A local customer-owned financial institution just announced a payment of more than $3 million to its Harrisonburg customer-owners.

The Harrisonburg branch of Farm Credit of the Virginias, a financial cooperative with over 100 years of support, announced a payout of $3.1 million to its customer-owners in a press release on July 12. This took the form of a patronage dividend, sourced from the association’s profits, according to the release.

The association's structure includes a cooperative framework that allows it to return a percentage of its annual profits to its customer-owners. Last year, agricultural producers and rural homeowners faced continued difficulties, such as rising input costs and interests, according to the release.

Despite this, FCV maintained a strong financial position and its board of directors chose to return 81 percent of its profits to its customer-owners. This was done in hopes of helping customer-owners feel ready to navigate further uncertainties and difficulties facing the agricultural industry and rural communities, according to the release.

The patronage program acts to reduce the cost of lending from FCV. A combined total of $32 million from this year’s distribution roughly equates to having an interest-free loan for three months, as well as about 27 percent of interest on accrued loans, according to the release.

Brad Cornelius, the association’s CEO, said the payment represents FCV’s dedication to its customers.

“We’re thrilled to be able to return crucial dollars to our customer-owners and reinvest money in our rural communities through our patronage refund program,” Cornelius said in the release. “We’re committed to serving our customer-owners through the good times and bad. Patronage dividends are our way of showing our customers that we appreciate their business and we will always do our best to support their goals and dreams. Patronage is just one of the many benefits of doing business with our customer-owned cooperative.”