Which customers are eligible for cash-back dividends?

Generally, customers whose loans are capitalized by stock. Those include operating and agricultural real estate loans, as well as some consumer-purpose loans secured with real estate. The association publishes a list of excluded products, so check whether a specific loan qualifies.

How is the cash-back dividend amount decided each year?

The customer-elected board of directors determines the amount distributed each year. Earnings are either returned to customer-owners as cash-back dividends or retained on the balance sheet to support agriculture through economic cycles and fund new products. The association states that prior distributions should not be read as guarantees of future performance.

USDA lenders

Farm Credit Services of America

Farm Credit Services of America is a customer-owned financial cooperative that finances farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses and rural residents in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. It is part of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of customer-owned institutions that lend to agriculture, rural homebuyers and rural infrastructure.

Lending covers farmland and ranchland, land loan refinancing, operating lines of credit, livestock, equipment, ag facilities and leases, along with rural home loans and corporate, commercial and capital markets lending for larger operations. A separate insurance arm sells crop, livestock, and hail and wind coverage with area plans. Appraisals, property search and account management are handled in-house, and borrowers work through a local office found by ZIP code.

The association reports a network of 42 local offices across its four states, with corporate headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by more than 50,000 stockholder-customers and governed by a 15-member board of directors, 12 of them elected by customer-owners and three appointed.

Patronage is returned as cash-back dividends based on eligible loan volume and association results. The amount is set each year by the board, and the association states that prior distributions are not a guarantee of future performance. Generally only loans capitalized by stock are eligible, and some consumer-purpose products are excluded, so confirm which of your loans qualify before counting on a payout.

Best for

Farmers, ranchers and rural homeowners buying or refinancing land in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota or Wyoming who want a cooperative lender that returns patronage. Not a fit for property outside those four states or for non-agricultural commercial real estate.

What they do

Farmland and ranchland loans
Land loan refinancing
Operating lines of credit
Livestock loans
Equipment financing
Ag facility loans and ag leases
Rural home loans
Young and beginning producer financing
Corporate and commercial ag lending
Crop, livestock, and hail and wind insurance
Appraisals

Details

Attribute	Value
Ownership	Cooperative
Memberships	Member of the Farm Credit System

What stands out

Runs a network of 42 local offices across Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, with corporate headquarters in Omaha.
Owned by more than 50,000 stockholder-customers and governed by a 15-member board, 12 of them customer-elected.
Has paid a cash-back dividend for 22 consecutive years, with a 2025 payout of more than $429 million.
Cumulative patronage returned to customer-owners is more than $4.1 billion since 2004.

Common questions

Which customers are eligible for cash-back dividends?: Generally, customers whose loans are capitalized by stock. Those include operating and agricultural real estate loans, as well as some consumer-purpose loans secured with real estate. The association publishes a list of excluded products, so check whether a specific loan qualifies.
How is the cash-back dividend amount decided each year?: The customer-elected board of directors determines the amount distributed each year. Earnings are either returned to customer-owners as cash-back dividends or retained on the balance sheet to support agriculture through economic cycles and fund new products. The association states that prior distributions should not be read as guarantees of future performance.