Pub. 2 2013 Issue 3

April / May 2013 21 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s Where Further FCS Consolidation is Likely to Occur As FCW readers know, there has been substantial consoli- dation within the FCS. As of January 1, 2013, there were 82 FCS associations. Ten years before there were 99 associations compared to 187 associations in 1999 and 227 in 1996. Much of the consolidation in the 1990s consisted of Production Credit Associations and Federal Land Bank Associations serving a common territory merging to form an Agricultural Cred- it Association (ACA). The last decade has seen mergers of ACAs, yet that merger activity has not been uniform across the country, as a map prepared by the Farm Credit Administration illustrates Farm Credit System Institution Territories While consolidation has produced several multi-state associations, such as Northwest FCS and FCS of America, which each serve four states, other states still have several associations. Texas tops the list with nine associations while California still has seven associations. One can reasonably wonder when a new consolidation wave will erupt in the unconsolidated states. What is in an FCSAssociation Name? In recent years a few FCS associations dropped any reference to agricultural lending from their names. Names such asAr- borOne, Badgerland Financial, and Loan Star were adopted. Other downplayed their FCS status with names such as AgPref- erence and AgStar Financial Services. Interestingly, then, last September AgCarolina Financial put “farm credit” back into its name by officially changing its name to AgCarolina Farm Credit. AgCarolina has provided no explanation for this name change other than the CEO stating in his message in the associ- ation’s 2012 annual report that “To reflect our nearly 100 years of serving the farm and agricultural communities, we changed our brand to reintroduce Farm Credit into our name and now go by AgCarolina Farm Credit .” Perhaps other FCS associations will quit hiding their FCS identity. Maybe this message has been communicated throughout the FCS – the FCS will be 100 years old in 2016. Get in on the big celebra- tion planned for that anniversary by putting “farm credit” back in your association’s name. Sign makers are standing by. Report FCS lending abuses to :green-acres@ely-co.com An Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association ® Registered mark of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association N.1220 K a n s a s P e o p l e – K a n s a s V a l u e s “They’re our advocate for health coverage.” “After our Greensburg, Kansas dealership was destroyed by the tornado, we just wanted to rebuild and get back to business. It’s kind of like that after you get medical care, too – you need to focus on recovery. “That’s why our employees like their Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas coverage. Blue Cross takes care of all the details. No questions. No problems. No drama. We can get well, and get back to business!” Michael L. Estes V.P. / Store Manager Bucklin Tractor & Implement Bucklin • Greensburg • Ness City • Pratt