A Relationship with Your Lender

Listen to Caleb as he travels "South of the River" to our southern branches and talks with SaraVard, John and Patrick. Get to know them as they tell you a little about their life in and out of Central Kentucky Ag Credit. Trying to figure out how to build a relationship with your lender? Listen to what our Loan Officers from Stanford and Lebanon have to say about the importance of finding the right lender.

https://www.agcreditonline.com

Transcript

Caleb Sadler (00:01)

Welcome to Beyond Agriculture, the podcast that takes you beyond the scope of AG and into the real life stories, conversations, and events taking place in our community, who we are and what we do. Beyond Agriculture. Hello and welcome in to Beyond Agriculture. Caleb Sadler with you here today. I'm also joined well, today we're actually in our Danville Branch, and I'm actually joined with three other loan officers with Central Kentucky Ag Credit today. I have Miss SaraVard VonGruenigen out of our Stanford office. I also have joined with us as John Peek out of our Stanford office, and then Patrick Durham out of our Lebanon office. So these three individuals are going to help us out on the podcast today, and maybe in the future you'll hear them back on as we travel across our 17 counties with Central Kentucky Ag Credit. As we interview different people out of the south, one of these individuals might pick up that podcast and help us host that. So, hello everyone, and welcome onto Beyond Agriculture. We're going to do a little bit of introduction around here, so SaraVard we'll start with you. You're a loan officer and our Stanford office, so tell us a little bit about yourself.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (01:18)

Okay, I've been over at Stanford for 14 years now, been the association 15 years, a loan officer, like you said, I live in Garrard County, born and raised, and we have beef cattle operation over there, and I have a little eight year old boy, and we live in the southern part of Garrard County and just enjoy life over there.

Caleb Sadler (01:43)

I try to keep up with you a little bit on Facebook too. You like to hike too, is that correct?

SaraVard VonGruenigen (01:47)

Yes, I like to hike a lot, actually. Next week I'm going hiking all week.

Caleb Sadler (01:51)

Awesome. That's awesome. Is that a spring break trip?

SaraVard VonGruenigen (01:53)

Yeah.

Caleb Sadler (01:54)

All right. My wife is on spring break next week too, and I told her that I would at least take off Friday, and she told me the other day that I don't know, that I'll be around here. And I said, well, that's fine, I'll just take off anyway and maybe I'll get some farm work done anyway. All right, well, thank you, SaraVard, I appreciate that. Next up, we have John Peek as well. He's a loan officer out of our Stanford office. So hello John, and welcome on to Beyond Agriculture and tell us a little bit about yourself.

John Peek (02:20)

Yes, as you said, my name is John Peak. I've been with the association for 20 years, born and raised in Lincoln County, Kings Mountain area. I've got a 75 acre farm there that was my grandparents and run a registered Angus small herd and graduated from UK, worked for two years after that before I started Ag Credit. And actually Ag Credit, for me was a chance to come back home. So, in short, that's kind of how I got here.

Caleb Sadler (02:54)

Where did you work at before?

John Peek (02:55)

I work for a place in Versailles called Kentucky Equine Research, and we actually sold horse supplements, race horse supplements, and interestingly enough, we had camel supplements as well because we did a lot of business with Shaks and so on in the Middle East who are very involved in the racehorse industry.

Caleb Sadler (03:16)

I find that funny at the same time because there's not a lot of camels here in central Kentucky. And actually, if you drive in between Paris and Winchester on 627, there are actually camels on a farm there. And I don't know who owns that property, but it's neat to see them along the side of the road, that's for sure.

John Peek (03:33)

Interesting.

Caleb Sadler (03:34)

Thank you. John, how long have you been with the association now?

John Peek (03:38)

This is my 20th year.

Caleb Sadler (03:39)

20Th year, wow. So I won't get into how old I am in there either.

John Peek (03:44)

I'm one of the old guys now.

Caleb Sadler (03:46)

All right, up next we have Patrick Durham. Patrick out of our Lebanon office, and I think, Patrick, you're a recent hire with the association, so tell us a little bit about yourself and where you come from and what you do now.

Patrick Durham (03:58)

Again, my name is Patrick Durham. Yes. I am the rookie of a group started in January. Previously I worked about 15 years in the livestock marketing industry in around the area of Lebanon, more in Washington County and then the last five years in Bowlin Green and Irvington with United Producers. Came to Lebanon in January, starting a new career path with Ag Credit, excited about doing that and in the area and working with a great group of people. My hometown is Hodginville, Kentucky, born and raised there. Again, a lot of friends, family over in the Washington County Lebanon area. So it's kind of like a second home coming over here. I know a lot of people coming in and out. Wife Jennifer, two boys, 18 and 11, both real active in sports. We also have a registered Shorthorn farm, commercial cattle there in Hodgenville. Just do cattle and hay and coming back to Lebanon to work every day and going back home and doing that just kind of fits the mold where I'm at right now.

Caleb Sadler (05:17)

Got you. Now I'm going to go back to SaraVard. I know you alluded a little bit to your farming background. Tell us a little bit about your farming operation today, and maybe we'll feed off of that and see if anybody has any questions.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (05:32)

Okay, yeah, sure. So we just got commercial cows. Every once in a while, we will put together a group of feeders.  We've got 100 mama cows at this point, and we have two different farms we run. My husband's family farms are down in southern Garrard, and then my family farms are in the 1295, the Hill and Holler region of Garrard County.

Caleb Sadler (05:55)

Well, if you're ever in Nicholas County, that's exactly where I'm from, too.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (05:59)

We tease and say that I've got one leg longer than the other. I can only walk around the hill one way, can't walk the other way. I'll tip over.

Caleb Sadler (06:05)

They always said we always raise tobacco, and they always said that you could get more tobacco in a curved row than you get a straight road.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (06:12)

Yeah, we're farming all sides. There you go.

Caleb Sadler (06:14)

I understand. Are you all primarily spring fall calving?

SaraVard VonGruenigen (06:18)

Yes, spring calving is our goal. That doesn't mean we don't have a few that trickle in the summer. But our main majority of our calves, we're actually calving during the presumed ice storm that was going to happen this year and the ice storm last year. So good timing. We think we need to bump it over a little further.

Caleb Sadler (06:33)

Yeah, push the bulls back a little bit.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (06:34)

Yeah, exactly.

Caleb Sadler (06:36)

All right, thank you. So we're joined here today on the show with three loan officers, like I said in the intro today, but one of the things that we're here to talk about today is really a relationship with your lender and relationship with Central Kentucky Ag credit. We really pride ourself on being that relationship lender and really creating the bond with the customer as we are member owned as a true cooperative model. So, Patrick, tell us a little bit about I know you're fresh here with the association, but tell us a little bit about just your take for the short time you've been here on how building those relationships is a really key role.

Patrick Durham (07:18)

Well, I mean, building on what my previous job entitled building the relationship to me is first and foremost, and when I interviewed and talked with the guys from Ad credit about coming over here, that was very key in the things that I spoke about and knowing a lot of people that worked for Ad credit previously, before I started the job, I knew that building the relationships was a big part of that. And I think that's what set Central Kentucky apart from other organizations is the fact that we build those relationships from start to finish, and it doesn't just end at the point we sign papers. We're always a phone call way, come by visit, we'll talk. Whether it's cattle, tobacco, hay, anything, we're there to kind of be a tool for you to use. And I think that's very important. And I've noticed it's widespread in Central Kentucky.

Caleb Sadler (08:20)

That's awesome. Now, John, you've been with the association the longest out of all four of us here. I've been with a credit now a little over seven years now, and I guess you could really key in and talk a little bit about these relationships because I'm sure that you've got accounts that when you made a loan when you first started here, you still service some of those loans today. So tell us a little bit about those relationships you've built over the course of time and how those are maintained.

John Peek (08:47)

Yeah, absolutely. I took over some accounts from some older, for some older fellows when I came in and some of those guys had already been with the association for 20 or 25 or 30 years. And I've actually got a loan I'm working on right now that I know third generation. And it's not just for that particular farmer, but also it carries on down the line. So relationships, that's all we are. In my opinion, people do business with loan officers. Not that they're not loyal to Ag Credit, but in general people do business with people. And for me, it was great to get to come back home and to get to work at Ag Credit. Because I grew up in the Lincoln County farming community. I'm a product of the extension programs and Farm Bureau and 4-H and FFA. I feel like I owe the Lincoln County Agriculture community a lot for who I am and how I got to grow up. And for me, the agriculture community in Lincoln County is a big deal and it's a big part of my life and who I am. And those are the people that I'm doing business with and they know me.

Caleb Sadler (10:09)

Yeah, and I would say that goes further because talking about my experiences as well, I serve on the Bourbon County Farm Bureau Board, on the AG Development Board in Bourbon County as well. And being involved in those community events like that really builds your relationship in the community. And so when those producers out there that are in the field and they need something, they're going to call in a familiar face at that point in time. And if they've got a relationship outside at another venue, then they'll probably give you a call. So there's no doubt there at all. So SaraVard, one question I would have is how do you find the right lender? Let's say you didn't have that relationship and you were a young beginning and small farmer. How do you find the right lender?

SaraVard VonGruenigen (10:52)

Well, it boils down to what do you need and what can they do for you. I know we run into a lot when we deal with young beginning farmers. They need guidance in which way to go and how to get there. And so you need to find a lender that can do that for you. We work with a lot of young beginning farmers and I know that the big thing that they run into often is that they can't find a loan program that works for them because they don't have the owner equity position or maybe not all the down payment that they need, things of that nature. And luckily, an institution like us, we work with programs that allow us to help them out, like with FSA, the KAFC programs. So it basically boils down to what they need and who can help them get there.

Caleb Sadler (11:41)

Yeah, I would agree with that. I do a lot or I see a lot of YBS customers that I work with and I think Central Kentucky Ag Credit is maybe one of the largest, largest guarantee lender in the state of Kentucky. And I really think that we're out there for the young beginning small farmer, not just them, but every farmer. One thing that we got a little agenda here that we're trying to cover and one of the items on there if you are looking for a lender would be to do your homework. So tell us a little bit, Patrick, on how some of these, if someone was looking to obtain a loan, either be farm equipment or real estate, how could they do their homework before they came in and meet with us across the desk?

Patrick Durham (12:27)

I mean, definitely any good producer is going to do their homework before they come in and meet with us. I call it shooting in the dark or shooting arrows at a blind target, whatever you want to call it. They're going to put down, they're going to pencil out some ideas and look up their interest rates compared to other places. They're going to have some ideas and prices and stuff that they're going to need. Just check, make sure we're where we need to be. Once they come in. They need to have their records on hand, good record keeping, balance sheets, three years tax returns, business plan, if they have one. If they don't have one, they need to work on getting one, especially those young farmers. It's good to start early on doing that. Those programs, as I was growing up, we're heavily involved in 4-H and FFA programs and the reason they do those is continuation on through your career in agriculture. If they bring those things in, it makes our job a lot easier. We're able to do a lot better job servicing them and giving them what they want and speeding the process up. I just recommend just have an idea of gameplan, what you want, what you need and how you want to get there and let us kind of take it from there and then we can put the pieces together.

Caleb Sadler (13:55)

Having that end goal and what you want to accomplish is very key and oftentimes we see a lot of producers that will come in and try to get a loan and they just don't know exactly what their true end goal is. And I think it is good to have that and know exactly what you're looking for.

Patrick Durham (14:13)

And I think too to add to that going forward with the current prices and stuff that we have inputs and stuff that's going to set people apart, doing those records and having those plans, those producers that are able to do a good job of managing their operation, that's what's going to set them aside and get them over this home.

Caleb Sadler (14:34)

If you listen into our first podcast on Beyond Agriculture, we got in and talked a little bit about equipment values and if you're familiar with equipment options and new equipment right now, I mean, the prices are elevated and really it boils down to making sure you keep good records on that end of it to be able to track that kind of stuff. Because you get into a used piece of equipment and you're constantly having repair bills, it's probably time to look about maybe upgrading that. So we've talked a little bit about some of the stuff, about preparing to come in and maybe talk with us about a loan. John, let's say we had a borrower or an applicant that was looking to come in and maybe look at a real estate loan. Is it better to have a property in mind already before they come in, or is it better to be kind of pre approved on that end of it?

John Peek (15:25)

We can sure look at it both ways. I like it when they actually have a property in mind, but I also appreciate I have people come in sometimes and they say, look, I'm thinking about trying to buy a property. I've got this in mind, this type of property, and say it's a $200,000 property, then I can tell them how much down payment they need. We can look at cash flow, we can look at their ratios and et cetera, et cetera. So that's not a bad idea either, I would just say because this real estate market is hot still and there's a lot of competition out there, so you probably want to get out there early and try to get pre approved if you're really serious about buying a piece of property, because some of these properties are going fast and some of them there's quite a bit of competition for them.

Caleb Sadler (16:13)

Yeah. In our market that we see is I'm out of the Paris office, so I see some deals out of Winchester and Georgetown and Lexington, and those are places that if you find like a ten acre lot and SaraVard, you could probably talk a little bit about this. It seems like if you're not preapproved and you don't put a full list offer in, you're behind eight ball at that point in time. Is that the same way down in Stanford? Are you all seeing things like that?

SaraVard VonGruenigen (16:41)

Yes. I don't know if it's as hot as it is above the river, as we say, but it still is. And so we've seen a lot of deals where they'll come in and even offer more than what they've even listed for it, and then there'll be 10,000 more, 15,000 more. So, yeah, we've seen that kind of interest around home as well.

Caleb Sadler (17:03)

So you brought up a good point there. Without borrowers or offers coming in above purchase price or what's list price is. Does that affect any on the appraisal side that you see?

SaraVard VonGruenigen (17:17)

It could. I know at first whenever this market started hitting right, honestly, it kind of happened the beginning, COVID that's when I first started noticing it in my office, the appraisers were having a hard time finding the comps because the demand was obviously there because multiple people put in and they had to offer more. But then the comps weren't out there in the past because they look at these comps for six months to a year back. Traditionally, as it sits today, it's probably not as big an issue as it has been maybe a year and a half ago. With appraisers, it'll be interesting to see what the future holds as well.

Caleb Sadler (18:01)

And I'm only going to ask from a listener standpoint, when you refer to comp sales, would you explain that a little bit more?

SaraVard VonGruenigen (18:08)

Yeah, sorry, I'm talking the lingo, expecting everybody to know it. It's kind of pompous of me, isn't it? So what it means is whenever an appraiser goes out there and tries to value a property, they look at like type properties in the same area, the same type soils. If that comes into play, if it's a farm, they just look at the general area and try to find, OK, this is similar to this property and how did it sell, and then they compare from there.

Caleb Sadler (18:36)

Okay, good deal. So Patrick, you touched on this before and I'm going to have you reiterate it. That way we'll get a clear picture. But if you were coming in for a purchase, if you were looking for a loan, what are those key items again, that list out in a separate segment on what they need to come in prepared with to obtain a loan?

Patrick Durham (18:57)

When you come in and you're looking to purchase some land or a larger volume type item, you need to come in, be prepared to fill out a balance sheet with your financials and everything.

Caleb Sadler (19:11)

One thing I will ask there to explain the balance sheet a little bit just for the listeners. That way we want to educate and that's what this podcast is about. Tell us a little bit about what a balance sheet does for us and for the borrower.

Patrick Durham (19:25)

It's basically just kind of an overview of what your financials are. It's going to list your assets, how much cash you have in the bank or you have available, what kind of loans you have out there as far as what you owe on some of those credit cards, bank loans, equipment loans, anything like that. Items that you have as far as trailers, wagons, farm equipment that may be paid off. We put all that together into a balance sheet and that gives us a good idea of where financially you stand when we can base our loans off of that.

Caleb Sadler (20:04)

One thing, and this is only speaking from experience there, but whenever I take a balance sheet with a borrower, they assume that if they owe money on it, they don't list it on the asset. That's not correct. And John, tell us a little bit about why that is the case.

John Peek (20:21)

Well, I'll just add to when I talk to people about balance sheets. They get the deer in the headlights look. I'm like, look, take a piece of white paper, draw a line down the middle on the left hand side, make a list of everything you own, and then on the right hand side, make a list of everything that you owe. Make sure that there's something on the left hand side for anything that's listed on the right hand side. So you want to make sure that you are getting credit for having an asset for any debt that's out there.

Caleb Sadler (20:48)

Yeah. For instance, if you owe on a tractor, and let's say you owe the last payment of $3,000, for instance, and that tractor was 40 or $50,000, we want to give you the equity that you've got in that tractor because it's going to build some equity on the balance sheet.

John Peek (21:01)

And one misconception people have is if they list something on the balance sheet, we're going to try to take a lien on it.

Caleb Sadler (21:05)

Yeah.

John Peek (21:06)

And that's not the case. We're trying to assess your net worth, basically your credit standing in general, just your financial position. So we're not looking at a list of things to take a lien on.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (21:20)

One thing I see folks forget to put on there a lot is their 401K. Yeah. Because they put money in it and they forget about it. But it's a big asset that a lot of folks have because a lot of times I'll ask, do you have 401K or IRA or stocks? Oh yeah, I do.

Caleb Sadler (21:35)

Yeah. Really, in our territory, in our market that we service, that is a really big asset because the primary people that we service are probably part time farmers, so they have a job off the farm where they're contributing to a retirement account. And a lot of times, if they are an older member or borrower, those accounts have some size to them. So there's no doubt. Yes. I get that a lot though, John, with the people that think that borrowers that think that just because we're going to lift it out and build an equity position, we want to take a lean on it, that's definitely not the case.

John Peek (22:08)

I'll say, do you have anything else? Yeah, but I don't want to put it on.

Caleb Sadler (22:11)

Yeah, no, that's exactly right.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (22:13)

I hear it happen a lot, too.

Caleb Sadler (22:14)

Yeah. To kind of go back and touch on this. I know that we were talking about building relationships there before and starting in the communities, but one thing that we kind of missed when we talked about that was word of mouth. And I'll let whoever wants to open up talk a little bit about that because I think that's one of our bigger marketing tools that we have in the shed is word of mouth and your experience that you've had with Ag Credit, because that's going to go a lot further than anything else. So somebody go ahead.

John Peek (22:44)

I don't care talking about it a little bit and I'll back up a little bit. I didn't say anything about my family, but I've got two kids right now and they're in high school and middle school, 16 and 13, so I'm out and about it, all those type of functions too. My daughter's involved in FFA, but I think when people come in, add credit, they're going to be impressed with the amount of knowledge that there is behind the desk. We have a lot of people come in, or I have a lot of people come in and they start telling me about their cattle operation or a little bit something about a piece of equipment, and then I make a comment or add something to it and they're like, Oh, you know about that. And we do, we know not everything about everything, but we are agricultural people for the most part. And when people who are involved in agriculture have tried to do business at commercial banks, they sometimes have had a hard time communicating just about their operation and what they're trying to accomplish. But I feel like we have a real leg up understanding what people are doing and what they want to do and helping them out with that.

Caleb Sadler (23:49)

Yeah, I would call it. And I know that there's people at Ag Credit that don't farm or that are removed a little bit from the farm, but I always look at Ag Credit is really farmers helping farmers at.

John Peek (24:00)

No doubt about it. And there goes your word of mouth.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (24:03)

Yeah, and that's the big thing about farmers, too. My husband needs deep and farming. He loves it, breathes it since he's a little kid. But it's funny to me, whenever he wants to learn something or he needs to know something, what's he doing, he asks another farming friend. And so that's where word of mouth comes into play for us as well, because they trust each other more than they trust anything else, it seems like, in that farming community and these local.

Patrick Durham (24:32)

Previous years working in the stockyard industry and livestock, there's no better place other than your local Hardees or McDonald's where farmers talk.

Caleb Sadler (24:41)

Every community has got one.

Patrick Durham (24:43)

And I've heard those guys talk, and a lot of times they will talk about their financial, the people that they deal with, and they talk a lot. And the word of mouth is big. So those experiences really do play out once those people start talking about Ag Credit and stuff.

Caleb Sadler (25:03)

No, I agree with that totally. So one thing that John talked on there, and I'm going to let Sarah explain a little bit more about it, and we've talked about this in the first episode of Beyond Agriculture, but really what the true difference is between Central Kentucky Ag Credit and a regular commercial bank and really tell the listeners what the difference is and what the benefits are to Ag Credit versus a standard commercial bank.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (25:29)

When we were created, we were created specifically for farmers. We were meant to be there for the good times and the bad because we were created basically during the Depression area era when a lot of farmers saw commercials, banks just back up from them and not help them out at all. So that's what our intentions were for us. So that's primarily why we're here. Whenever some farmer comes to us, we've got products that are tailored for them. The payment plans are tailored for them, like John touched on. We've got people who understand what they do because we do it ourselves. So there's just a whole other level. There an understanding and appreciation. When times are tough, we understand that, too. We can talk through it and we can walk through it together. When times are good, we can celebrate together because we all understand that we're in the same boat.

Caleb Sadler (26:19)

One thing that's just recently happened would have been our patronage day and where we've passed out checks to the members and borrowers. And one of the benefits talked a little bit about that benefit from a cooperative model and the dividend that they just received back.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (26:34)

Yes. So one thing about us, we're traditional cooperative. We're kind of a dinosaur at this point. There's not many left.

Caleb Sadler (26:41)

Yeah, there really is not many left.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (26:43)

Our borrowers own a little part of us. While they're with us, they can vote on our board members, and then also they're privy to a little passionate refund or dividend, however you want to call it, for being part of the co op. I think a lot of our farmers are our borrowers. They just really appreciate having a say in how this place has ran and owning a part of us and being part of, like I said, a dying tradition.

Caleb Sadler (27:10)

Yes, that's correct. And we've paid back a dividend. Now, this marks the 25th year that we returned one back, and it's a record year for 2021. I mean, from the association standpoint, record year. So that's awesome. One key that kind of going back into leads into our next segment that we've talked about consistently is communication and communication with your lender. And John, tell us why that is so important from a listener standpoint of why communication with your lender is so vital.

John Peek (27:45)

Yes. If you come and talk to us, we'll do our very best to work with you. And that's whether you're needing something new. That's whether you have a payment that's a little past due. No matter what's going on, we don't know where you're at unless you tell us. The only thing we can do is assume, and that's a bad situation to be in as a lender. It's unfortunate, but sometimes we have to assume the worst. So we have rules and regulations that we have to go by, and if you don't contact us, we just have to go down that road. But fortunately, basically most of the time, if there's any way you can pay, we'll try to work that out for you. If you've got a good plan, if it's feasible, we'll sure work with you.

Caleb Sadler (28:32)

Yeah, I think that goes back to the relationship lender tool. So we talk about that from a borrower standpoint. But how critical is communication with your lender from, let's just say, a new applicant walking in the door and communicating with them through the loan process? How critical is that

SaraVard VonGruenigen (28:52)

It's very important because especially as a new borrower, they're getting to know us and we're getting to know them, and it's important to lay everything out there. This even if we're talking about the balance sheet, don't be scared to give us information about your balance sheet. It doesn't mean anything bad. And then also the same way if somebody kind of thinks that they've got something that may be an obstacle, just go ahead and tell us. And the other thing I like to talk to about customers is often, just like earlier, I was using the terminology and stuff that people may or may not know. I tell my customers, there's no silly questions. You ask me whatever you feel like asking, because I think about young SaraVard before I started working Ag Credit, 20 years old, 22 years old, and all the things I didn't know about financing and how it worked and how all that was just laid out. And so how are we to assume that everybody will know everything inside and out about the financial world?

Patrick Durham (29:54)

I'm 44 years old and just new to this industry. And believe me, yes, I didn't know half of what I think rephrase that I don't know exactly. How do I say it?

SaraVard VonGruenigen (30:09)

You're learning.

Patrick Durham (30:10)

Yeah, I'm learning. Sorry.

John Peek (30:11)

Sometimes you don't know what you don't know.

Patrick Durham (30:13)

Yeah, that's exactly it.

Caleb Sadler (30:15)

They always say the only stupid question is the one that's not right. And I think that is really important. Even if a borrower doesn't know or an applicant doesn't, don't be afraid to ask a question. I mean, because that's what we're here for. We do it every single day and we're going to help you.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (30:34)

There's no embarrassment there. But if it's not your bread and butter and you're not doing it every day, then how are you supposed to know everything about it?

Caleb Sadler (30:39)

That's right.

John Peek (30:40)

That's what we're here for, to help you through that process.

Caleb Sadler (30:42)

That's right. And I think that feeds into having those good relationships really make a really long standing success in a long term relationship. So having that open communication really feeds into that. And John, I know you've been here the longest out of the four that are on here today with us. Tell us a little bit about how those good relationships and those good communications has led to long term success.

John Peek (31:07)

But we were talking earlier about word of mouth and my borrowers are my best advertisements. The majority of my borrowers are referred by somebody else. The majority of my new business I get now today is a referral from somebody else. So and so downstairs told me to come talk to you because you did this for them. The relationship is what it's all about. Like I said, we have people who come in from our website, we have a lot of social media, we get some people who are just calling out of the blue, but the majority of the people in our community, because we serve such a small area, we're not a great big lender, we're a small regional lender. And that word of mouth is invaluable.

Caleb Sadler (31:47)

Communication, like you were saying, even in the bad and the good times, if you're having a hard time, tell us about it.

John Peek (31:54)

Absolutely.

Caleb Sadler (31:54)

We're here for you. At the end of the day as a lender. We're not your enemy, we're your friends.

John Peek (32:00)

Well, and I've been in situations in my career. I've been here 20 years and there's been some good loans and some bad loans. And I feel like some of the biggest ways that there's been a few people that I've helped tremendously by being able to plan a good exit strategy from farming because it wasn't going well, or maybe they just decided it was time to get out. But there's a lot to be said for communication in that area. If it's not going well, if you let us know early, we can help you a lot more than if you let it go over a period of time. There are times, especially with annual payments, there may be a problem for six months and we don't really know about it because there's not a payment due, but when the payment comes due, it all comes to light. So you're better off to go ahead and tell us about it and then we can work with it from there.

Caleb Sadler (32:50)

Yeah. And from that end of it, when you're talking about the lending process or the borrowing money process can be intimidating from a borrowing standpoint. But don't be afraid, the lender is there for you. We're going to be that trusted source of information that you're going to need to make your decision at that point. I know we've kind of covered our agenda here today. We'll just kind of open it up. Patrick, tell us. Here at Central Kentucky Ag Credit, we refer to it as the north and the south as, like SaraVard said, north of the river and south of the river since we only cover 17 counties in Central Kentucky. So as I alluded to earlier, the three individuals that I have with me today on the podcast John Peek, Patrick Durham and SaraVard VonGruenigen, whenever the podcast goes to the Southern offices, if we have someone to interview or something like that, they're going to pick it up from that end of it and be the host of the show for that day. So I really appreciate you all coming on and joining us here today and really introducing yourself because you all will be, I guess you could say, the southern voice of Beyond Agriculture.

SaraVard VonGruenigen (34:05)

We'll have more twang than you?

Caleb Sadler (34:06)

That's right. Yeah, that's right. I'm about as far north as you can go in the whole territory. But you're absolutely right. So thank you for listening in to Beyond Agriculture, and I really appreciate all three of you being with me today. So be sure if you're listening to subscribe and rate the podcast. And thank you again.

Speaker 5 (34:28)

This episode of Beyond Agriculture is brought to you by Central Kentucky Aggregate. Thanks for listening to the podcast. Be sure to visit agreditonline.com. Com Beyond Agriculture, access the show notes, and discover our fantastic bonus content. Also, don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you can join us next time for Beyond Agriculture.