March 17, 2025 • 7 mins
Matt Alt with GreenStone Farm Credit Services joins us for a Talk of the Town.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Talk of the Town on news radio with thirteen
hundred and one oh six nine FM. Steve Kelly and
Brett Pikita from West Michigan's Morning News, and we are
joined by the regional vice president of sales and customer
Relations at Greenstone Farm Credit Services, Matt Alt. Thank you
so much for dropping by today.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Good morning guys, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
So tell us a little bit about Greenstone and the
services that you offer.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
So, Greenstone is a local community lender. We're one of
the largest rural lenders in the area and as part
of the farm credit system, our core business is really
agricultural loans, rural home loans, reckland, but we also offer
related financial services such as crop insurance, tax accounting, payroll
life and disability insurance as well.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
So you're talking about the agricultural industry as kind of
the backbone, right And you guys are just outside of Lansing.
If people ever drive in from the north side of
Lance and to go to Michigan State or whatever, you'll
see your big facilities there. That's your headquarters. But really
serve the West Michigan aery obviously too.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yep, that's right.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
We've got locations all across Michigan in northeast Wisconsin to
serve our customers.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
So Greenstone is a member owned cooperative for guys like me.
What does that mean for customers?
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Yeah, so, as a Greenstone customer, you are a member
owner of one of the largest royal Leanders in America.
We bring a centuries worth of experience. We have secure
capital and rural experience that we bring to the table
and it's our goal to partner with our customers to
build their business, to buy that dream home or find
that perfect piece of land, and all that helps us
strengthen our rural communities as a cooperative. When Greenstone does well,
(01:32):
so do our customers. And we reward our members through
our patronage program.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
And talk about that in Patronage Day.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
So the patronage program rewards members by returning a portion
of our profits back into the hands of our hardworking
customers each year. And it's a check you received, so
kind of a funny thing. Some of our new customers
will call in they'll get this check and they'll say, man,
you know, I think there's a mistake. It looks like
you're paying me and say, no, that's our thanks to you,
and that's a reward for being a customer.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
So what's shocking about this, and I saw the press release,
is the amount of money in twenty years of business
that you're giving back. So since the start of those returns,
what is the total amount of profits Greenstone has returned
to its members?
Speaker 5 (02:14):
And was I right?
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Is it twenty years?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
So we started this in two thousand and six, which
would make this our twentieth year.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
And this year we're really excited.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
We're celebrating returning over one billion back to our customers.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Smokes.
Speaker 5 (02:26):
And here's the thing.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I was just talking to you, Matt off the air,
and everyone knows someone maybe that's in the farming business
or have it in their family or whatever. I have
family members over on the east side of the state
near the Flint area, and their dairy farmers and they're
going to go into they're excited about this. It's got
announce their fourth generation because one of the sons wants
to take over the business and go to Michigan State
(02:48):
just like his dad didn't learn about it.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
And I just think that's so cool.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
But you don't have any idea unless you sit down
and talk with them or set the facilities.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
How much goes into farming.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Let alone, it's hard work, but how much goes into
whether it's combines, tractors, all the things land that they
have to have your help to be able to do that.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Yeah, our customers are are hard working people and that's
what makes our company great. And we're very proud and
happy to serve them. That's what helps make our company great.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Are your relatives offended by the term moo you.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
No, they are.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
They're proud of that, by the way, and it helped
them sustain this now next generation of family members that
want to take over the farm.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
So if it's a billion dollars back to its members
over twenty years, what kind of money, what kind of
profits will Greenstone return to members this year?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
That's right, So we're very happy.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
For the thirty year in a row, it's one hundred
and twenty million that we're giving back in the hands
of our customers.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
I mean, that's just hard to wrap your head around.
That's how do you keep the lights on it that place?
Give it everything back?
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Yeah, we're happy to do it. You know, as we mentioned,
these are our members are our owners. So we're happy
to share those profits with them.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
And you know, it's funny we talk about on the
year AI and how it affect like tech business companies,
our industry and radio and media and everything, and it's amazing.
I invite people to go on to a farm where
they have and there's a lot of them in our
area up towards the Luddington area where you can go.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
And I saw last fall.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I never thought I would see this, an actual cow
getting milked by a machine. It just walked right through,
milked it and boom and it was on its way.
There was no human interaction whatsoever. But all of that
stuff is cutting edge technology that's helping the farmers, helping
the industry.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
But it's expensive, that's right.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
Yeah, a lot of people don't realize to your point,
from whether it's dairy farms, vegetable fruit farms, the technology
and money that goes into producing quality, sustainable food for everyone,
it's just huge and so our customers are right on
the front edge of that and we're happy to serve them.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Talking to Matt Alt, he's the regional vice president of
sales and customer Relations at Greenstone Farm Credit Services. You
can find out more Greenstone FCS dot com. So how
will you sell celebrate Patronage Day a big celebration?
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Yeah, absolutely, So each March, customers are invited to visit
their local branch on Patron's Day for a celebration of
their membership. Each branch does things a little bit different,
but they all do a great job, whether it's you know,
coffee and donuts in the morning, maybe a light lunch
or some refreshments. But best of all, our customers are
always excited to leave with that check in their hands.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
And if you're listening right now, and maybe you haven't
heard of Greenstone or visited one of their locations, starts
your journey by just going to their website. All the
information is there Greenstone FCS dot com. That's Greenstone FCS
dot com.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
That's correct, yep.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
And how does that then support rural communities outside of it?
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Yeah, so patronage is another way Greenstone supports our local communities.
Customers can reinvest these funds however they choose. You know,
some may use it toward a new land purchase, some
may finance equipment for their business, some pay down their
loan at A customer even tell me that they were
putting this in a savings fund for their college, which
is great. You know, there's really no wrong answer. However,
(05:59):
they choose to reinvest. That's kind of strengthen our rural
communities for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
And finally, what does a billion dollars back to its
members mean to Greenstone?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
While returning over a billion dollars over the last twenty
years is a huge milestone and we're really excited to
celebrate that with our customers, but really, to us, it
represents all the connections made, all the relationships that have
been built over the years with our customers, the millions
of handshakes, smiles, conversations around the kitchen table about their
business and what they're looking to do, and so much more.
(06:30):
So that's what means the most to us. We have
great customers and their trust in Greenstone is one of
the reasons that we can continue to be successful and
continue to have these earnings that we're very proud to
share with them on Patronage Day.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Find out more at Greenstone FCS dot com. That's Greenstone
FCS dot com. Matt All, Regional vice President of Sales
and Customer Relations at Greenstone Farm Credit Services, thank you
for your time today. Thank you both This is Talk
of the Town on news radio teen hundred and one
oh six nine f M.
It's Talk of the Town on news radio with thirteen
hundred and one oh six nine FM. Steve Kelly and
Brett Pikita from West Michigan's Morning News, and we are
joined by the regional vice president of sales and customer
Relations at Greenstone Farm Credit Services, Matt Alt. Thank you
so much for dropping by today.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Good morning guys, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
So tell us a little bit about Greenstone and the
services that you offer.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
So, Greenstone is a local community lender. We're one of
the largest rural lenders in the area and as part
of the farm credit system, our core business is really
agricultural loans, rural home loans, reckland, but we also offer
related financial services such as crop insurance, tax accounting, payroll
life and disability insurance as well.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
So you're talking about the agricultural industry as kind of
the backbone, right And you guys are just outside of Lansing.
If people ever drive in from the north side of
Lance and to go to Michigan State or whatever, you'll
see your big facilities there. That's your headquarters. But really
serve the West Michigan aery obviously too.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yep, that's right.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
We've got locations all across Michigan in northeast Wisconsin to
serve our customers.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
So Greenstone is a member owned cooperative for guys like me.
What does that mean for customers?
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Yeah, so, as a Greenstone customer, you are a member
owner of one of the largest royal Leanders in America.
We bring a centuries worth of experience. We have secure
capital and rural experience that we bring to the table
and it's our goal to partner with our customers to
build their business, to buy that dream home or find
that perfect piece of land, and all that helps us
strengthen our rural communities as a cooperative. When Greenstone does well,
(01:32):
so do our customers. And we reward our members through
our patronage program.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
And talk about that in Patronage Day.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
So the patronage program rewards members by returning a portion
of our profits back into the hands of our hardworking
customers each year. And it's a check you received, so
kind of a funny thing. Some of our new customers
will call in they'll get this check and they'll say, man,
you know, I think there's a mistake. It looks like
you're paying me and say, no, that's our thanks to you,
and that's a reward for being a customer.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
So what's shocking about this, and I saw the press release,
is the amount of money in twenty years of business
that you're giving back. So since the start of those returns,
what is the total amount of profits Greenstone has returned
to its members?
Speaker 5 (02:14):
And was I right?
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Is it twenty years?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
So we started this in two thousand and six, which
would make this our twentieth year.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
And this year we're really excited.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
We're celebrating returning over one billion back to our customers.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Smokes.
Speaker 5 (02:26):
And here's the thing.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I was just talking to you, Matt off the air,
and everyone knows someone maybe that's in the farming business
or have it in their family or whatever. I have
family members over on the east side of the state
near the Flint area, and their dairy farmers and they're
going to go into they're excited about this. It's got
announce their fourth generation because one of the sons wants
to take over the business and go to Michigan State
(02:48):
just like his dad didn't learn about it.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
And I just think that's so cool.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
But you don't have any idea unless you sit down
and talk with them or set the facilities.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
How much goes into farming.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Let alone, it's hard work, but how much goes into
whether it's combines, tractors, all the things land that they
have to have your help to be able to do that.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Yeah, our customers are are hard working people and that's
what makes our company great. And we're very proud and
happy to serve them. That's what helps make our company great.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Are your relatives offended by the term moo you.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
No, they are.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
They're proud of that, by the way, and it helped
them sustain this now next generation of family members that
want to take over the farm.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
So if it's a billion dollars back to its members
over twenty years, what kind of money, what kind of
profits will Greenstone return to members this year?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
That's right, So we're very happy.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
For the thirty year in a row, it's one hundred
and twenty million that we're giving back in the hands
of our customers.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
I mean, that's just hard to wrap your head around.
That's how do you keep the lights on it that place?
Give it everything back?
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Yeah, we're happy to do it. You know, as we mentioned,
these are our members are our owners. So we're happy
to share those profits with them.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
And you know, it's funny we talk about on the
year AI and how it affect like tech business companies,
our industry and radio and media and everything, and it's amazing.
I invite people to go on to a farm where
they have and there's a lot of them in our
area up towards the Luddington area where you can go.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
And I saw last fall.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I never thought I would see this, an actual cow
getting milked by a machine. It just walked right through,
milked it and boom and it was on its way.
There was no human interaction whatsoever. But all of that
stuff is cutting edge technology that's helping the farmers, helping
the industry.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
But it's expensive, that's right.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
Yeah, a lot of people don't realize to your point,
from whether it's dairy farms, vegetable fruit farms, the technology
and money that goes into producing quality, sustainable food for everyone,
it's just huge and so our customers are right on
the front edge of that and we're happy to serve them.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Talking to Matt Alt, he's the regional vice president of
sales and customer Relations at Greenstone Farm Credit Services. You
can find out more Greenstone FCS dot com. So how
will you sell celebrate Patronage Day a big celebration?
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Yeah, absolutely, So each March, customers are invited to visit
their local branch on Patron's Day for a celebration of
their membership. Each branch does things a little bit different,
but they all do a great job, whether it's you know,
coffee and donuts in the morning, maybe a light lunch
or some refreshments. But best of all, our customers are
always excited to leave with that check in their hands.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
And if you're listening right now, and maybe you haven't
heard of Greenstone or visited one of their locations, starts
your journey by just going to their website. All the
information is there Greenstone FCS dot com. That's Greenstone FCS
dot com.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
That's correct, yep.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
And how does that then support rural communities outside of it?
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Yeah, so patronage is another way Greenstone supports our local communities.
Customers can reinvest these funds however they choose. You know,
some may use it toward a new land purchase, some
may finance equipment for their business, some pay down their
loan at A customer even tell me that they were
putting this in a savings fund for their college, which
is great. You know, there's really no wrong answer. However,
(05:59):
they choose to reinvest. That's kind of strengthen our rural
communities for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
And finally, what does a billion dollars back to its
members mean to Greenstone?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
While returning over a billion dollars over the last twenty
years is a huge milestone and we're really excited to
celebrate that with our customers, but really, to us, it
represents all the connections made, all the relationships that have
been built over the years with our customers, the millions
of handshakes, smiles, conversations around the kitchen table about their
business and what they're looking to do, and so much more.
(06:30):
So that's what means the most to us. We have
great customers and their trust in Greenstone is one of
the reasons that we can continue to be successful and
continue to have these earnings that we're very proud to
share with them on Patronage Day.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Find out more at Greenstone FCS dot com. That's Greenstone
FCS dot com. Matt All, Regional vice President of Sales
and Customer Relations at Greenstone Farm Credit Services, thank you
for your time today. Thank you both This is Talk
of the Town on news radio teen hundred and one
oh six nine f M.
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