FLOWOOD, Miss. — At a time when many financial institutions have stopped paying dividends, Southern AgCredit, a Farm Credit lending cooperative based in Flowood, was able to pay a record patronage to its customer-owners based on its solid 2009 financial performance.

Southern AgCredit customers will soon receive a check for their portion of the co-op’s $2.5 million cash patronage, plus a statement detailing their portion of a $4.7 million allocation that is eligible for future cash distribution. The combined $7.2 million patronage is a record for Southern AgCredit, which has a history of paying patronage to its customers.

“We are pleased to have the financial strength to provide this patronage refund to our customers,” said Joe Hayman, Southern AgCredit chief executive officer. “It is always a pleasure to distribute a patronage to our customers, but it is even more significant that we can give back a record level of patronage at a challenging time when there’s a lot of financial uncertainty.”

The patronage payment comes as a result of Southern AgCredit’s efficient operations, conservative fiscal leadership and its cooperative structure. The co-op is owned by its customers, who share in the earnings as a benefit of being stockholders. Every year, the Southern AgCredit Board of Directors reviews the association’s financial position and determines how much of the earnings can be returned as a patronage.

Southern AgCredit finances all aspects of agriculture and rural property, including loans to agribusinesses. The co-op has $619 million in total assets and provides rural financing in 50 counties in the lower half of Mississippi. It is part of the nationwide Farm Credit System.