Farm Credit - About Us

Who Are We?
From The President
Board of Directors
Senior Management
Financial Reports

Farm Credit Services of Illinois is a farmer-owned cooperative dedicated to providing
competitive and flexible farm financing and crop insurance expertise. With more than $2
billion of assets, they have 165 employees that serve the financial and risk management
needs of nearly 8,000 farmers, agribusinesses, and rural landowners throughout the
southern 60 counties in Illinois. Farm Credit Services of Illinois helps improve the quality of
life of farmers and of rural America through its commitment to expert financial services and
advice and partnership-based relationships with agricultural customers.

From The President
2008 In Review

Change and uncertainty are simply a part of agriculture. You may remember the optimism that existed at this time last year. Commodity prices were good and expected to improve; input costs were on the rise, but there was optimism about improved margins. Livestock operators were feeling the pinch of higher feed costs, but there was hope of some downsizing and price improvements. Well, the rest is history. Mother Nature dealt the first blow with unrelenting spring rains. Weather problems are always possible, but the spring of 2008 was an exception. The rain just kept coming and impacted most of our service area. By mid-year, both commodity grain prices and farm input costs skyrocketed and set new records. Then, the global financial crisis sent commodity prices spiraling back down while leaving input costs at uncomfortable levels. Through all of this turmoil, Illinois still delivered a very strong corn and soybean harvest. The pork industry sustained financial losses in each quarter of 2008 while managing record feed price volatility and decreasing global demand during the world’s economic slowdown.

Dave Owens, President

In response to the challenging spring planting season , Farm Credit Services of Illinois established a low-interest (3.5% rate for up to six months) Weather The Storm operating loan program to provide financial relief to farmers. In total, 1,157 loans were enrolled in the program with operating loan commitments totaling more than $96 million. While this relief did not offset all the escalating input costs, it did help pay some of the bills.

Despite the considerable challenges of 2008, Farm Credit Services of Illinois experienced another year of exceptional financial results. The escalating land values and input costs created unprecedented demand for credit. In fact, the loan portfolio grew by more than $421 million, a 21% increase over 2007. This level of growth requires a tremendous amount of capital. We were able to meet the overall loan demand and retain a strong capital position by participating a large pool of loans to our affiliate bank; Agribank, in St Paul. This transaction provided the necessary capital while maintaining the equivalent level of earnings on the pool of loans participated.

By the end of the year, the Association owned and managed (through the AgriBank capital management initiative) more than $2.4 billion of loans. This incredible growth did not come at the expense of declining credit quality. In fact, the quality of the association loan portfolio remains very strong at 98.71% acceptable. Quite an accomplishment considering the status of the financial industry overall. Our crop insurance business also set new records with more than $48 million of crop and hail insurance premiums on 1,605,000 acres. In total as an Association, we recorded nearly $37 million of net earnings in 2008 while maintaining competitive interest rates in the market place for our customer owners. We are pleased to present you with these outstanding 2008 financial results.

Another highlight of 2008 was relocating our Association’s central office from Champaign to a significantly larger and newly renovated facility in Mahomet. We are proud to be based in a prominent building that is highly visible and easily accessible. The new facility provides ample room to grow in the coming years and it can accommodate up to 125 attendees at meetings or conferences held by Farm Credit Services or other agricultural groups.

We are once again optimistic that the Association and our members will have a financially solid year in 2009. Agriculture is the one bright spot in the domestic and global financial markets and we should be proud of that. The current global recession and financial crisis is expected to continue and there is every reason to believe the agricultural economy will eventually be impacted by these events. Even as we anticipate uncertain and challenging times in the future, the Association and the Farm Credit System are well positioned to continue delivering on our mission of providing competitive credit and related services to agriculture and Rural America.

Your Board of Directors and management team is committed to serving the ever-changing needs of our customer-owners in what is sometimes an unpredictable economy or environment. Thank you for your commitment to Farm Credit Services of Illinois. We value your membership as a shareholder and customer and we wish you a successful 2009.


2009 Farm Credit Services of Illinois Board of Directors

	Jack Hastings, Chairman	Jack raises corn, soybeans, wheat and hay near Louisville in Clay County. He also has 35 beef cows and feeds out 200 fat cattle annually. He has served on the board since 1985.

	Dale Crawford, Vice-Chairman	Dale Crawford raises corn and soybeans on the family farm near Sullivan in Moultrie County. He has served on the board since 2006.

	Lance C. Beery	Lance raises corn, soybeans and wheat near Findlay in Shelby County. He also has a commercial cattle herd. He has served on the board since 1983.

	Kent Brinkmann	Kent Brinkmann raises corn, soybeans and wheat near Carlyle in Clinton County. He is also a seed dealer. He has served on the board since 1998.

	Mike Carls	Mike Carls raises corn and soybeans near Virginia in Cass County. He has served on the board since 2006.

	Wm. David Champion, Jr.	David Champion is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Illini Cooperative. He is one of two appointed directors on the Association board. He has served on the board since 1994.

	Jack Crumrin	Jack Crumrin operates a grain and livestock farm near Martinsville in Crawford County. He also operates a hunting preserve. He has served on the board since 1974.

	J. Dale Edwards	Dale Edwards operates a grain and livestock farm near Buffalo in Sangamon County, which includes a purebred Berkshire swine herd. he has served on the board since 1991.

	Dennis Frey	Dennis raises corn and soybeans on a farm near Dahlgren in Hamilton County. He also raises native prairie grass seed. He has served on the board since 1991.

	Dr. Kim Harris	Dr. Kim Harris is an Associate Professor of Agribusiness Economics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). He is one of two appointed directors on the Association board. He has served on the board since 1998.

	Larry Hasheider	Larry raises corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa on a farm near Okawville. He also has pork, dairy, feedlot beef and beef cow operations. He has served on the board since 2006.

	Mark Miller	Mark Miller raises corn and soybeans near Chestnut in Macon County. He has served on the board since 1997.

	Karen Neff	Karen Neff farms 1,000 acres, growing corn, soybeans, wheat, and milo. She also raises seed beans, seed wheat and seed corn for three national seed companies companies, in addition to finishing hogs. Neff currently works as a Project Manager for UNISYS, a computer software and hardware company.

	John Schable	John Schable raises corn and soybeans on a farm near Tuscola in Douglas County. He has served on the board since 1994.

	Donald Sievers	Don raises corn, soybeans and wheat on a farm near Staunton in northern Madison County. He also operates Countryside Gardens, a retail garden center and is a seed dealer. He has served on the board since 1991.


Senior Management Team

	David M. Owens, Chief Executive Officer
	Dave is a native of Mt. Vernon, Illinois. He obtained his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He has been with the Farm Credit System since 1976, including 2 years with Farm Credit Administration, 12 years with the Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis, and 5 years with Farm Credit Services of Southeastern Illinois before joining Farm Credit Services of Illinois. Dave and his wife Cathy have two daughters and reside in Champaign, Illinois.

	Donald J. Olson, Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Officer
	Don has over 30 years of agricultural lending experience with the Farm Credit System, and has held a variety of positions, starting as a Loan Officer. He is a University of Illinois graduate, and a central Illinois native, having been raised on a grain and livestock farm near Hoopeston. He and his wife Laurel reside in Champaign, Illinois.

	Aaron S. Johnson Senior Vice President, Field Operations
	Aaron is a native of New Holland, Illinois. He obtained his Bachelors Degree in Organizational Business Management from Illinois State University. He joined the Farm Credit System in 1984. Aaron and his wife Debbie have three children, and live on a farm near Latham, Illinois.

	Loren J. Leskis Senior Vice President, Field Operations
	Loren has over 30 years experience in lending having worked with a national lending company, local community bank and Farm Credit. He is a native of the northern Chicago area, graduated from Southern Illinois University and moved to Champaign-Urbana in 1969. Loren and his wife LuAnn reside in Champaign, Illinois.

	Steven D. Ray, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
	Steve has almost 30 years experience in finance and accounting, having worked more than a third of that time within the Farm Credit System. He received his bachelor's degree in business, majoring in accountancy, from Eastern Illinois University and is a CPA. Steve and his wife, Tammy reside in Champaign, Illinois.