Helping farmers grow
By Faith Strong, The Bolivar Bullet
Ag Resource Management finances farmers. The company has been helping farmers with operating lines since 2009. In recent years, they have added crop insurance, farm real estate financing and equipment leasing.
The company was founded in Rayville, Louisiana. Today, they have twenty-four offices in eighteen states, and a significant presence in the Mississippi Delta; with locations in Rayville, Louisiana; Stuttgart, Ark., Jonesboro, Ark.; as well as Cleveland. Farmers seeking ag financing can contact a local ARM office by visiting the company website: armlend.com
Marty Tubbs is the area manager for the Cleveland office. The Cleveland office serves Mississippi and West Tennessee. Tubbs joined ARM in 2014 as an area manager and has more than eighteen years in agricultural financing experience. Tubbs says the company’s primary goal with its clients is to bring them the financial solutions they need.
“Our loan officers know agriculture and care about farmers,” said Tubbs. “We want to see our clients succeed this year and for seasons to come. We work together with our clients and input suppliers to build a realistic operating budget and help them manage to that budget for a successful year. Ag Resource Management looks forward when underwriting the operating line loan and uses the intended crop as collateral. We can get a line in place early, so farmers have flexibility to negotiate and make smart purchasing decisions for next year’s crop, without the wait. We can make loan decisions in days, not weeks, when we receive a complete application.”
Ag Resource Management differs in many ways from a farm credit or regional bank, such as using the value of the crop as collateral rather than relying on real estate or other assets.
“ARM’s Net Promoter Score, which measures customer satisfaction, is eighty-two vs. a lender average of thirty-two,” he said. “Our customers are advocates of ours and our customer retention is significant. Eighty percent of our customers stay every year. We are known for ease of doing business, speed, service, and we care about the farmer. Word of mouth satisfaction of our customers is our best marketing.”
Tubbs explained that farmers are coming out of a positive three-year cycle and entering what could be a rough couple of years due to volatile input costs and potentially lower than expected commodity prices.
“Farmers need to prepare for a much tighter profit margin or even losses. To mitigate risk, they need to understand their crop insurance coverage and know what their guarantees are. We are uniquely positioned to help advise growers in these areas. Farmers need to be careful not to over borrow. AG Resource Management helps them with this as well.”
Tubbs said ARM collaborates with farmers to build realistic budgets based on their intended crops.
“ARM understands the risks farming presents,” he said. “With our expertise in ag lending and crop insurance, we are positioned very well to help our customers manage their exposure.”
Tubbs said a farmer can have years of successful operations and then encounter a combination of catastrophic weather events, operational challenges and/or marketing mishaps that lead to a down year and into bankruptcy.
“Ag Resource Management has lending options designed to help a farmer produce a crop while managing to their bankruptcy plan,” he said. “We are a lender the farmer can count on in good and bad times.”