not take deposits. Money is raised by selling system-wide bonds and discount notes in the securities market on Wall Street. The proceeds are channeled through Farm Credit System banks, associations and thus ultimately to our customers involved in agriculture and agribusiness. AgFirst Farm Credit Bank is the Farm Credit Bank for our district and is located in South Carolina.