2024 Director Elections
Learn more about this year's candidates
Seat One - Two Candidates are running for a three-year term
Nominated from the Eastern Region: Auburn, Bedford, Dayville, Derby, Enfield, Middleboro, Middlebury, Potsdam, Presque Isle, Riverhead, St. Albans and White River Junction offices.
Barry Allan Buck (age 49) of Mapleton, Maine, is partner at Buck Land Company, LLC which owns over 1,000 acres of farm and forest land, sells potatoes and grain in a developed market, as well as buys and sells farm equipment throughout the northeast. Learn more about Barry
James Alvin Robbins II (age 51) of Searsmont, Maine, is co-owner and president of Robbins Lumber Inc, an Eastern White Pine Lumber mill with four locations, as well as sustainably manages over 28 ,000 acres of working timberland and operates an 8.5 MW biomass power plant. Learn more about Jim
Seat Two - One candidate is running for a four-year term
Nominated from the Central Region: Bridgeton, Claverack, Cooperstown, Flemington, Greenwich and Middletown offices.
Laurie Keene Griffen (age 60) of Schuylerville, NY, is Co-owner and operator of Saratoga Sod Farm consisting of approximately 700 acres of turfgrass sod, a range of seed and fertilizer products and a sod installation service, 600 acres of corn and soybeans and a retail bagged garden soil operation. Learn more about Laurie
Seat Three - Two candidates are running for a four-year term
Nominated from the Western Region: Batavia, Burrville, Cortland, Geneva, Hornell and Mayville offices.
Douglas W. Shelmidine (age 67) of Adams, NY, is owner and operator of Sheland Farms LLC, a 900-cow dairy with 730 head of youngstock and crops about 3,000 acres, as well as operating Sheland Farm Services, a business offering crop-related services. Learn more about Doug
Wendy Oakes Wilson (age 57) of Lyndonville, NY, is general manager of LynOaken Farms and Leonard Oakes Estate Winery. She also serves as treasurer of the LynOaken Farms’ Corporate Board and president of the Leonard Oakes Board. Learn more Wendy
Meet the 2024 Director Candidates
Director Candidate Forum
At Farm Credit East's 2024 Annual Meeting, a Director Candidate Forum was held to allow members to ask questions of the five candidates running for three Board of Director seats in 2024. Click play below to listen to the audio recording.
Election Process
Voting for directors will be by mail or online ballot within 10 business days following the annual meeting. Voters must be a stockholder of record as of March 1, 2024.
Candidates are listed by open seat and alphabetically by name. The election polls shall be closed no earlier than fifteen calendar days following the date on which the ballots are mailed to stockholders.
The election for each position shall be conducted independently with each voting stockholder given an opportunity to vote for each of the three open positions. You will have the option to complete a paper ballot or an online ballot. A third-party election tabulator will count the votes and declare the winners within five business days of the voting deadline. The candidate receiving the largest number of votes for each position shall be declared elected.
Annual Meeting
Farm Credit East's 2024 Annual Meeting was held on Monday, March 25, at the Albany Marriott located at 189 Wolf Road in Albany, N.Y. View the Annual Meeting Information Statement below for more details on this year's meeting and the candidates running for the board of directors in 2024.