Ten years ago, five separate associations—Central Maryland Farm Credit, Chesapeake Farm Credit, Delaware Farm Credit, Keystone Farm Credit, and Marva Farm Credit came together to create one entity: MidAtlantic Farm Credit.
At the time, it was the largest merger in Farm Credit history (and it might still be—I’m not sure. But I do know that we are still one of the largest in history).
The board members involved in that agreement will tell you that pulling five associations together wasn’t easy. The negotiations definitely had their highs and their lows, and at times it looked like wasn’t going to come together at all. But those boards recognized that the world around them was changing. They saw that the big farms were getting bigger and the small farms were getting smaller. They knew that they were getting more and more vulnerable as their portfolios were becoming less and less diverse. And they knew that their individual associations would have to change if they wanted to continue to serve their market and meet their mission.
So they persevered. And they worked through the challenges. The five associations merged their operations on July 1, 2000. Ten years ago today.
I’m not going to say it was all smooth sailing after that. As we all know (including our friends in the Valley region who have joined our family most recently!), the real work for staff starts after the merger.
Throughout this month, I’m going to devote my blogs to looking back over the past 10 years, and looking forward to the next. But today I’d like to thank those board members who had the foresight, the courage, and the tenacity to pull us all together and make it work.
Thank you. And happy anniversary.
Bob
