Source: PRESS RELEASE, 12/11/20

AgCarolina Farm Credit completed the 2020 director election online and by mail on December 3. The ballots were tabulated by an independent third party, and the results have been certified and provided to AgCarolina. Stuart Pierce, Jr. was elected to Region 3 (serving Bertie, Northampton, and Hertford counties), Mark A. Wellons was elected to Region 5 (serving Johnston County), and Rodney D. Smith was elected to Region 10 (serving Jones, Lenoir, Craven, Carteret, and Onslow counties).

AgCarolina Farm Credit’s Board of Directors consists of 10 stockholder-elected directors and two outside appointed directors. All directors serve four-year terms.

Stuart Pierce, Jr., of Ahoskie, is a full-time farmer with an operation consisting of tobacco, cotton, peanuts, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, sage, and grain. He serves as the president of the Hertford County Farm Bureau and serves as a director for the NC Farm Bureau state board. He is a member of First Baptist Church of Ahoskie where he serves on the investment and finance committees.

Mark A. Wellons, of Princeton, is a full-time farmer, and his operation consists of tobacco, soybeans, cattle, squash, cabbage, broccoli, and sweet corn. He serves as the vice chair of Tobacco Associates, and he is a member of the Ag Foundation, Johnston County Farm Bureau, and JoCo Grows. He also serves as a member of the NC Farm Bureau Energy and Transportation Committee as well as the R. Flake Shaw Scholarship Committee. He is a member of Princeton Baptist Church where he is a deacon and the finance committee chair.

Rodney D. Smith, of Pink Hill, is a full-time farmer with an operation consisting of corn, wheat, cotton, soybeans, and swine. He is a board member of the Lenoir County Farm Bureau and a director for the Lenoir County Ag District. He is a member of Lenoir County Hunter’s Association, Goldmine Hunting Club, Pink Hill Ruritan Club, Bethel Baptist Church, and a master mason of Pleasant Hill Masonic Lodge 304.

AgCarolina Farm Credit is a farmer owned financial cooperative with headquarters in Raleigh.  They are the leading provider of credit to farmers in central and eastern North Carolina. AgCarolina Farm Credit has over $1.4 billion in loans and commitments outstanding to nearly 3,000 North Carolina farmers. Loans are made to finance land, homes, farm buildings, operating expenses, livestock and equipment, as well as other purposes. Credit life insurance, appraisal services, and leasing are also available through AgCarolina Farm Credit.