From left are Southern AgCredit directors Larry Killebrew, Gene Boykin, Kevin Rhodes (board chairman) and Steve Dockens; CEO Phillip Morgan; and directors T.C. Hall, Linda Staniszewski, Reggie Allen and Scott Bell (board vice chairman).

The board of directors of Southern AgCredit, a rural lending cooperative, recently declared a $21.1 million patronage on its 2020 earnings. It returned a record $10.4 million in cash dividends to its member-borrowers in mid-February. The co-op allocated the remaining $10.7 million in equities.    

The member-owned cooperative returns surplus earnings to borrowers after it has met its needs for a strong capital base. The patronage dividend returned to customers effectively reduced the interest rate paid by each borrower by one percentage point on average.

“Patronage is a unique benefit of doing business with a cooperative,” said Kevin Rhodes, Southern AgCredit’s board chairman. “When our co-op is successful, our member-borrowers benefit. Given the challenges many faced in 2020, we’re pleased to distribute a record cash patronage.”

Since 1995, Southern AgCredit has declared more than $200 million in patronage dividends to its member-borrowers.

Southern AgCredit is a full-service co-op lender that specializes in financing rural land and agricultural operations in Mississippi and Louisiana. It is a member of the nationwide Farm Credit System, the nation’s largest source of loans for agriculture, agribusiness, rural real estate and country homes.