Credit Union Journal quotes McConnon in article about Maine Harvest Credit Project
Credit Union Journal quoted Jim McConnon, an Extension business and economics specialist and professor of economics at the University of Maine, in an article about the Maine Harvest Credit Project. The project would be the country’s first credit union to exclusively provide loans and mortgages to local farmers and others in the food industry, according to the article. Maine’s agricultural sector is “strong and diverse,” the number of food and beverage manufacturing companies has grown at 3.5 percent per year for the last decade, and there also has been an influx of younger people wanting to work in the food, farm and agricultural sectors, according to McConnon. “During the past decade or so, we have witnessed a significant increase in small food companies and small farmers, and they will likely benefit from the type of funding services that this proposed credit union will seek to provide,” said McConnon.