Stockholders have approved a proposal to merge three Farm Credit organizations in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. Effective July 1, Badgerland Financial, 1st Farm Credit Services and AgStar Financial Services will become Compeer Financial. The new organization’s headquarters will be located in Sun Prairie, and each existing office location will continue to provide local service.

The boards of directors for the three associations began exploring a potential merger in February 2016 and unanimously recommended moving forward in August. Stockholders received ballots and detailed information about the proposal in March, after the Farm Credit Administration granted preliminary approval to proceed. Votes were tallied at special stockholder meetings in each association’s corporate offices on April 7, with the outcome in favor of the merger.

As Compeer Financial, the new organization will operate in 144 counties through 47 offices in parts of Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. Compeer Financial will have nearly 50,000 clients and $18.6 billion in assets.

“We would like to thank each cooperative’s stockholders for their participation in this process and their support of the merger proposal. We are confident in the positive impact the unified organization will provide for our rural communities and agriculture,” says Badgerland Financial Board Chairman Mark Cade.

“We look forward to continuing the relationships established through our separate organizations and strengthening those connections with enhanced resources and deeper in-house expertise,” says AgStar President and CEO Rod Hebrink, who also has been selected to lead Compeer Financial.

Badgerland Financial serves member-owners through offices in 33 southern Wisconsin counties and is headquartered in Prairie du Sac. 1st Farm Credit Services serves 42 counties in northern Illinois, while AgStar Financial Services serves 69 counties in Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, and is headquartered in Mankato, Minn.

In addition to drawing on each organization’s strengths, the merger provides expanded capital that will help Compeer Financial invest in technology and other resources to support its client base. It also creates a more diverse portfolio that will add stability and better position the organization to share its earnings with stockholders through a cash patronage program.

Source: Badgerland Financial