GOSHEN, Ind. -- Underscoring a new example of trademark controversy involving the American Farm Bureau Federation, the $450 million Elkhart County Farm Bureau Credit Union is shedding the Farm Bureau moniker to become known as Interra Credit Union late this summer.
The rebranding, which comes after years of negotiations between the CU and the Washington trade group, joined in by the state FB affiliate, could have national impact on other CUs linked to Farm Bureaus, though the AFBF insisted it had no pending license policing cases on hand.
"We did not roll over easily for this, but we're hoping the change doesn't hurt us much," declared Jack A. Sheets, president/CEO of Elkhart County, who drew parallels with other well-known cases among airline and insurance firms of corporate sponsors demanding CUs rebrand to avoid trademark or identity conflicts.
He cited consolidation of the Nationwide Insurance CU with an Ohio bank and United Airlines asking its Chicago airline CU, now Alliant CU, to adopt a new name.
As for Elkhart County, Sheets said the Farm Bureau brand "has been very good for us over the years" and, while CU attorneys told him the CU might have been successful in winning a trademark suit, in the end it decided to follow AFBP demands, including no longer using the FB logo initials.
The formal request from AFBF came seven months ago, the CU said, and the membership agreed to the change by an overwhelming margin on March 17.
The CU, it was noted, was founded in 1932 by Farm Bureau members and co-op employees.
"Over the years FBCU has expanded and holds significant brand equity within the membership and the local communities it serves," said the CU statement. The CU has 44,000 members and nine offices in Elkhart County.
Sheets suggested that the move to request the name change may have originated with the AFBF formation of a Georgia bank and talk that the Goshen CU could become part of the now $550 million Sparks, Nev. thrift, known as Farm Bureau Bank FSB.
"Look, I'm a diehard credit union and co-op man," said Sheets, noting he personally would have discouraged his board from pursuing that course if the issue ever surfaced.
As for the licensing, Thomas Casey, assistant general counsel for AFBF, said in Washington the federation began pursuing "our licensing rights as to how our name is being used" years ago following a request by the Indiana Farm Bureau, which alerted the national farming organization made up of Farm Bureau affiliates and county units from all 50 states.
"We worked out a mutually agreeable settlement with Elkhart County," said Casey, noting however that AFBF retains policing authority on U.S. licensing of the Farm Bureau name and the FB logo.
The Elkhart County case, he said, was simply brought to our attention by the Indiana FB, adding he was unaware of requests by other state FB organizations to force name changes at other CUs
Sheets noted that Beacon CU in Wabash dropped the Farm Bureau name several years ago, while the Indiana CU League said there are a handful of small CUs in the state that also carry the Farm Bureau moniker, but it was uncertain if they would have to change names.
Smaller Farm Bureau CUs exist in Texas, Arkansas and Hawaii, said Sheets noting he was unfamiliar with their status.
Meanwhile, the marketing staff at the Goshen CU said it was enthused about the rebranding campaign over the summer to "take advantage of this kind of attention and the ability to shine the spotlight on us."
The Interra name was advanced by its Seattle consultant, Weber Marketing Co., which combined "Indiana' and "terra."
"We wanted a name that spoke to our area and our members," said Sheets, "Interra makes a connection back to our agricultural and community roots."
--jrubenscut@aol.com
