Farmer Mac’s 15-member Board of Directors oversees the Corporation to ensure that Farmer Mac is managed in a safe and sound manner and with an appropriate balance between financial performance and fulfillment of its public mission.
Farmer Mac’s charter legislation provides that Farmer Mac’s Board of Directors consist of fifteen members. Five of the directors are elected by a plurality of the votes of the holders of Class A Voting Common Stock (stock that may be held only by banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions that are not Farm Credit System institutions) and five are elected by a plurality of the votes of the holders of Class B Voting Common Stock (stock that may be held only by Farm Credit System institutions). The remaining five members are appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate.
The Board typically meets in person at least six times a year and has established seven standing committees to assist it in the performance of its responsibilities. Current Board members are listed below:
Lowell L. Junkins, Chairman(1)
Political Affairs Consultant
Lowell Junkins & Associates
Des Moines, Iowa
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since June 13, 1996, Vice Chairman of the Board since December 5, 2002, and Acting Chairman of the Board since September 15, 2008 and Chairman of the Board since September 30, 2010. Mr. Junkins serves as chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee and is a member of the Compensation Committee and the Public Policy Committee. He was appointed to the Board of Directors by President Clinton in April 1996 while the Senate was in recess and was confirmed by the Senate on May 23, 1997 and was reconfirmed by the Senate on June 3, 2003. Mr. Junkins works as a public affairs consultant for Lowell Junkins & Associates in Des Moines, Iowa. He owns and operates Hillcrest Farms in Montrose, Iowa, where he served as Mayor from 1971 to 1972. From 1974 through 1986, Mr. Junkins served as an Iowa State Senator, including as majority leader from 1981 to 1986.
Myles J. Watts, Vice Chairman(1)
Professor, Agricultural Economics
Montana State University
Bozeman, Montana
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since September 30, 2010 and a member of the Public Policy Committee, the Finance Committee and the Credit Committee. Dr. Watts has been a member of the faculty at Montana State University since 1978 previously serving as Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics for 17 years. Dr. Watts has also served in various editorial capacities for the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics and has advised many governments and private organizations, including large international reinsurance companies, on an array of financial issues, mostly focusing on agricultural insurance. Dr. Watts received his Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska. His family still owns the cattle and wheat ranch where he was raised in southeastern Montana.
Dennis L. Brack (2)
Director
Bath State Bank
Bath, Indiana
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since June 7, 2001 and serves as chairman of the Compensation Committee and as a member of the Credit Committee and the Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Brack served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Bath State Bank in Bath, Indiana from 1988 to 2007. He has remained as a director of Bath State Bank and is currently a director of the board of Bath State Bancorp, the holding company for the bank. He became a member of the board of directors of Franklin County Community Foundation, Brookville, Indiana in 2007 and has served as a member of their Investment Committee from 1999 to 2009. Mr. Brack has recently worked on the steering committees for Comprehensive Plan Development in both Franklin and Union Counties, Indiana. He was also a director of the Indiana Bankers Association from 1994 to 1996 and previously served a three-year term on the Purdue University Dean’s Advisory Council.
Chester J. Culver(1)
Founder
Chet Culver Group
Des Moines, Iowa
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since June 5, 2003 and serves as chairman of the Public Policy Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee and the Marketing Committee. Ms. Bartling's appointment to the Board was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 3, 2003. Ms. Bartling has been an elected member of the South Dakota Legislature since January 1, 2001. She also served as Auditor of Gregory County, South Dakota from 1983 through 2000. Ms. Bartling and her spouse have owned and operated Bartling Feed, Grain & Trucking since 1977, and own or lease approximately 1,000 acres of farmland. Ms. Bartling also serves as the Executive Director of the South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation
Richard H. Davidson(3)
Director
AgriBank, FCB
St. Paul, Minnesota
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since June 3, 2010 and serves as a member of the Corporate Governance Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Finance Committee. Mr. Davidson is presently serving as President of Davidson Farms, Inc. and Vice President of DSF, Inc., which consists of a 5,000 acre grain farm, cow/calf herd, and beef cattle operation, located south of Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Davidson has been operating Davidson Farms, Inc. since 1970 and, together with his son, operating DSF, Inc. since 2001. Mr. Davidson was elected to the AgriBank, FCB Board of Directors in March 2005 and currently serves on its Finance Committee and as chairman of its Enterprise Risk Management Committee. He also currently serves on the board of the Fayette County Charitable Foundation and was chairman of the Fayette County Planning Commission and the Fayette County Zoning Commission. Mr. Davidson has previously served on the board and as chairman of West Central Ohio Port Authority (railroad), Fayette Landmark, Inc. Co-op Supply Business and Fayette County Farm Bureau. He has also previously served on the board of the Columbus Production Credit Association, the Southern Ohio Farm Credit Association, Southern State Community College, Robinson Seed Company, Inc. Stock Company, Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and Royster Clark, Inc. Stock Company (fertilizer and agricultural supply). Mr. Davidson is a graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Agricultural Economics.
James R. Engebretsen(2)
Assistant Dean
Marriott School of Management
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since June 5, 2008 and serves as a member of the Audit Committee, the Corporate Governance Committee, and the Finance Committee. Mr. Engebretsen is the Assistant Dean of the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. He formerly served as the Managing Director of the Peery Institute of Financial Services at the Marriott School from 2004 to 2006. He joined the Marriott School with nearly fifteen years of work experience at Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs in New York and Philadelphia. Mr. Engebretsen left Goldman Sachs in 1995 to set up his own hedge fund, Associates Capital Management. He earned his MBA and BS in Economics from Brigham Young University.
Dennis A. Everson(2)
Director
First Dakota National Bank
Yankton, South Dakota
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since June 3, 2004 and serves as chairman of the Marketing Committee and as a member of the Credit Committee. Mr. Everson has been President and Manager of the First Dakota National Bank Agri-business Division since 2002. From 1984 until 2002, he was Vice President and Manager of the First Dakota National Bank Agri-business Division. From 2000 until 2002, Mr. Everson was a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Committee of the American Bankers Association. During 1998, he served as Chairman of the Agricultural & Rural Bankers Committee of the American Bankers Association.
Sara L. Faivre-Davis(1)
Co-owner and Managing Partner
Wild Type Ranch
Cameron, Texas
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since September 30, 2010 and serves as a member of the Audit Committee, the Marketing Committee and the Public Policy Committee. Dr. Faivre-Davis was involved with several livestock genomics companies and has also held research positions as a staff scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her academic career includes faculty appointments at the University of Illinois and Texas A&M University. Dr. Faivre-Davis graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business and Animal Science and earned her Ph.D. in Genetics from Texas A&M.
Thomas W. Hill(3)
Former Chief Financial and Operations Officer
Farm Credit Bank of Texas
Port Aransas, Texas
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since June 16, 2005 and serves as chairman of the Credit Committee and as a member of the Marketing Committee. Mr. Hodges has served as Executive Vice President of Farm Credit West, ACA in Roseville, California since the merger between Farm Credit West and Sacramento Valley Farm Credit, ACA in April 2008. Prior to that time, Mr. Hodges had served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sacramento Valley Farm Credit in Woodland California since 1993. He was also Chief Credit Officer of Sacramento Valley Farm Credit from 1991 to 1993 and served as an Examiner with the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in 1991. Mr. Hodges served in executive management positions with the Western Farm Credit Bank from 1982 to 1990, most recently as Senior Vice President.
Mitchell A. Johnson(2)
Private Investor
Washington, District of Columbia
A member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation since June 12, 1997 and is a member of the Compensation Committee and the Marketing Committee. Mr. Johnson is a financial consultant. He is also a trustee of the Advisors’ Inner Circle Funds, the Advisors’ Inner Circle Funds II, The Bishop Street Funds and SEI Funds. Mr. Johnson formerly was President of MAJ Capital Management, Inc., an investment management firm that he founded in 1994 following his retirement from the Student Loan Marketing Association (“Sallie Mae”). During his 21 years with Sallie Mae, Mr. Johnson held numerous positions within that organization including, for the seven years preceding his retirement, Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance. He has been a trustee of Citizens Funds, Rushmore Funds and Diversified Funds. Mr. Johnson also served as a director of Eldorado Bankshares, Inc., Laguna Hills, California, the holding company for Eldorado and Antelope Valley Banks. During the past five years, Mr. Johnson has served as a director for the following companies: Advisors’ Inner Circle Funds, Advisors’ Inner Circle Funds II, The Bishop Street Funds, SEI Mutual Funds and Diversified Mutual Funds.
Clark B. Maxwell(2)
Senior Vice President
Chatham Financial Corp.
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
A member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation since June 5, 2008 and serves as a member of the Audit Committee, the Finance Committee and the Public Policy Committee. Mr. Maxwell has been a Senior Vice President at Chatham Financial Corp. since 2002, where he is the Director of Accounting Policy and Global Accounting Services. Chatham provides comprehensive interest rate and currency hedging expertise to hundreds of financial institutions, real estate companies, and other institutional clients. From 1998 to 2002, Mr. Maxwell was a Manager at Ernst & Young LLP, where he specialized in audits of financial institutions and served as a derivatives and hedging subject matter expert. Mr. Maxwell was a Postgraduate Technical Assistant at the Financial Accounting Standards Board from 1997 to 1998, where he worked on the development of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities. Mr. Maxwell is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA. He received his BS, summa cum laude, and Masters in Accounting from Brigham Young University.
James B. McElroy (3)
Director
AgriBank, FCB
St. Paul, Minnesota
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since June 5, 2008 and serves as chairman of the Finance Committee and as a member of the Credit Committee. Mr. O’Keane is the Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of AgriBank, FCB, the largest of five banks within the Farm Credit System. He joined AgriBank in September 2007 and provides leadership and strategic oversight of the finance function including treasury, capital planning and financial control. From 1997 until joining AgriBank, Mr. O’Keane held a series of key financial leadership roles within CNH Capital, the captive financial services arm of Case New Holland Inc. and its predecessor company, Case Corporation, functioning as global treasurer beginning in 2002. In his capacity as treasurer, he was responsible for directing all global treasury and capital markets activities, including asset-backed securitization, capital structure management, liquidity planning, corporate finance and financial risk management. His experience also includes financial leadership roles at The Quaker Oats Company from 1996 to 1997 and Exxon Corporation from 1991 to 1995. Mr. O’Keane holds a BS degree in Finance from Indiana University and an MBA degree in Finance, Accounting and International Business from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. During the past five years, Mr. O’Keane has served as a director of the following companies: CNH Capital America, LLC, CNH Capital Receivables, LLC and CNH Wholesale Receivables, LLC.
Dan Raines(3)
Director
AgGeorgia Farm Credit, ACA
Perry, Georgia
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since June 18, 1992 and serves as chairman of the Audit Committee and is a member of the Corporate Governance Committee and the Public Policy Committee. Mr. Raines is the owner and operator of Raines Commercial Group, Inc., a general business corporation. Since 1991, Mr. Raines has served as a member of the board of directors of AgGeorgia Farm Credit, ACA, and its predecessor Farm Credit System institution. He also previously served as a member of the board of directors of AgFirst Farm Credit Bank (formerly, the Farm Credit Bank of Columbia, South Carolina) from 1990 to 2009. From 1986 to 1990, Mr. Raines was a member of the board of directors of the South Atlantic Production Credit Association, and served as its chairman in 1989 and 1990.
Bruce J. Sherrick(1)
Professor, Agricultrual and Applied Finance
University of Illinois
Champaign, Illinois
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since September 30, 2010 and a member of the Public Policy Committee, the Finance Committee and the Credit Committee. Dr. Watts has been a member of the faculty at Montana State University since 1978 previously serving as Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics for 17 years. Dr. Watts has also served in various editorial capacities for the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics and has advised many governments and private organizations, including large international reinsurance companies, on an array of financial issues, mostly focusing on agricultural insurance. Dr. Watts received his Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska. His family still owns the cattle and wheat ranch where he was raised in southeastern Montana.
Douglas E. Wilhelm(3)
Former Chief Risk Officer
CoBank, ACB
Denver, Colorado
A member of the Farmer Mac Board of Directors since June 18, 1992 and serves as chairman of the Audit Committee and is a member of the Corporate Governance Committee and the Public Policy Committee. Mr. Raines is the owner and operator of Raines Commercial Group, Inc., a general business corporation. Since 1991, Mr. Raines has served as a member of the board of directors of AgGeorgia Farm Credit, ACA, and its predecessor Farm Credit System institution. He also previously served as a member of the board of directors of AgFirst Farm Credit Bank (formerly, the Farm Credit Bank of Columbia, South Carolina) from 1990 to 2009. From 1986 to 1990, Mr. Raines was a member of the board of directors of the South Atlantic Production Credit Association, and served as its chairman in 1989 and 1990.
