CEO
CONVO
NICK HARTLEY
Nick Hartley stepped into his role as President and CEO of Alabama Ag Credit on January 1, 2025, bringing over 16 years of experience within the Farm Credit System and a deep-rooted passion for supporting rural communities. Originally from rural Georgia, Hartley’ s career in agricultural finance has been shaped by a commitment to service, strong relationships and values grounded in faith, family and humility. Prior to joining Alabama Ag Credit, he served as Chief Lending Officer at AgGeorgia Farm Credit, where he helped drive growth and strengthen ties across the agriculture sector. Hartley is leading Alabama Ag Credit with a focus on innovation, long-term value for member-owners and staying closely connected to the farmers and families the organization serves.
What is Alabama Ag Credit’ s mission and what sets it apart? Alabama Ag Credit exists to serve the people who grow, raise and sustain our communities, plain and simple. We’ re a cooperative which means the folks we serve are also our owners. Our mission is to provide dependable, competitive financial services that support agriculture and rural living across Alabama. At the heart of it, we’ re here to support the prosperity of farms and rural families, ensuring they have the resources they need to grow, adapt and succeed for generations to come. Agriculture and rural life operate differently, and we know that often means our borrowers need more than a one-size-fits-all solution, they need a real person who understands what they’ re going through.
How do you stay informed about the changing needs of Alabama’ s rural communities and producers? I listen. That’ s where it starts. I have regular conversations with our staff, our board of directors and especially our regional managers. These folks aren’ t just managing, they’ re deeply embedded in their areas. Many of them are producers themselves, and that’ s true for a lot of our team. They live it, they feel the shifts in commodity trends and they understand the pressures our members face because they’ ve faced them too. Nationally, I’ d be remiss if I didn’ t give credit to the team in Washington, D. C. with the Farm Credit Council. They do outstanding work keeping us informed on national and global issues that impact not only Farm Credit, but the agricultural sector as a whole.
What are some of the biggest challenges currently facing your borrowers? Interest rate volatility, rising input costs and policy uncertainty, like delays around the Farm Bill, are some of the biggest concerns our borrowers are facing right now. We’ ve also seen commodity-specific pressures, particularly in areas like cotton and pine pulpwood. At Alabama Ag Credit, we’ re responding with flexible loan structures, oneon-one financial guidance and a commitment to staying close to our members so we can adapt quickly when market conditions shift.
What are your top priorities in your first year as CEO of Alabama Ag Credit? First and foremost, I want to foster growth, not just in numbers, but in people too. That starts by listening. I’ ve made it a point to spend time with our employees, our members and our board to really understand the heartbeat of this organization and the communities we serve. At the end of the day, my priorities are rooted in the same values that guide many of our members: Faith, Family and Farm Credit. If we stay true to those, we’ ll not only grow, we’ ll grow in the right direction.
What leadership principles guide your decision-making in a role like this? For me, it starts with something simple but powerful: treat others the way I want to be treated. That principle shapes how I lead, how I communicate and how I show up every day. I also believe deeply in listening before speaking. It’ s amazing what you can learn when you slow down and genuinely hear what people are saying.
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