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PARADISE, PA — The Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers (PACB) was among several stakeholders participating with federal and Pennsylvania congressional members at a special agricultural roundtable at the Bank of Bird-in-Hand in Paradise, PA in Lancaster County. Among the items discussed during today’s roundtable included two measures pending action in Washington, D.C. – the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act, which would extend low cost credit to rural communities, and the Farm Bill, which would provide sufficient funding for upgraded technology, maintain a strong crop insurance program, ensure community bank access to all credit programs, and require federal agencies to implement regulations fairly while also reducing regulatory burdens on agribusinesses. Participants included PA U.S. Senator David McCormick, PA U.S. Representatives Dan Meuser and Lloyd Smucker, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, PACB President and CEO Kevin Shivers, the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, and representatives from several community banks in the region. “Our community banks here in Pennsylvania and across the country are responsible for 80 percent of all agriculture lending, helping our farmers and food producers contribute more than $130 billion each year to our economy,” said PACB President and CEO Kevin Shivers. “It truly is the backbone of our economy, supporting 580,000 jobs statewide. PACB wants to ensure community banks, like Bank of Bird-in-Hand, are a key part of these vital discussions to make sure our agriculture industry has the ear of our congressional members, and their voices are heard and acted upon.” “I’m grateful to Pennsylvania’s strong network of community banks for the work they do to help provide the loans our agriculture sector needs to continue fueling America and putting food on the shelves at grocery stores,” said McCormick. “Agriculture powers Pennsylvania’s economy, and the community bankers that support our farmers play a huge role in that. I look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure Pennsylvania agriculture remains strong.” “We have a cohesive group between the state and federal level and I believe it will make a big difference for Pennsylvania’s farmers,” said Lori Maley, president and CEO of Bank of Bird-in-Hand. “We understand agriculture, but I don’t think people in the community sometimes understand the volume and how far reaching it is in this community and in Pennsylvania as a whole.”
PARADISE, PA — The Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers (PACB) was among several stakeholders participating with federal and Pennsylvania congressional members at a special agricultural roundtable at the Bank of Bird-in-Hand in Paradise, PA in Lancaster County.
Among the items discussed during today’s roundtable included two measures pending action in Washington, D.C. – the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act, which would extend low cost credit to rural communities, and the Farm Bill, which would provide sufficient funding for upgraded technology, maintain a strong crop insurance program, ensure community bank access to all credit programs, and require federal agencies to implement regulations fairly while also reducing regulatory burdens on agribusinesses.
Participants included PA U.S. Senator David McCormick, PA U.S. Representatives Dan Meuser and Lloyd Smucker, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, PACB President and CEO Kevin Shivers, the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, and representatives from several community banks in the region.
“Our community banks here in Pennsylvania and across the country are responsible for 80 percent of all agriculture lending, helping our farmers and food producers contribute more than $130 billion each year to our economy,” said PACB President and CEO Kevin Shivers. “It truly is the backbone of our economy, supporting 580,000 jobs statewide. PACB wants to ensure community banks, like Bank of Bird-in-Hand, are a key part of these vital discussions to make sure our agriculture industry has the ear of our congressional members, and their voices are heard and acted upon.”
“I’m grateful to Pennsylvania’s strong network of community banks for the work they do to help provide the loans our agriculture sector needs to continue fueling America and putting food on the shelves at grocery stores,” said McCormick. “Agriculture powers Pennsylvania’s economy, and the community bankers that support our farmers play a huge role in that. I look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure Pennsylvania agriculture remains strong.”
“We have a cohesive group between the state and federal level and I believe it will make a big difference for Pennsylvania’s farmers,” said Lori Maley, president and CEO of Bank of Bird-in-Hand. “We understand agriculture, but I don’t think people in the community sometimes understand the volume and how far reaching it is in this community and in Pennsylvania as a whole.”