California Bank & Trust empowers farmers with tailored financial solutions
Sowing seeds
BY DEBRA GELBART
T HE STATISTICS CONNECTED to California’s agriculture industry are astonishing. “California agriculture has grown to a $59 billion industry, up $13.8 billion since 2017,” says Brendan Feder, vice president and business development officer for Zions Ag Finance (part of California Bank & Trust’s parent corporation). “The state produces close to 400 different commodities, and more crops and farm-based goods than any other U.S. state.” With Tulare, Fresno, and Kern counties as the top three agricultural counties in the nation, California’s top five agricultural commodities are dairy products and milk ($10.4 billion annually), grapes ($5.54 billion), cattle and calves ($3.63 billion), almonds ($3.52 billion), and lettuce ($3.15 billion). “California would be approximately fifth in the world in terms of the value of products and services produced if it were a nation,” Feder says. Despite declining acreage dedicated to agriculture, California has 24 million acres of farmland. But perhaps the most impressive fact is that although the area of the top agricultural counties covers less than 1% of the total land mass of the U.S., it produces
nearly one-half of its fresh fruits and nuts and one- third of its vegetables. “The closest competition is the entire state of Iowa,” Feder says. Custom fit solutions Loan and line of credit products can be tailored to individual needs, but the most popular agricultural finance products offered by CB&T through Zions Ag Finance are: Ag Express Score Card. Intended for agriculturally focused borrowers in need of $3 million or less in funding, there are three requirements to qualify for the loan: 1) a FICO score of 720 or better; 2) an application that includes a simple balance statement where asset and liability verification are not mandatory; and 3) one or two years of the latest tax returns. “Approval typically happens within 24 hours,” Feder says. “Sometimes, it can happen in as little as 30 minutes.” Real estate-secured line of credit. “This is much different from a similar product that you might get from a commercial bank or an insurance
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IN YOUR CORNER ISSUE 18 | 2024
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