Omaha, Nebraska – (October 14, 2013) – Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica) today announced the financial cooperative is mobilizing staff and financial resources to help its customers who were impacted by the recent blizzard that struck South Dakota. The storm killed thousands of calves that were about to be sold as well as cows that would produce next year’s calves.
“The weather dealt an incredibly tough blow to livestock producers and their families,” said Doug Stark, president and CEO at FCSAmerica. “All of us are touched by the enormity of the loss and are committed to helping our customers rebuild their lives and their operations.”
The customer-owned FCSAmerica provides more than $1.3 billion in credit to cow-calf operators in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. “Agriculture is the only industry we serve, and we know it’s an inherently risky business,” Stark said. “For that reason, we focus on building financial strength so we can help producers through tough times like these. Now our financial officers are reaching out to customers and helping them with individualized plans and assistance to manage through this loss.”
Bob Schmidt, senior vice president with FCSAmerica in South Dakota, said the company’s emphasis is on helping livestock producers restore working capital. He encouraged customers to contact their financial officers for assistance. “Many of our local employees are involved in ranching operations or have friends and families in the business, so we appreciate firsthand what customers are facing,” Schmidt said. “As a company, we’ve organized a broad team of people across the organization to help ensure a quick response to help customers rebuild.”
Stark added, “The farmers and ranchers we serve are the reason we exist. Now is the time to step up and apply our expertise, tools and financial assistance to support them.”
About Farm Credit Services of America
Farm Credit Services of America is a customer-owned financial cooperative proud to finance the growth of rural America, including the special needs of young and beginning producers. With more than $19 billion in assets and more than $3 billion in members' equity, FCSAmerica is one of the region's leading providers of credit and insurance services to farmers, ranchers, agribusiness and rural residents in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Learn more at
fcsamerica.com.
