Agricultural Bankers have seen good times and bad times but their relationship with farmers and their communities remain strong. Now they are looking to recruit a new generation to take their place.
The Agricultural Bankers Association held its convention last week in Kansas City with over 800 bankers and support industry in attendance.
Mike Hein with Liberty Bank in Durant, Iowa chairs the Ag Bankers Committee. He has been loaning money to farmers in East Central Iowa, since the mid 1980?s. Hein gets a bit nostalgic about the past but more so about the people.
“I started lending in 1985, probably one of the worst times to really step your foot into the bank if you wanted to be a lender. Ah, those were difficult time s but over the years we?ve had some up turns and down turns in the Ag economy and we?ve always manage to come through one way or another,” Hein said.
Hein said he doesn’t know if there are better people to work with from a lending perspective with his farm clientele.
“The type of relationship we?ve built with our customers is just fantastic. It is an experience we take very personally. It?s almost like family. It is a great opportunity to experience some really nice things in your career. It can be a good career track as well,” Hein said.
Mike Hein is a farm lender from Durant Iowa. As farms grow in size, the requirement for capital grows with them. Most Rural banks have farm loans as their core business. Many larger banks also lend to farmers in the same category as family owned businesses.
