Farm Credit Announces Sanford's Retirement from Board of Directors
After 24 years of service, Orange County native and local industry leader W. W. (Monk) Sanford III, has retired from Farm Credit of the Virginias (FCV) board of directors. FCV, a regional financial cooperative serving agriculture and rural communities in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, made the announcement this month.
CEO Peery Heldreth shared, “Farm Credit relies on the vision and strong leadership of our board of directors. For more than two decades, Monk has been an asset for our organization and the customer-owners we serve. His diverse agricultural background and other board service, including other cooperatives, has brought valuable insights to board discussions and decision-making as it worked to map out strategies to continue providing first-rate service to our customer-owners.”
Sanford is a lifelong farmer from Orange County, Virginia, and manages a 1,400 acre cattle and grain operation. He has received Farmer of the Year, Lancaster/Sunbelt Farm of the Year, and Agribusiness Environment awards. He has also served on multiple boards of directors, including the Maryland Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative, the Orange-Madison Cooperative, and the Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA).
“I very much enjoyed my time on the Farm Credit board and being able to help our local farmers and homeowners,” said Sanford. “Over my years on the board, we’ve helped lead Farm Credit to great success, including two major mergers, one involving four organizations that positioned us to better serve our customers.”
ABOUT FARM CREDIT OF THE VIRGINIAS
Farm Credit of the Virginias provides over $1.8 billion dollars in financing to more than 11,000 farmers, agribusinesses and rural homeowners throughout Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland. Farm Credit is a cooperative capitalized largely through investments made by farmers, ranchers and the rural homeowners and businesses that borrow from them. In fact, as part of a nationwide network they are the largest single provider of agricultural credit in the United States and have been for over 100 years. Farm Credit helps maintain and improve the quality of life in rural America and on the farm through its constant commitment to competitive lending, expert financial services and for facilitating and sharing knowledge and resources through the Farm Credit Knowledge Center. For more information, visit www.FarmCreditKnowledgeCenter.com or www.FarmCreditofVirginias.com.