FCS Financial: One Hundred Years July 2016 | Page 106

Loan officer Chad McCollough came from a farming family
(both his father and grandfather were Farm Credit borrowers) and
received his degree in agronomy from Northeast Missouri State
University in Maryville, joining the association in 2009. His own
seventy-two-acre farm feeds his own family and helps him stay in
touch with the challenges farmers, particularly those in the YBS
demographics, face every day. “It’s a lot more difficult today to get
into farming if you don’t have some kind of help,” he acknowledged,
whether that help comes in the form of an opportunity to purchase
second-hand equipment or share labor or equipment with other
farmers. “A young borrower might not have anything other
than his work ethic to help him get by.” A Young, Beginning, or
Small farmer with a good work ethic will also find plenty of help
through FCS Financial where special financing programs take
their particular needs for both capital and risk management into
consideration.
But financing is just one part of the equation for YBS farmers.
To address their other needs, FCS Financial developed Connect, a
two-year program launched in 2015 with four key segments—credit
standards, knowledge sharing, communication, and cooperative
representation—designed to help them maximize their potential.
Participants are given opportunities to qualify for a $500 credit
toward the attendance of regional educational seminars, have FCS
Financial subsidize their tuition to attend Ag Biz Planner through
Farm Credit University which is an online course taught by Dr.
David Kohl, or attend an FCS Financial two-year educational
program. In addition, participants are given free access to
GrainBridge risk management software.
Beyond the educational opportunities, special advisory
meetings are held in which Connect participants have an
opportunity to share their needs and concerns with the FCS
Financial leadership team, directors, and local offices. As in any
relationship, good communication is vital and FCS Financial gives
its YBS farmers every possible avenue for getting the latest industry
news, keeping tabs on their account, transferring documents
electronically, and networking through social media.

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