Pictured: Daisy and Charlie Schudmak of Port Allen, La., attended the 2017 Farm Credit Young Leaders Program on behalf of Louisiana Land Bank. They celebrated the completion of the program in New York City with Stan Ray, right, Farm Credit Bank of Texas chief administrative officer and Tenth District Farm Credit Council president.
Charlie and Daisy Schudmak of Port Allen, La., recently learned how Farm Credit uses its cooperative structure and unique funding mechanism to lend support to rural communities and agriculture across the United States. The Schudmaks represented their lender, Louisiana Land Bank, at the 2017 Farm Credit Young Leaders Program in Washington, D.C., and New York City.
The 12th annual program began in the nation’s capital, where the 23 participants joined Farm Credit representatives from around the country in meetings with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Sen. Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The Schudmaks also discussed policy issues with USDA officials, Rep. Ralph Abraham and congressional staff.
Next the group traveled to the New York area. During visits to the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation and a Wall Street brokerage firm, they learned how investors purchase highly rated Farm Credit notes and bonds, supplying steady funding for loans and related services. Together, 74 borrower-owned Farm Credit cooperatives provide $251.2 billion in financing to farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, agribusinesses and other eligible borrowers.
“Our annual program is designed to give participants insight into the ways Farm Credit supports agriculture and rural communities,” said Stan Ray, president of the Tenth District Farm Credit Council, which hosts the Young Leaders Program. “The trip is also an opportunity for these young ag producers to share their experiences and ideas with lawmakers whose policies touch the lives of farmers and ranchers.”
Charlie Schudmak is chief operating officer of Cora Texas Manufacturing Co. — a sugar mill in White Castle, La., that often produces more than 4 million pounds of raw sugar per day — where his family has been involved in the business since 1919. He is president of the American Sugar Cane League, past president of the American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, and past chairman of Louisiana Sugar Cane Products Inc. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Louisiana State University (LSU) and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Daisy Schudmak also graduated from LSU, where she studied public relations and French. She has a background in radio and television ministry, and has instituted two programs through her church to benefit cancer patients.
The Tenth District Farm Credit Council is the regional member of the national Farm Credit Council, the trade association that works on behalf of Farm Credit cooperatives and their member-owners.
