By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

A resolution to commemorate 50 years of lending strength was passed from Hopkins County Judge Wayne Scott (foreground, right) to Dwyatt Bell, who was then PCA's CEO and president. At the resolution ceremony were (background, from left) unidentified man, Pat Gerald, PCA employees Rick Higgins, Lloyd Smith, and radio personality Dwight Bruhn. -Courtessy photo

January 17, 2002 -- Country World is celebrating 20 years, and looking back to our first edition on Nov. 5, 1981, three businesses stand out because they advertised in that first edition and they continue to advertise in Country World today AgriLand (formerly North Texas Production Credit), Dairyland/LaRue, and Sulphur Springs Livestock Commission.

The first to be featured was AgriLand, Farm Credit Services, which has expanded its involvement in Northeast Texas right along with Country World.

When Country World began in 1981, seven counties were listed as coverage area for the newly-developed "The Rural Newspaper of Texas."

Twenty years later, the original Country World, based in Sulphur Springs, covers nearly 40 counties in Northeast Texas. With the addition of Country World Central Texas, based in Hewitt near Waco, and Country World South Central Texas, based in LaGrange, "The Rural Newspaper of Texas" now covers over 120 counties.

In 1981, North Texas Production Credit (which became AgriLand, Farm Credit Services in October 1999), served eleven Northeast Texas counties. Today, the ag-lending cooperative serves 54 counties in the same areas that Country World extends into.

Stockholders line up for the meal served as one of the ag credit association's annual meetings. These photos were from the event held in the early 1980s. -Courtessy photo

"I remember Kelly Boldan and Terry Stepp (from Country World) sitting right here and telling me their plans" for an agricultural, rural newspaper, said Dwyatt Bell, who was then North Texas PCA's CEO and president. "It was very attractive to us; it covered most of our market and there was no other vehicle to get that much exposure from one ad spot. We were very excited."

Today, Stephen Ogletree out of Tyler serves as the association's CEO while Bell continues in his position as AgriLand's president. Bell, reflected on the many changes that have occurred in agriculture over the last 20 years and in turn, have changed the ag- and rural-lending business.

AgriLand was created from the merger of North Texas and Agricultural Production Credit Associations in 1999. In January of 2000, AgriLand formed it's own Federal Land Credit Association. Today, AgriLand offers production loans and term equipment loans through the PCA, plus long term real estate mortgages through the FLCA.

In 1981, the association extended credit primarily to farmers and ranchers for the production of their ag-commodities. "We were strictly production oriented," Bell related about the early 1980's loans.

Today the ag credit association's new structure and expanded lending authorities allow it to serve all types of financing needs for agriculture.

"The way we price money has also changed," Bell reflected. "The interest rates

(offered borrowers) in the '80s were based only on loan size and credit quality. Today, we have over 30 different pricing structures, including loans specifically priced for young and beginning farmers and ranchers."

Over the years, technology has created more customer-friendly features in banking as well. "We can take an application on the website, and send information back and forth between our offices through e-mail. There are so many more things we can do now because of technology," Bell added.

Work in Progress at Sulphur Springs location AgriLand President Dwyatt Bell, second from left, works on some details with assistant Carolyn Vaughn (seated, right). Other staff members in the Sulphur Springs office include secretary Melanie Baier (seated, center), assistant vice president Mandy Freeman (right), and vice presients Joe Don Mashburn and Kregg Slakey (standing, center). Mashburn also serves as the field office manager. -Staff photo by Cope

The quick communication between offices and other information sources is key to the growing ag lending association. In 1981, there were 18 employees in six offices handling $32.9 million in loan volume. Today, 47 employees work out of 10 offices and handle $156.5 million in loan volume. The PCA of 1981 consisted of 532 stockholders; but in 2001, the number of stockholders has grown 500 percent to 2,832.

Another benefit derived from enhanced technology is AgriLand's coordination with over 60 farm/ranch equipment dealers that utilize the AgFast Point of Sale program. This program allows a person applying for an equipment loan to tap directly into an AgriLand's one-page loan application from the dealership.

Technology has also developed a more efficient ag producer, according to Bell. Changes in the ag economy throughout the 20 years have added to this scenario.

"Twenty years ago, ag producers had grown accustomed to the boom of the '70s," Bell recalled. "But in '81, '82, things started slowing. Operating costs were high, interest rates escalated to all time highs and commodity prices went in the dirt.

"Lender's got lax; and producers were not as cost-conscious as they are today. There was a time when there were more dually pickups sold in this area than anywhere else in the nation. Everyone was rolling," he said.

Economic times slowed, then turned "tough" for ag producers in the last half of the '80s. On a national level many farmers could not pay their notes and often deeded over assets to settle their debts.

Bell said, "Those in business today, they are the survivors. They've made it through because of good management practices."

The economic turns through the two decades have "driven" producers to be more conservative today, the ag-lending leader added.

In the '80s, Farm Credit institutions and commercial banks were "getting lots of bad press," Bell related. Thus, new banking regulations forced more stringent rules on ag lending institutions. More data was needed on a loan applicants, which meant there were more forms to complete and more financial records required.

Bell said that today the "pendulum is swinging back the other way. I think today, less stringent regulations and enhanced technology make it is easier for producers to get loan approvals."

The varieties of ag producers utilizing the lending services offered by AgriLand have also changed throughout the two decades. In 1981, 18 percent of their loan portfolio was to dairy producers. By, 2001, that number dropped to 5 percent.

A decline is also indicated in the crop category. In 1981, 19 percent of the loans were to crop producers; which dropped to 13 percent in 2001.

"When I came to the northeast part of the state (in 1973), there were a number of full-time ag producers, especially dairies and crop farmers," Bell said. "Both industries have really changed."

Bell reflected that although the number of producers has declined, those that remain in the full-time dairy and crop enterprises have increased their production. "The full time operations today are much larger than in the '80s," he said. "A crop farmer may have farmed 500 to 1,000 acres then, but today, it's more like 2,500 to 5,000 acres.... The industry has changed so, that a farmer today must be a good manager, be efficient, and must produce volume in order to succeed with their thin profit margins.... The dairy industry is the same in that respect."

In 1981, the nursery and forestry businesses were not even on AgriLand's list of ag-industries financed. But in 2001, these fields have grown to 6 and 5 percent, respectively.

"There is real growth in these industries," Bell said. "We do a lot of business with the nursery producers in our Tyler, Athens and Wills Point offices." Nursery growers include green house operations as well as tree and grass farms that wholesale to commercial and residential landscaping services.

Another growth sector is in the forestry industry. This includes individuals owning land on which they produce marketable timber; producers in the business of buying and harvesting timber and commercial saw mill operations.

One consistent enterprise is beef production. In 1981, 52 percent of the loans were for beef cattle operators. In 2001, the total is 50 percent. Many of these are "part-time" producers holding full-time jobs but keep cattle as well.

"I think part-time producers will continue to make up a bigger part of the ag industry in the East Texas area," Bell said.

Also, there is a developing trend towards nature/tourism sites, and recreational ranches in certain regions of the AgriLand coverage area. Bell agreed that diversification and developing alternative land uses to help retain family farms is not a bad thing. However, he states, " recreational use, when over commercialized, can harm traditional producers trying to make a dollar in agriculture. When it gets too commercialized, the family farm has to compete with investors for the same land resources. Personally, I would hate to see this happen in East Texas."

In reflection over the past two decades, Bell concluded, "The one thing that hasn't changed over the past 20 years is my personal love for what I do. It is a fast paced business that embraces change and that is something I still find exciting. The stockholders we serve are good, hard-working, honest people and a pleasure to work with. My position has also allowed me to make a lot of lasting friendships with other ag-related business people such as the many staff members of Country World that I have worked with through the years. Country World was a good idea from the start and is a great ag publication today."