Association Spotlight on John Barkell Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Tempe, Ariz. Office

This is the third in a series of articles highlighting Farm Credit Services Southwest staff.

Hometown: Born and raised in Bozeman, Mont.

Education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics from Montana State University, and post-graduate education from North Carolina State University

Family: John’s wife, Loretta, is the chief financial officer for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department. Their three grown children live in Virginia, South Carolina and Florida.

Farm Credit experience: Started in 1976 as an economist with Farmbank Services in Denver. Later became a senior financial analyst with the Federal Land Bank of Louisville, and then assistant chief of financial analysis and standards with the Farm Credit Administration. In 1987, John became the chief financial officer (CFO) for the Farm Credit System Assistance Board. In this capacity, he made financial assistance recommendations to the agency’s board of directors, which included the secretaries of agriculture and treasury (his “15 minutes of fame”). In 1990, John joined the Arizona Agricultural Credit Association, which was later renamed Farm Credit Services Southwest, as the CFO. John Barkell by his wood-burning oven in his backyard. John says, “I’ve discovered that it’s not hard to bake bread, but it’s really hard to bake good bread. I’m still working on that.”

Vacations: Over the past several years, John has traveled to Bolivia, Colombia, Italy and the Czech Republic. Next summer it’s Spain, Italy and Greece.

What John says ...

Recreation: “Probably my greatest passion is cooking (and drinking wine while I cook!). Over the past several years, I became interested in the art of baking bread and had a wood-burning oven installed in my backyard. I also enjoy hiking and once climbed Mount Whitney in California, the highest mountain in the continental United States. I have also hiked “rim-to-rim” in the Grand Canyon on five occasions.”

Current responsibilities: “As CFO, I am responsible for all financial aspects of the association, including financial planning, accounting and reporting. One of my most important duties is to help manage our capital to ensure we are able to pay patronage refunds annually.”

Business tip: “There is no substitute for a realistic business plan for any business, family or individual.”

Interest rates: “We think interest rates are near the top of this interest rate cycle. According to our latest forecasts, we believe there may be an extended period of calm that could last a year or more, unless something unforeseen happens (which almost always does). The good news is that, even though interest rates have risen more than 4 percent over the past two years, they are still favorable compared to history. Don’t be surprised to see more volatile interest rates in the future. Today, the Federal Reserve Board is more concerned about inflation and employment than maintaining stable interest rates. And our association’s cost of borrowing funds to make loans is directly connected to what the FED does with market interest rates.”

Market trends: “Watch out for the 2007 Farm Bill. It could significantly affect the cotton, dairy and sugar industries.”

Patronage refunds: “Our program is designed to reduce our loan interest rates an average of 0.5 percent. However, to pay refunds, we must meet certain financial criteria and manage our association so we meet these requirements. Since we implemented our program in 2001, we have paid refunds four out of five years and returned $12.5 million to our members. Based on our current business plan, we are optimistic that we will continue to make patronage payments in the future.”

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