Westminster, MD, January 28, 2014 – MidAtlantic Farm Credit partnered with Farm Credit of the Virginias and Colonial Farm Credit to sponsor the 15th Annual Farming for Profit and Stewardship Conference, hosted by Future Harvest, a Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (CASA). The conference was held January 17th through 19th at the Marriott Inn and Conference Center in College Park, Maryland.
Each year, this conference serves as an avenue for farmers, agricultural professionals, landowners, and consumers in the Chesapeake region to gather and promote profitable, environmentally-friendly food and farming systems that will sustain their communities. During the conference, seminars are held on various topics, including farming for beginners, grass-based systems, local food communities, and fruit and vegetable production. Over 400 people from various organizations and backgrounds attended this year.
Zach Evans, a loan officer in MidAtlantic Farm Credit’s Salisbury office, took part in a panel discussion during the conference, addressing financing and grant opportunities available for local farmers. „Speaking on the panel was a great opportunity to highlight to the organic and sustainable agriculture community what products and financial services Farm Credit has to offer and how they can benefit their operations,“ said Evans. „While Farm Credit is an expert in agriculture financing with a long history, it is important to remind folks in these industries that we recognize the potential today and in the future to do business with sustainable and organic producers. Farm Credit is taking the initiative to develop a more thorough understanding of these business models.“
MidAtlantic Farm Credit CEO, Bob Frazee, expressed his support for Farm Credit’s role in the conference and with Future Harvest. „We are excited to be a part of an organization that works to further our knowledge of sustainable agriculture and make a lasting impact on both our environment and regional economies. We look forward to working with them through 2014 and beyond.“
Future Harvest holds events throughout the year to promote sustainable agriculture and assist beginning farmers with their operations. For more information about Future Harvest and the many events and seminars they hold, please visit http://www.futureharvestcasa.org.
About MidAtlantic Farm Credit
MidAtlantic Farm Credit is an agricultural lending cooperative owned by its member-borrowers. It provides farm loans for land, equipment, livestock and production; crop insurance; and rural home mortgages. The co-op has over 10,400 members and approximately $2.1 billion in loans outstanding. MidAtlantic has branches serving Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. It is part of the national Farm Credit System, a network of financial cooperatives established in 1916 to provide a dependable source of credit to farmers and rural America.
Press Contact:
Sandy Wieber
MidAtlantic Farm Credit
Westminster, MD
+1 410-848-1033
http://www.mafc.com