The Capital Farm Credit Board of Directors recently approved a total patronage refund of $105 million. Of that, $32 million is a cash patronage that will be paid to stockholders in April. The remaining $73 million is in the form of allocated equities and will be eligible for future cash payouts.

The declaration, which was based on 2010 earnings, continues a longstanding tradition by the rural lending cooperative of sharing its earnings with its customers. Last year, for example, Capital Farm Credit declared a patronage refund and retired a portion of allocated equities that together totaled $72.6 million.

Since 1997, Capital Farm Credit has distributed more than $400 million in capital through its patronage program and stock reductions.

"This declaration by our board of directors reinforces our commitment to the cooperative principle of sharing our earnings with our customers," said Ben Novosad, chief executive officer. "We’ve paid patronage to our customers annually for more than a decade, even during challenging economic times."

Capital Farm Credit is the state’s largest rural lender and is part of the nationwide Farm Credit System. The lender has been making loans to farmers, ranchers and other rural property owners for more than 90 years. It is headquartered in Bryan and has offices located throughout the state of Texas. For more information about Capital Farm Credit, its patronage program and its office locations, visit www.CapitalFarmCredit.com.