Over the past seven years, former farmworker Aldo Gonzalez has expanded his farm business from five to 44 acres, helped by annual operating loans from California FarmLink, an Aptos-based nonprofit that since 2013 has also operated as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).

Earlier today, Farm Credit West – a cooperative lending institution focusing exclusively on the agriculture industry – announced strong financial results for 2020 with continued growth in net income, earning assets and capital. These strong results positively positioned the Association to distribute 1.5% of eligible average outstanding loan balances in 2020 to customer-owners in a cash patronage dividend.

Farm Credit West, ACA recently announced the Board of Directors has voted to distribute a patronage dividend to customer-owners equal to 150 basis points (bps) or 1.50% of eligible average outstanding loan balances in 2020. This patronage dividend includes a special pandemic related relief payment of 50 bps distributed to customers during the summer of 2020.

After leaving the Air Force in 2012 with a service-connected disability, Robert Barnett was looking for a new career when he fell into farming by accident by gardening at his family’s home in Ventura, even though “it was years before I could grow something,” he recalled.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an additional $14 billion for agricultural producers who continue to face financial challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and related market disruptions.

Agribusiness students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo will have additional funding for student projects in the years to come after Farm Credit donated nearly $255,000 this year to create an endowment fund for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.

The 40th EcoFarm Conference – the oldest and largest organic farming conference in the West – went off without a hitch in late January, providing some 1,600 attendees with a wide range of information about how to grow food sustainably.

Farm Credit understands the vital connection between farmers and their land, as well as the importance of preserving our natural resources. These beliefs have motivated Farm Credit to be a long-standing sponsor of the Leopold Conservation Award.

Recently, the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference was held in Louisville, Ky., earlier this month. The conference included a range of contests including the Avian Bowl, which tested contestants’ knowledge of exhibition, husbandry, anatomy, and several other poultry-related subjects in a game show-like fashion.

The California Agricultural Heritage Club, established in 1948, recognizes the perseverance of the agriculture industry and the pioneers who made it possible. The mission of the club is to honor families, businesses, and special interests that have worked in agriculture for over 100 years.