Income falls at Mountain Plains Farm Credit co-op

GREELEY – Mountain Plains Farm Credit Services reported net income of $18.2 million for 2008, down from $26.2 million in 2007.

Mountain Plains, which provides loans primarily to farmers and ranchers, also reported it had outstanding loans of $1.13 billion at the end of 2008 compared to $1 billion at the end of 2007. The member-owned cooperative had total assets of $1.19 billion at the end of 2008, compared to $1.05 billion when 2007 ended.

Mike Flesher, a spokesman for the agency that has offices in Greeley, Grand Junction, Montrose and Durango, said the economic downturn had an effect on net income in 2008, with $2.4 million less earned on interest in investments of shareholder capital. Flesher also noted that Mountain Plains added six new employees in 2008 for a total of 75 employees across its four offices, helping raise operating costs by $1.6 million.

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Flesher said agricultural expenses rose dramatically in 2008, particularly fuel and feed for livestock. “2008 was a much more challenging year for agriculture than previous years,” he said.

Still, Flesher said agriculture remains “a bright spot” in the nation’s ailing economy and noted that Mountain Plains shareholders received $6 million in profit-sharing dividends in 2008. Since 2004, shareholders have received $42.5 million in dividends.

Mountain Plains is part of the U.S. Farm Credit System, which has been providing loans for agriculture and rural America since 1916.