“When we started, we went to FSA, then Farm Credit. Oldham sees financing as the biggest challenge. And Oldham has earned a new title of Wild Horse Cultural Educator. The Double-D is the newest of three wild horse sanctuaries in America. After doing so, she became a founder of the Native American Youth Agriculture Summit in association with the University of Arkansas’ Indigenous Food & Agriculture Initiative. It opened her eyes to opportunities and spiked her inspiration. Getting off the reservation and getting an education is imperative, she stresses. The local FFA chapter comes out to learn, and participate in daily chores.” “As a business, we sell our product, and offer education. They market in package deals or on the hoof. As a 13-year-old, she started her own cattle operation with a Farm Service Agency loan, and today partners with her brother and parents in pasturing 600 head of all-natural beef and lamb on their father’s 900-acre Double-D Beef ranch. Odessa Oldham, a Navajo sheep and cattle rancher from Lander, Wyo., was honored earlier this spring as a Farm Credit 100 influencer.
Wild horses couldn’t keep Oldham from ranching The event included a panel discussion by young farmers and ranchers exploring opportunities and needs for next-gen agriculture. “We make specific efforts to meet their unique financing needs to help them thrive even as lower commodity prices put pressure on farmers,” adds Van Hoose. Dollar volume of loans increased 6.0%, 6.4% and 2.3% respectively from 2014 to 2015. New loans to these groups rose 3.5%, 4.0% and 2.3%, respectively, from 2014 to 2015. To better track loans made to this segment, Farm Credit associations split young farmer/rancher loans into three groups: Young – those 35 years and younger beginning – those farming 10 years or less and small – those with gross annual sales under $250,000. “A lot of beginning farmers aren’t so young,” points out Todd Van Hoose, president and CEO of the Farm Credit Council. The events, kicked off during National Ag Week, brought a lot of synergy and focus on younger farmers. Traditionally thought of as a lending source for established farm and agribusiness enterprises, this spring’s Farm Credit 100 events in the nation’s capital underscored its growth as a financial and management resource for young, beginning and small-scale farmers and ranchers. Farm Credit System’s celebration of 100 years brought a noteworthy focus on younger farmers.
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