As a mission-based cooperative lender and member of the Farm Credit System, CoBank is committed to serving as a good corporate citizen. The bank maintains a variety of corporate social responsibility programs primarily focused on rural America and the vitality of rural communities and industries.
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Fresno Madera Farm Credit - Shared values lead to shared success - CoBank Site
Shared values lead to shared success
Sprawling rows of crops, extensive vineyards and plentiful orchards are a common sight across Fresno Madera Farm Credit’s service territory. But commitment to community is at the heart of the association.
FMFC provides financial services to 800 food-diverse agricultural producers throughout San Joaquin Valley in central California. The area’s climate is conducive to growing an extensive variety of produce—350 different commodities including tree nuts, vegetables, row crops, various fruits and world-renowned citrus products.
As the financial lender to many different producers, FMFC puts great emphasis on mission fulfillment, ensuring that it delivers the best customer experience to farmers and ranchers, now and for generations to come.
We are grateful to CoBank for partnering alongside us.
“Our mission to serve our members is our guiding principle—they are the reason we exist,” said Keith Hesterberg, president and CEO of FMFC. “As we work to expand our market reach, we remain committed to being a dependable partner for our members, helping them navigate the complexities of the agricultural industry. This wouldn’t be possible without the steadfast support of our own trusted partners.”
CoBank works with FMFC to provide wholesale funding and a variety of other financial products and services that support its membership.
“Our partnership with CoBank plays a key role in ensuring consistency in how we serve our customers. By providing capacity and specialized resources, we’re able to bring more of what’s needed to support the full breadth of opportunities our market offers—and CoBank enables us to deliver a seamless experience across our customer base. Together, we bring complementary strengths that allow us to fulfill our mission and support the agricultural community,” Hesterberg said.
Beyond providing financial services, FMFC and CoBank collaborate at the community level through various eff orts, including CoBank’s Sharing Success program. The program is an annual fund that matches contributions made to organizations across the country where the bank’s customer-owners live and work.
“When the program first launched, our area was suffering from severe drought, and we needed to be very thoughtful where we invested our resources. Ultimately, we began a partnership with the Central California Food Bank—which has a major footprint in the valley. Since the program’s inception, we have donated over $200,000 to the food bank, providing well over a million meals to food-insecure homes within our community. It’s meaningful,” Hesterberg said.
In 2024 alone, FMFC contributed $187,000 across 93 different organizations, while also dedicating time and resources to facilitate volunteer opportunities for its staff.
“Our employees volunteer to support food drives in the community and learn about food insecurity, reinforcing our dedication to making a positive impact. We are grateful to CoBank for partnering alongside us as an advocate for agriculture and rural America by supporting our rural communities in this way,” Hesterberg said.
