COUDERSPORT — AgChoice Farm Credit announces its distribution of $21.25 million in cash patronage to customer-owners.

Local customer-owners of AgChoice’s Coudersport branch received $1.1 million of that total. AgChoice’s Board of Directors, most of whom are also customer-owners, determined the payout based on 2017 earnings.

Patronage has been an integral part of AgChoice’s cooperative business model since the organization formed in 1999. The model allows AgChoice to build capital, share profits and lower the overall cost of borrowing to customer-owners. Annual cash payouts to customer-owners since 1999, including this year, total $275 million.

AgChoice Farm Credit’s Coudersport branch office services more than $83.2 million in total loan volume for agricultural, forest products and rural customers in Cameron, Elk, McKean and Potter counties in Pennsylvania as well as forest products customers across its service territory.