AgChoice Announces 2002 Board of Directors Election Results; Incumbent Board Member Victories Signal Member Confidence.

Business Editors

MECHANICSBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 2, 2003

AgChoice Farm Credit, ACA (AgChoice) today reported the results of its 2002 Board of Directors election.

Ballots were issued to all members in early November, and the election was officially closed on December 4, 2002. The Tellers' Committee met December 9, 2002, and counted the 1,389 ballots returned by stockholders.

"Six board seats were open for reelection, and in all six cases the incumbent candidate was victorious. I believe that the results of this year's elections reflect the confidence that AgChoice members have in their current board of directors, and in the direction of the organization," said AgChoice President and CEO, Allyn L. Lamb.

These board members will serve three-year terms from 2002 - 2005. The newly reelected directors are:

Richard Kriebel

Mr. Kriebel, of Columbia County, grows forage and grain for his son's dairy operation and additional crops for the open market. In addition to serving on the board of AgChoice, he is board chairman of AgFirst Farm Credit Bank in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a member of Benton Christian Church, where he serves as an elder.

Douglas W. Lawton

Mr. Lawton operates a dairy in Tioga County, with over 75 milking cows and 70 replacement heifers and farms 435 acres. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, a past chairman of committees for Agway, and a member of Select Sire Power. Mr. Lawton is a member of the United Methodist Church of Wellsboro.

Donald G. Cotner, Jr.

Mr. Cotner, of Don Cotner Farms in Northumberland County, raises corn, soybeans, and barley and manufactures feed. His father-son partnership farms nearly 1,250 acres. He is president of Cotner Farms, Inc., which produces, packages, markets, and distributes eggs and egg products from 400,000 laying hens.

He is an elder of Grove Presbyterian Church and has served on many agriculture committees and local zoning and school boards.

Clifford L. Hawbaker

Mr. Hawbaker operates Hamilton Heights Dairy Farm in Franklin County. The farm has 410 milking cows and 260 replacement heifers, and more than 300 acres of grassland that provides forage for local farmers. He is a past president of Franklin County Farm Bureau, a member of Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania and Mount Joy Farmers Cooperative.

Mr. Hawbaker is active in the Hamilton Heights Brethren-in-Christ Church.

William K. Jackson

Mr. Jackson, of Fayette County, is a Penn State University graduate and co-owner/operator of Jackson Farms. The farm includes an 800-acre dairy that milks 170 registered Holsteins. The operation also processes, wholesales, and retails dairy products via an on-farm processing plant and convenience store.

He is president of the Fayette County Agricultural Improvement Association and a member of DHIA/Holstein Association Board.

Jeffrey L. Raney

Operating a 200-acre farm in Crawford County, where he milks registered Holsteins and Brown Swiss, Mr. Raney also raises corn, alfalfa, and soybeans. He serves as a mid-east area councilperson for DFA, and he is chairman of the Crawford County Fair Dairy Committee. Mr. Raney is a member of the Jamestown Presbyterian Church.

Other AgChoice directors currently serving terms are Chairman John D. Cope; Vice Chairman Dennis B. Spangler; Alan E. Dambach; Donald C. Fretts; Thomas W. Kelly; James L. Kennedy; Donald A. Koontz; Paul W. McPherson; Charles F. Ulmer; Jr.: and Robert H. Whipple.

"Each year we are impressed with the caliber of candidates and the number of voters who express interest in the board elections," comments John Cope, AgChoice Chairman of the Board. "This year was no exception."

Unlike commercial banks, AgChoice does not take deposits. Instead, loanable funds are raised through the sale of bonds and notes in the nation's capital markets. AgChoice is an agricultural lending cooperative that serves stockholders throughout most of Pennsylvania and several counties in West Virginia.

AgChoice's employees work from a central administrative office and 10 branch offices to manage a loan portfolio of agriculture, forest products, lifestyle farms and country residences.

AgChoice Farm Credit is a part of the nationwide Farm Credit System that has provided loans to American agriculture for more than 80 years. The Farm Credit System was organized to provide a consistent source of credit to farmers and rural America. AgChoice is a financial services organization that understands agriculture's particular needs and is prepared to consistently provide credit and related services.

As a cooperative business, AgChoice Farm Credit is owned by the customers who use its services.