Independent Banker - August 2023 - 78

CONNECTIONS TRAILBLAZER
" It's nice to have a local bank. You
know if you absolutely have to go in
and talk to somebody, you can, rather
than just being another number on a
screen for a bigger corporation. "
-JOEL SMITH, S&S GRAIN
Todd Borchardt visiting
a local farm
so the producer can apply either
through their own device or one
provided by the retailer.
" They type [their information] into
the program, and it flows through our
system, " says Borchardt. Depending
on the size of the loan, a farmer can go
from application to fulfillment in as
quickly as 30 minutes.
To create the product, Choice Bank
partnered with several fintechs. Now,
the loan process " can be done a lot
more seamlessly than we ever really
dreamed it could be from the get-go, "
says Borchardt.
Continuing the local mission
According to Borchardt, Choice Ag
Solutions has been an easy sell to
retailers, since they often prefer to
work with someone local instead
of sending money away from the
community and having to deal with
bankers who may not prioritize them
if something goes wrong.
" Rather than dealing with a
corporate seed company or a
corporate chemical company, they
can call me up, where I'm 10 miles
up the road, and say, 'I got an issue
with this,' " says Borchardt. " They're
going to dial me directly and not go to
a corporate system and sit on hold for
an hour and a half. "
Joel Smith, co-owner of S&S Grain
in Walhalla, N.D., started working
with Choice Bank via the Choice Ag
Solutions platform back in February.
He sees the advantages of partnering
with someone in the area to serve S&S
Grain's customers.
" It's nice to have a local bank, " he
says. " You know if you absolutely have
to go in and talk to somebody, you
can, rather than just being another
number on a screen for a bigger
corporation. "
Borrowers also like Choice Ag
Solutions because it provides " access
to capital that does not take a lot of
78 // ICBA Independent Banker // August 2023
time. It's very easy to apply, " says
Borchardt. It keeps dollars local,
which is in line with community
banks' mission.
Thanks to the platform, Choice
Bank has retained and recaptured
some of the volume it lost when
lending shifted to retailers.
" It also allows us to plug into
environments and markets where
we maybe aren't doing as much for
the market share as we prefer to
be doing, " Borchardt says. " It's a
growth opportunity. "
Smith notes that the solution is
relatively easy to use. S&S Grain
signed up too late to capture most of
its business prior to the 2023 growing
season, but the platform is expected
to play a bigger role in its business
next year. " It's definitely going to give
us some more financing options for
our customer, " he says. 
Jen A. Miller is a writer in New Jersey.
Photo by Kacy Kakela Photography

Independent Banker - August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - August 2023

Contents
Independent Banker - August 2023 - Cover1
Independent Banker - August 2023 - Cover2
Independent Banker - August 2023 - Contents
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 2
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 3
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 4
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 5
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 6
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 7
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 8
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 9
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 10
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 11
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 12
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 13
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 14
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 15
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 16
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 17
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 18
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 19
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 20
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 21
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 22
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 23
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 24
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 25
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 26
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 27
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 28
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 29
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 30
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 31
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Independent Banker - August 2023 - 33
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 34
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 35
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 36
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 37
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 38
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 39
Independent Banker - August 2023 - 40
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Independent Banker - August 2023 - Cover3
Independent Banker - August 2023 - Cover4
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