Fulkerson Winery relied on Farm Credit’s NYS Certified appraiser John Nicholas to help plan and finance their winery construction. Sayre shared their appraisal experience with Financial Partner magazine.

“We had accurate values early on in our planning. When we had changes and cost overruns, our loan officer Rodger Francis knew what he could do.

We wanted a winery building similar to the original 1860’s barn to fit into the farm history. We knew that a unique structure would mean higher lost capital than a more standard building –but that is part of business growth. There are also certain equipment investments that you lose a lot of capital with. For instance, juice tanks depreciate about a third and stay at that level. Other items like wooden barrels and sprayers depreciate into nothing. John handled all of those things well and did a careful job with the appraisal.

It is always good to know where you stand.”