Episode 83: Farm Credit Advocates in Action with Christy Seyfert
Main Topics Covered
1. Farm Credit Advocacy: Christy discusses how Farm Credit Council represents farm credit institutions in legislative and regulatory spaces, collaborating with stakeholders to unify their voice in DC.
2. Economic Uncertainty: The episode covers how Farm Credit helps farmers navigate economic challenges, including interest rate fluctuations and trade uncertainties, by advancing initiatives like the Farm Bill.
3. Mental Health and Stress: Christy highlights the importance of addressing farm stress and mental health, providing resources through Farm Credit's website.
4. Policy Priorities: The focus is on advancing a multi-year Farm Bill, extending tax cuts, and monitoring trade developments to support farmers.
5. Farm Credit Council Structure: Christy explains the cooperative model and the role of the 23 board members representing different bank districts in the farm credit system.
- Transcription
Speaker 1 (00:08):Welcome to AgCredit Said It, your go-to podcast for insights on farm finance and maximizing your return on investment. Join us as we talk to industry leaders, financial experts, and area farmers, bringing you skillful advice and strategies to grow your farm's financial future AgCredit Said It, where farm finance goes beyond the balance sheet.
Libby Wixtead (00:39):Welcome back to another episode of AgCredit Said It where we take you beyond the balance sheet of Farm finance. I'm your host, Libby Wixtead. Today we are talking with Christy Seyfert, president and CEO of Farm Credit Council. Welcome Christy.
Christy Seyfert (00:52):Thank you so much, Libby. I'm very happy to be here.
Libby Wixtead (00:55):We are so happy that you are here and you were actually here for our annual meeting last night, so that's very exciting that you were able to come up for that. To start off, would you share a little bit about your background and then what led you to working in Washington DC and your role at the Farm Credit Council?
Christy Seyfert (01:13):Sure. Well, I have to just start by saying thank you because it was such a pleasure to be at your annual meeting last night. This was my first association visit in my two months with Farm Credit. Oh wow. And it was just a great time. Really wonderful to meet a lot of great people and that's what I love about Farm Credit already is just the people. There's a lot of really good people in farm credit.
(01:38):I'm very fortunate that I grew up in agriculture, so ag is near and dear to my heart. I was very much a hands-on farm girl. My daddy put us to work and so I have great memories of driving tractors and participating four H and FFA livestock shows. Just so many great memories of my time growing up in agriculture. I grew up on a family farm just west of Savannah, Georgia. You can probably tell I'm not an Ohio native, right? Yes. I'm very fortunate that I actually married someone who has agriculture near and dear to his heart too. So my husband grew up in North central Kansas. We are farm credit customers because of the investment we made in his family farm 15, 20 years ago. And so we have a great personal experience with Farm Credit, but we also know what it's like to write a lot of checks and not get a lot in return.
(02:36):So love agriculture and appreciate that we still have strong ties to agriculture because I was a really focused on production agriculture growing up. I wanted to study something different in college. I wanted to understand what it took to get food from the farm to the table. So when I went to the University of Georgia, I studied food and learned a lot there. But more than anything I learned about public policy when I did an internship on Capitol Hill. And that just changed my career trajectory because I realized really quickly how impactful public policy is to agriculture, but anybody and everybody across these great United States and for me, I wanted to have the opportunity to go back into public policy and make a difference. So after I graduated from Georgia, I was invited back up to be congressional staff. So I served in the house as a staffer for about six years and then moved over to the Senate for another six years or so and worked for members who were very bipartisan and who held ag near and dear to their hearts as well.
(03:53):So I worked for members of the Georgia Congressional Delegation as well as leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and then jumped to the private sector after that and worked on ag policy, on risk management policy for trade associations for really financial leaders, the corporate offices. And then most recently for the American Soybean Association, I led the A SA DC office, worked with a lot of great farmers across Ohio and other parts of the country. And I loved my time with a SA, really worked to advance initiatives important to them in public policy. And then when this opportunity opened up for the Farm Credit Council, it just made sense for me to pursue this because I had admired farm Credit for so many years. I'm a firm believer that you have to have credit, you have to have risk management or else other pieces of the puzzle don't fall into place. And so for me, the Farm Credit Council in my two months here has really confirmed everything that I thought about farm Credit from the outside in public policy in dc. There are just a lot of good people across this organization and I'm very, very blessed to be a part of this and lead the Farm Credit council.
Libby Wixtead (05:20):Yeah, absolutely. I think in any agricultural group, the people are so at the heart of it and like you started at the beginning saying it's just the relationships, it's the people that truly is. And I think that's why a lot of us here at Ag Credit as one officers, that's why we're here.
Christy Seyfert (05:39):Absolutely. Well, I love that there are really good people in farm credit. There are really good people living in communities all across the country who are meeting our mission. I also love that our people in Farm Credit are going outside too, to invest time and resources into communities because they care passionately about those as well. So it's such a special, special organization
Libby Wixtead (06:10):And you have such a wealth of experience that I'm sure within your two months here that you've already made an impact on Farm Credit Council. How does Farm Credit advocate for farmers in Washington dc?
Christy Seyfert (06:23):There are a variety of ways. We are very, very proud to be the voice of farm credit, making sure that we have a unified voice for farm credit. It is a great big country and a lot of diverse needs, but we have to sing from the same song sheet.
Libby Wixtead (06:41):And
Christy Seyfert (06:41):So we represent farm credit institutions on Capitol Hill, so in the legislative space and we also do that in the regulatory space. So if you think USDA farm, credit administration, other agencies who we work with. But beyond that, beyond the legislative and regulatory engagement, we are also working closely with stakeholders, with our friends in agriculture to make sure that we're sharing information and collaborating when and where we can. And so there are many ways that we are working to bring that unified voice for farm credit in DC and beyond.
Libby Wixtead (07:28):Yeah, so it's, I've talked to many different organizations and they've talked about how small ag is really when you get to the groups and the commodity groups and how everybody's working together. And it seems like a lot of our missions are the same. And to have that unified voice within farm credit, all of farm credits and then having you guys on our behalf working with the national commodity groups is so helpful for us down here at the local level.
Christy Seyfert (07:53):Well, growing up in a small town was actually great training for me to work in Washington DC especially in ag circles, you need to have a lot of friends. Relationships matter and you got to be careful who you share what with because it's going to come back. Absolutely,
Libby Wixtead (08:07):Absolutely. Yes. And a small really does happen. How does Farm Credit help farmers navigate economic uncertainty? And with all of our interest rate fluctuations that we've had here in the last couple of years,
Christy Seyfert (08:22):We are your eyes and ears in Washington. I tell you we're hearing a lot and seeing a lot right now and there is a lot of uncertainty. And I want to say thank you to all the farmers out there and agribusinesses as well who support them because there are a lot of headwinds,
(08:40):There's a lot of uncertainty, but I really appreciate that they endure through that to make sure we have food. Absolutely fuel and fiber, all of it. I think that we are working to make sure that we are advancing initiatives in Washington that will make credit more accessible. We are working to advance initiatives in Washington like the Farm Bill, to make sure that there is greater certainty, longer term certainty because just one extension after the other of current farm policy that has its own challenges, there is a better way. And so we're working to make sure that we have the right relationships in place in DC to advance those initiatives and make a difference. And similarly, at USDA in our regulatory agencies, we are working to make sure that they understand one size doesn't fit all sometimes with respect to regulatory and other initiatives. And we want to make sure that they understand the complexities of what our farm credit institutions are working with and dealing with and what's in the best interest of our borrower members.
Libby Wixtead (09:56):And you've said that there's so much diversity, you guys have even more diversity than what we see here in northwest Ohio across the entire nation. And so one size definitely does not fit all with all of our different, I mean we have just in my office how many different operations that we have come in. No operation is the same. Are they similar? Yes. But nobody's situation is the same. And so that is so important that you guys are working on our behalf for that. And I have talked with a lot of customers just about the uncertainty of trade right now that we're recording this in April here and there's a lot that's going on with trade and then just with the Farm Bill, there's just been a lot of questions and a lot of concern and especially with crop insurance too. And because a lot of guys did use crop insurance last year, at least around here with low yields.
Christy Seyfert (10:54):Well if I can mention with respect to the uncertainty, there's a lot of stress and anxiety out there. Absolutely. I think April is stress awareness month. May is mental health awareness month. Then I think it's really important for folks out there who are experiencing stress, who are experiencing anxiety, mental health challenges that they understand help is out there.
Speaker 4 (11:24):Absolutely.
Christy Seyfert (11:25):And I know from a lending perspective, we work to help our customers, our borrowers restructure as needed work through options. So keeping lines of communication open. Very important at the national level, farm Credit has partnered with certain institutions, organizations to make sure that there are resources available, complimentary resources available for farmers, for families who are experiencing stress or mental health challenges so that they know they're not alone, that they have someone to talk through. And just really quickly, I'll share if folks need to know how to reach those resources or access those resources, they can go to our website, farm credit.com. And then at the top right there's a menu that will allow you to click on community engagement. And under that menu of community engagement, you can click on managing farm stress and mental health. And again, there's a variety of complimentary resources for those who are seeking help for managing farm stress. So we really are supporting these to be helpful to folks across rural America. And if anyone needs those, please use 'em. You are not alone and we welcome opportunity to have you use these and seek help that you need. Our view is when you feel better, you farm better.
Libby Wixtead (12:58):Absolutely, yes. And I can't emphasize that enough too. I mean it's okay not to be okay. And our farm families, you are important. You are important, you are so important to your family. You are more than just your farm. That's right. And if you do need those resources, those will be definitely put in our show notes. And then also Ohio also has its own alliance there for anybody that needs that help. I'm glad you brought that up, Christie, because that absolutely is very, very important right now. And we are seeing that stress from many of our customers that we didn't typically see
Speaker 4 (13:37):Before.
Libby Wixtead (13:38):So other than the farm stress, I see that as a major challenge right now. What other challenges are you seeing farmers across the nation facing and how is Farm Credit Council helping?
Christy Seyfert (13:52):Sure. From a policy perspective, we are working to advance a new and improved multi-year farm Bill. I mentioned that just a little bit earlier. We need that. So we were really hopeful that the Farm Bill would get across the finish line. Last year we felt like momentum was in our favor. Everybody put a lot of work into getting that across the finish line. And then it didn't happen for a variety of reasons. We have so far seen ag committees in the house and in the Senate in DC hold hearings to shine a spotlight on the farm economy and they are working to build momentum for getting a farm build done this year. So Farm Credit has had a witness testify in one of those hearings, and we will continue to work with the Ag committees and others in Congress to see how we can be helpful to getting a farm bill across the finish line.
(14:55):We hope that it's going to happen this year because it is sorely needed. We also are working to engage and be helpful on the extension of tax cuts. So at end of year 2025, you've probably heard many times in the press already that a number of provisions are set to expire that're important to farm country and just consumers generally. And our team is working there to make sure that there are tax provisions extended that will help farm families. We are eyeing this happening year end, but there are a lot of steps to go through before you get to that point. So some of those are happening now through a budget bill on Capitol Hill. So we're watching there engaging there being eyes and ears there as well. So those are a couple of areas. And then of course monitoring the trade and tariff developments and we'll continue to watch those as well as other issues that are impactful to agriculture will continue to watch all of these.
Libby Wixtead (16:06):I'm sure it is not a dull moment for you guys every day of what is going on in dc never a dull moment. There is so much change going on right now, and
(16:16):If anybody has not looked up any of those tax, those tax cuts, it's something that if you are looking at farm transition and farm succession planning, I would highly suggest that you do look into those just so you are aware of what that looks like because that is very, very impactful to your farm, especially if you guys have a large farm and don't have your succession or transition plan in place, which I would highly suggest that you would get that in place. Maybe this is a year that you guys will do that. So in light of those challenges that we just talked about, and those are very immediate probably within the year, it sounds like a lot that needs to get done. What is fccs priorities over the next five years?
Christy Seyfert (16:59):We want to continue to meet needs of our borrowers, of our institutions. We will continue working to represent the farm credit system from a legislative capacity, regulatory capacity, stakeholder cooperation and collaboration, making sure that we continue to speak with a unified voice and be a reliable and constructive and consistent voice on Capitol Hill and with the administration into the future. I think the issues may change in five years, but the need for us to be a reliable source of information will not. We have to continue being that reliable source. We also have to continue to build relationships that enable us to do good things for farm credit. So that is my aim. I shared with the board when we were going through the interview process not that long ago that I did not want to come into the Farm Credit Council and diagnose and prescribe. I wanted to listen and learn.
Christy Seyfert (18:14):
So that's what I'm doing now and that's why it's been so great to come out to Ohio and be a part of your annual meeting. And this morning visit with Dusty and Brian and Dave, it was really helpful to learn about agriculture right here in your territory. And so I want to continue to listen and learn and make sure that we are well equipped to serve farm credit institutions and meet your needs for many, many years to come.
Libby Wixtead (18:45):Yeah. So we're talking about having a meeting with Brian, who's our CEO and Dusty, who's chairman of our board. And then Dave is our government relations manager. How do you guys at Farm Credit Council, how do you support us, a local association here in northwest Ohio and how do members benefit from the Farm Credit Council locally?
Christy Seyfert (19:07):We do that in many ways. So number one is keeping lines of communication open. Our legislative team, our regulatory team, both of those teams have regular standing calls with our farm credit institutions and folks throughout the entire country who are trying to understand developments in the administration, in the legislative spaces and understand how they can be helpful. One thing I didn't touch on earlier in the regulatory space, we are tracking every executive order that is issued and analyzing to see does this have an impact on farm credit? If so, how? Because it's been an active year so far and we want to make sure we're not missing anything. Absolutely. So we are actively tracking all of those. And then on the legislative front, access to credit is really important. And so we are working to ensure that legislation is introduced and hopefully incorporated into a farm bill that modernizes loan limits, for example absolutely increases those limits streamlines processes with respect to credit programs in legislation.
(20:22):But as well in the regulatory space at USDA, how can we continue to make access to credit better? And so I think that's actually how our open lines of communication and actions taken on Capitol Hill and in the administration impact farm credit institutions, but also our borrowers, our members. And then as I mentioned earlier, are a lot of relationships that we have organizations that we support to make sure farmers and farm families have the resources they need, whether it's mental health or otherwise, there are really tangible benefits, young and beginning farmers for example. I could go on and on, but there are many ways that the work we are doing directly benefits you here at Ag Credit. But it also benefits us because we do our job better when we have those open lines of communication too.
Libby Wixtead (21:21):Absolutely. Are, I'm going to go off script for a second. Are you okay if I ask a little bit more of your guys' structure, like how you have board members and that? Oh sure. Okay. Before I asked you that, I wanted to make sure because I feel like that doesn't encompass that. And just with the cooperative approach, I think that's good to know. Okay. Am I getting face back on? So you talked about talking to your board, so can you share a little bit more about the actual structure of Farm Credit Council? So Ag Credit, we're cooperative. We have our board, which is our local farmers. So how does that relate to Farm Credit Council then?
Christy Seyfert (22:06):Sure. We have 23 board members that serve on the Farm Credit Council board, and those are representative of all four of the bank districts that make up the farm credit system. And I have had individual calls with each one of these board members and they are amazing people. They truly reflect the goodness of farm credit, but also clearly can share the challenges that they're hearing about from their neighbors, from their own experiences, but as well others within the bank and the banking districts. And so it's been really, really valuable for me already to have open lines of communication with 'em. This is a cooperative model. And so there are just many different ways that I think information is shared and that is beneficial to all of us. And so as I look at the outreach, the travel meeting people on their own turf throughout this year, what I'm hearing so far on this first visit is not a surprise because I've heard this already from a number of folks just by phone calls and otherwise, but my hope is that we will continue to have different ways of connecting with folks across the system. Our board is certainly one avenue, but there are also others that help inform us and otherwise.
Libby Wixtead (23:49):So to me that is very interesting because it's just we go back to relationships, we go back to knowing that the farm credit system is really such a grassroots organization in my opinion, because we have so many local members that are feeling it, knowing what's happening, able to share with the association of what's going on. You have a lot of loan officers throughout all the associations who farm themselves. That's why we understand agriculture because we're also going through it. And so going to the national level, there's so many ways that your organization knows what it feels like where you are from In Georgia, where we are here in Findlay, Ohio, you guys have so many contacts and really truly understand the needs of our farmers and are able to advocate that for us. And to me, that's what makes Farm Credit just awesome and a great place to borrow money from. We appreciate your time and the work that you and FCC do for our members. Thank you to our listeners for tuning in for another episode of AgCredit Said It. We'll talk to you next time.
Christy Seyfert (24:59):Thank you Libby.
Speaker 1 (25:07):Thank you for listening to AgCredit Said It. Be sure to subscribe in your favorite podcast app or join us through our website at AgCredit.net so you never miss an episode.