Farm Credit Announces Site Shifts in Safford, Show Low

Farm Credit Services Southwest (FCSSW), a leading lender to Arizona and Southern California farmers and ranchers, announced changes in the scope of their operations in Safford and Show Low.

Essentially, the Safford branch office is expanding while the Show Low office is scaling down, in order to provide better service to more than 400 Arizona farmers and ranchers who depend upon these two Farm Credit offices for loans, leases and other financial services.

Gary Dyer, FCSSW president and chief executive officer, announced from the organization’s FCSSW’S headquarters office in Tempe, that:

• The Safford office will move from 1964 Thatcher Boulevard to a new facility at 1124 West Thatcher Boulevard, both in Safford.
• The Show Low office will move from 3801 South White Mountain Road to a new location at 580 East Old Linden Road, both in Show Low.

According to Dyer, "Agricultural lending patterns have changed in recent years, and our board of directors has determined that the Safford Office requires additional resources to accommodate the growing needs of our rural customers throughout Arizona. Meanwhile, we have the opposite situation in Show Low — business capacity that exceeds customer needs.

"Accordingly, we are shifting locations in both communities and making some minor personnel moves, which, I should emphasize, will not require any layoffs. In effect, we are merging the operations of these two offices, and we are confident that the These changes will better match local business capabilities with the size needs of our respective customer bases in Safford and Show Low."

Dyer added, "Customers in both service areas — all members of the Farm Credit cooperative — will still receive the same high level of service that Farm Credit is noted for. There will be no need for customers to switch their place of business from one site to another. In other words, this will be a ‘seamless’ transition for our customers."

The combined operations will be called the Rural Arizona Branch of FCSSW, a name which, Dyer says, more accurately reflects the nature of Safford and Show Low’s far-ranging rural customer base that which includes ranches, farms and many other agriculture-related businesses. Farm Credit Vice President Craig Tyler will manage the combined operation. Farm Credit’s Show Low location will, in effect, function as a satellite facility, and now will be called the Show Low Field Office.

The changes become effective on November 15, 2002.

FCSSW, currently managing more than $565 million in loans to farmers and ranchers, is part of the nationwide Farm Credit System, which has provided financing to American agriculture for more than 85 years. In addition to its facilities in Tempe (main office), Safford, and Show Low, FCSSW also manages branches in Yuma and El Centro, California. FCSSW services also include business and estate planning, life insurance, crop insurance, farm and ranch insurance, equipment and vehicle leasing, and appraisals.

Farm Credit customers who have questions about the moves should contact the following: Safford location, Craig at (928) 348-9571; Show Low location, Max McEuen or Tim McMillen at (928) 537-7161.

Farm Credit Updates at a Glance

Safford

Current location:

New location (effective November 4):

New name:

Staffing at new facility:

2 loan officers, 2 credit support specialists

Show Low

Current location:

New location (effective November 18):

New name:

Staffing at new facility:

2 loan officers, 1 credit support specialist

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