AgriBank District Farm Credit Council honors Minnesota congresswoman
ST. PAUL, Minn., September 14, 2020 – The AgriBank District Farm Credit Council (ADFCC) has presented its 2020 Friend of Farm Credit Award to U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota.
McCollum, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, received the award for her important work on behalf of rural communities, agriculture and the Farm Credit System, a national network of customer-owned cooperatives. ADFCC members typically present the award each summer when they travel to Washington to meet with members of Congress about issues important to farmers and ranchers in AgriBank’s Midwestern District, but this year they bestowed the award remotely due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“We appreciate the leadership Representative McCollum provided in securing funding for the USDA’s Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program, as well as report language instructing the Farm Credit Administration on its role overseeing Farm Credit System institutions’ use of the program,” said ADFCC member Dan Erickson, a farmer from Alden, Minnesota, and a board member of Compeer Financial.”Farm Credit System investments in rural facilities such as hospitals are even more critically important as we face the challenges presented by COVID-19.”
“As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, it is our responsibility to allocate federal funding for loan guarantees to private lenders so they can help build essential community facilities in rural areas,” McCollum said. “Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, this program is critical to help rural communities meet people’s needs by ensuring financing to build hospitals, child care centers, food banks, as well as critical telemedicine and distance learning infrastructure, and so much more. I’m proud to have earned this award, and I thank the AgriBank District Farm Credit Council for their work in supporting our farmers and ranchers.”
Compeer Financial is one of 14 Farm Credit Associations that comprise the AgriBank District along with AgriBank. The AgriBank District Farm Credit Council represents Farm Credit farmers and ranchers in a 15-state area from Wyoming to Ohio and Minnesota to Arkansas. About half the nation’s cropland is located within the AgriBank District.
Farm Credit supports rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services, today and tomorrow. It has been fulfilling its mission of helping rural America grow and thrive for more than a century with the capital necessary to make businesses successful and by financing vital infrastructure and communication services. For more information, visit www.farmcredit.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS
John Share, AgriBank
(651) 282-8634 or John.Share@AgriBank.com
Amanda Yanchury, Office of Congresswoman McCollum
(202) 597-1228 or amanda.yanchury@mail.house.gov