Annual Report - CoBank

“ STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WE’VE BUILTIN THE FARM CREDIT SYSTEM CAN BELEVERAGED TO BENEFIT A CUSTOMER.”Yankee Farm Creditand Adirondack FarmsIn 1996, Adirondack Farms was just an emptyplot of land in Peru, New York. But over the past15 years it has grown into a 3,100-acre dairyoperation with more than 2,000 dairy cowsproducing 56 million pounds of milk a year.Vermont-based Yankee Farm Credit has servedas Adirondack’s primary lender since thebeginning. As one of CoBank’s affiliated FarmCredit associations, Yankee has, in turn, reliedon CoBank to offer the customer enhancedlending capacity and other specializedfinancial services.“Yankee Farm Credit and CoBank have beenwith us since the very beginning, and we knowthey will continue to stick with us as we growour operations,” says Jake Swyers, who coownsAdirondack Farms with partners Jon Rulfsand Rocky Giroux.Adirondack recently leased milking parlorequipment through CoBank Farm CreditLeasing. It also partnered with Farm CreditEast, another CoBank affiliate, for businessconsulting services. “It’s a perfect exampleof how the strong relationships we’ve builtin the Farm Credit System can be leveragedto benefit a customer,” says David Sparks,Eastern Region President of CoBank’s RegionalAgribusiness Banking Group.Mike Farmer, senior vice president with YankeeFarm Credit, says it has been “amazing” to seeAdirondack’s growth and success. “We’ve beenable to step up and help them with all of theirneeds,” Farmer says. “We really appreciate thepartnership with CoBank, which helps us fulfillour mission and better serve our borrowers.”mike Farmer,yankee Farm CreditSenior Vice Presidentmichael Oleksak, CoBankRelationship ManagerJake Swyers,adirondack FarmsCo-OwnerJon Rulfs,adirondack FarmsCo-OwnerBUILDING FORTOMORROW17