First South Farm Credit Issuing Patronage Checks for 2014

Ridgeland, MS (March 12, 2014) — First South Farm Credit member-borrowers will receive approximately $13 million in patronage refund checks in April, Roger F. Chappell, CEO, announced today. Patronage, which is a form of dividend payment, is based on the Association's year-end earnings.

"First South Farm Credit had another successful year in 2013. As a cooperative, we are proud to have our member-borrowers share in our success and profits," said Shep Morris, Chairman of the First South Board of Directors. "This is the nineteenth consecutive year we've paid a patronage refund. over that period of time, First South has declared patronage totaling over $254 million to be paid to its member-borrowers through patronage refunds and retirements of allocated surplus."

"When we distribute our profits to our borrowers it reduces their effective cost of borrowing," Chappell stated, "and it proves there are distnct financial benefits in doing business on a cooperative basis. We give you a competitive interest rate up front then return a portion of our profits back to you through the patronage program."

First South Farm Credit is a farmer-owned cooperative providing short-, intermediate- and long-term financing and related services to full- and part-time farmers, agriculture-related businesses and rural residents in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. First South serves 5,000 members with loans outstanding totaling over $1.4 billion through its network of more than 40 branch offices in its three-state territory.