UNITY, Maine–After five years of raising funds and organizational efforts, Maine Harvest FCU has been granted its charter.
The new credit union has been created to serve farmers and food producers in the state, and as CUToday.info reported here, organizers have been working since 2014 to get it off the ground.
Maine Harvest will serve the employees and roughly 13,000 members of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and the Maine Farmland Trust, and will offer business loans to small farms, farmers and other food producers within its field of membership. The credit union said it is specifically looking to fill a gap in the market by offering land-backed mortgages in the $100,000 to $400,000 range, small-business loans of $60,000 to $125,000 and equipment loans of $20,000 to $40,000.
“How appropriate that this credit union is located in a town named Unity,” NCUA Chairman Rodney E. Hood said in a released statement. “Credit unions are organized through, and operate on, the principle of people working together to support one another. I want to thank the organizers of Maine Harvest for their hard work to bring their dream to reality and congratulate them on their charter.”
In addition to the usual consumer and business banking services, Maine Harvest will offer specialized agricultural real estate and equipment loans, the credit union said. It expects to begin operations in the fall.