Rick and Sandy

Why we work with FCSAmerica

We’ve been with Farm Credit for 20 years. We started with a real estate loan that led to an operating loan and AgDirect machinery loans. We also have feeder cattle loans and hail insurance through Farm Credit. So, we utilize them quite a bit in our operation. They're quality people, it's a quality organization, and they're very competitive. The knowledge they provide to our operation is probably one of the biggest benefits of doing business with them.

Our business approach

We've grown this operation an awful lot. You've got to keep growing or you're going backwards. At the same time, we probably do it a little bit conservatively. Farm Credit is that way as well. They've seen a lot of growth, but yet they are fairly conservative. We match up really well in the way we do those things. You know, we can't control the weather and we can't control the prices, so we focus on the things we can control – and that's our managing ability, our inputs and our breakeven costs on everything.

The value of FCSAmerica's digital tools

The days of being able to do everything we need to do during business hours are over. That's impossible today. So, being able to use their digital tools on a phone or computer, to see where we're at financially and make deposits at any time, either early in the morning or late at night, is a huge factor.

Future challenges

It's so tough to get into agriculture right now unlike when we started. I don't think anyone could have imagined the costs would be so high. You could start 35 years ago without having to borrow a lot of money, but today you have to borrow a lot to start out. That's a big challenge. I think the ability to work with our FCSAmerica financial officer, with the comfort level we have and how much he knows our operation is a key to our success. He has such valuable input into how we move our operation forward. We really rely on him as well as FCSAmerica support staff for that.

What I love about agriculture

I love being my own boss and being with Mother Nature every day. There's a new challenge every day, but something great happens every day, too.