FCS Financial: One Hundred Years July 2016 | Page 108

Few people personify the FCS Financial experience better than
YBS farmer Zach McClellan. Zach grew up on a farm in Albany,
Missouri, showing sheep and then cattle at fairs as a member of 4-H
and Junior FFA. After high school he went to technical school for
diesel mechanics and started working part-time for a nearby farmer.
The school placed him in a job with a dealership and Zach quickly
discovered he liked working with machines far more than with the
public. His work on the farm turned into a partnership of sorts that
has created a win/win situation for both Zach and his mentor.
When he was ready to acquire a farm of his own, Zach
approached Scott Gardner. “I went in and talked to Scott, told him
what I had and what I wanted to do. Scott got back to me and told me
what I needed to do to make it happen.” That was in 2004 and he now
farms about 450 acres of his own, continues farming with his mentor,
and owns part of a small equipment company in Chillicothe which he
works during the winter. Scott wasted no time getting Zach into the
YBS program and he now serves on the YBS Advisory Board.
Zach’s equipment costs are low because of his working
arrangement with his mentor. In return for the work he does on the
farm, Zach gets to use his mentor’s equipment. At prices that reach
$375,000 for a used combine, Zach is now able to start acquiring his
own though he acknowledges his roots on the farm have made him
financially conservative. Still, he trusts the advice of Jordan Harmon,
his current loan officer in the Chillicothe office. “I think they’d tell
you ‘no’ before they’d let you do something that they don’t think is
right,” he said. “That’s my level of trust in them.” If given the chance
to talk to future young farmers, Zach would tell them, “I don’t want
people to think you can just go borrow everything to get started. You
can’t just get it handed to you. You gotta’ be willing to work at it; you
can’t walk in the front door and expect them to hand it to you. Even if
it was a high school kid that wanted to get a mowing business started
. . . if you’re willing to work, they’ll help you.”
FCS Financial understands that supporting agriculture means
supporting the communities in which their member/owners live,
work, and play, and they do so in a variety of ways. Employees at

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