Dividend checks

Employees of Farm Credit Services of America in McCook, Nebraska, present ceremonial cash-back dividend checks to eligible customer-owners in the five counties served by the McCook office. FCSAmerica is a financial cooperative serving rural America in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. On March 19, as part of its 2011 patronage program, FCSAmerica customer-owners started receiving cash-back dividend checks totaling $130 million. At the McCook office, employees (from the left) Kalli Nelms, Cherri Lashley, Carla Moore, Tonda Simmons, Mike Langan, Rylee Shaw, Wayne Vontz and Danny Guillion (not shown Trista Hansen and Mike Skolout) displayed checks for Red Willow County, whose customer-owners earned $377,000 in dividends; Furnas County, $306,000; Hayes County, $272,000; and (checks not shown) Frontier County, $264,000; and Hitchcock County, $169,000. "We are very excited about being able to give back to our customers and their communities," Lashley said. Doug Stark, FCSAmerica president and CEO, said in a press release March 21, "Customers can spend or invest their cash-back dividends as they wish, but past results suggest a significant percentage will be spent in the communities where they live." Farm Credit Services of America finances the growth of rural America, including the special needs of young and beginning producers. 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. For more information, visit www.fcsamerica.com.