CoBank announces 2017 board officers

 CoBank, a cooperative bank serving agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers and Farm Credit associations throughout the United States, has announced board officers for 2017.

Everett Dobrinski, who has been chairman since 2008, will continue in the chairman's role in 2017. He is the owner and operator of Dobrinski Farm, a cereal grain and oilseed farm in Makoti, North Dakota. He is also a member of the board of The Farm Credit Council and previously served as chairman of Verendrye Electric Cooperative. In addition, he is a member of the board for the North Dakota Coordinating Council for Cooperatives. Dobrinski was first elected to the CoBank board in 1999.

Kevin Riel will serve as first vice chairman. A director since 2014, Riel is the president and chief executive officer of Double 'R' Hop Ranches, a diversified farming operation primarily growing hops, together with apples, grapes and other row crops in Harrah, Washington. Riel is also president and chief executive officer of Tri-Gen Enterprises, Inc., an agricultural marketing operation, and managing partner of WLJ Investments, LLC, a land holding and management company. He is a director of Northwest Farm Credit Services, one of CoBank's affiliated Farm Credit associations, and board president of the Hop Growers of America, a non-profit association promoting the interests of U.S. growers.

Jon Marthedal will serve as second vice chairman. Marthedal is the owner and operator of Marthedal Farms in Fresno, Calif., a family farming operation producing grapes, raisins and blueberries. He is also president of Marthedal Enterprises, Inc., a farm management and custom agriculture service entity, and an owner and operator of Keystone Blue Farms, which also produces blueberries.

He serves on the board of The Farm Credit Council, is a director and past chairman of Sun-Maid Growers of California, and currently serves as president of the California Blueberry Association Board. Marthedal is vice chairman of the California Raisin Marketing Board and of the Raisin Administrative Committee and a director of the California Blueberry Commission. Marthedal has served on the CoBank board since 2013.

"I look forward to working closely with Kevin, Jon and the rest of our directors in the coming year," Dobrinski said. "Our board and executive management team are fully committed to preserving and building the long-term financial strength of the bank so it can continue fulfilling its mission and delivering dependable credit and financial services to our customers in rural communities across the country."

CoBank's 2017 board will consist of 22 directors elected by customer-owners from six voting districts around the country, as well as two outside directors and two appointed directors.

About CoBank

CoBank is a $120 billion cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm Credit associations serving more than 75,000 farmers, ranchers and other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country.

CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture, rural infrastructure and rural communities. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also maintains an international representative office in Singapore.

For more information about CoBank, visit the bank's web site at www.cobank.com.