Mary Hood: Shattering ceilings in agricultural banking

Published 3:00 am Thursday, July 6, 2023

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ALBANY, Ore. — Farmers come to Mary Hood every day for advice, although the president of Oregon Women for Agriculture admits she is no farmer. Aside from her own “gigantic” garden she grows every year at her North Albany property, Hood’s work is inside a Salem office, far from the fields and flocks.

Despite her clean hands, since 1991 Hood has worked as an agricultural lender, connecting farmers with the funds they need to purchase land, new equipment, or get by until they can sell the next crop.

Today, she is a senior vice president at Umpqua Bank, leading a team of 16 agricultural professionals across Western Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Pretty good for someone who said she graduated from Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis without a plan for her future.

“I didn’t have this master plan, although my mom remembers me always playing with money when I was a kid. She wasn’t surprised when I went into banking,” said Hood.

After Hood blew through three programs in nine months at Trend Business College in Salem, a bank offered her a job as an entry-level loan assistant on its agricultural lending team.

It would be the first and last job interview she would have. Through mergers, acquisitions and bank failures, Hood’s team has persisted, bringing to each new office the ability to help farmers with long and short-term financing needs. Hood said she is already helping her third generation of farming clients.

“I’m really proud of that,” she said. “You become a partner with your clients to help them reach their goals — I honestly couldn’t ask for a better job.”

In the process she has shattered a glass ceiling in a banking field dominated by men. She said she is the only female senior vice president she knows of leading an agricultural banking team here in the Northwest.

“I feel like I mother a lot of people,” laughed the actual mother of three, ages 13, 18 and 22.

Her banking work inspired her to join organizations that support agriculture. Along with her current duties as state president of OWA, Mary is a board member of American Agri-Women, a past president of the Linn-Benton OWA Chapter, treasurer of the Oregon Ryegrass Growers Association, past president for Oregon AgFest — and she volunteers for other industry events and meetings.

Hood said OWA’s membership includes more than farmers and farmer’s wives; many are teachers or ag professionals who serve the industry, like herself. Recent projects include developing a mini-grant program to provide funds in support of youth ag projects.

In addition to ag literacy projects, OWA continues to work hard in educating the public such as the popular crop identification signs located along highways throughout Oregon.

Most importantly, the eight chapters’ meetings in homes or over a meal provide support and networking to all those who work to support Oregon agriculture.

“The connections help me better understand agriculture. But it’s not just for my job. It’s who I am,” she said, adding that joining OWA in 2015 has expanded her horizons. “It’s great to be a part of something that’s so genuinely committed to telling the story of Oregon agriculture — I’m proud to be a small part of it.”

A Capital Press’ annual special section that highlights the contributions women make in the agricultural sector.

Read the stories of the exceptional women featured Women in Ag 2023:

Erika Ackley: ‘I like the independence of farming’

Geri Byrne: ‘I love to organize’

Lerrina Collins: Fluent in the language of stockdogs

April England: ‘It’s not just a job, it’s a life’

Suzanne Gallagher: ‘I love the work, I love the land and I love the cattle’

Denise Godfrey: A love of plants, and for the community

Mary Hood: Shattering ceilings in ag banking

Sharon Hoyt: A passion for the ranching lifestyle

Jessica Jansen: ‘I love agriculture, and I love teaching people about it’

Jean Kurtz, Ali Rodgers: Telling wine’s story in the Umpqua Valley