CEO Comments:
Stepping Into Spring CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? ANOTHER PLANTING SEASON IS ABOUT TO BE IN FULL SWING. IT HAD JUST RECENTLY SEEMED SO FAR AWAY GIVEN THE BRUTAL WEATHER CONDITIONS MUCH OF MICHIGAN AND WISCONSIN ENDURED AS WINTER EXTENDED ITS ICY GRIP THROUGH MID-MARCH. AS SPRING KICKS IN, WARMER TEMPERATURES AND LONGER DAYS WILL ONCE AGAIN RENEW THE OPTIMISM OF THE POSSIBILITIES A NEW YEAR WILL BRING. By now, all members have received their patronage check for their business with GreenStone in 2018. Many members I have spoken with said they immediately noticed the increase in their check amount, and had no shortage of places to use the extra cash! Like the speed of time, it is also hard to believe that GreenStone’s patronage program has been going strong for 14 years, reaching a total of $400 million returned to its members since its inception. The program started out by paying around 20 percent of net earnings in the early years, increasing to 25 percent from 2014 through 2016, rising again in 2017 to 33 percent and reaching nearly 50 percent in 2018. When the program started, members valued GreenStone (and its predecessor organizations) as a dedicated lender to agriculture and rural communities that was a dependable, competitive, and responsible source of credit and financial services in good times and challenging times. Our people, the interest rates, and our understanding of their business were the key reasons they chose GreenStone over its competitors for their financial needs.
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Spring 2019 — Partners