Susan

Why I chose agriculture

I grew up in southern California but went to college at the University of Wyoming. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but I really enjoyed the ag classes I took. I met my husband there and he was a Wyoming rancher, so here we are.

Our greatest challenge

Ranching is a wonderful life, but with our cattle, our performance horses and our outfitting business, we have an enormous amount of work to accomplish. The challenge is to get it all done. On the plus side, we work well together as a family.

Our business approach

We acquired a lot of land some time ago, but we’re not planning to get bigger. Efficiency and quality are the two things we focus on. Our performance horse business is growing by leaps and bounds and at the same time we are cutting back on the outfitting business. We try to do everything we can to get it right.

Being part of a cooperative

Energy is the biggest business in our area, and banks here are really into that industry. As members of a financial cooperative, we see that everyone is pro-ag and everyone is on the same page. That is a huge plus.

Why we work with FCSAmerica

Borrowers usually send checks to their lenders, so when we get our cash-back dividend check, I think that’s unusual. When we had big land loans, they helped us convert to lower rates and that was very important. Plus Farm Credit knows the ag business, they always follow up when you ask a question, and they are friends as well as lenders.