Building tomorrow’s agriculture, today. Discover the FCS Financial Focused. Customized. Solutions.™ approach to service. It’s our way of bringing the right resources to you to make your business successful. We are focused on the strong relationships and values of Missouri’s rural communities. And, we know that managing your business risk not only depends on having a variety of products that offer the best protection but the right person to provide accurate information and follow through. Just as these young and beginning farmers do, you can also rely on your FCS Financial team to be ready with the expertise you need to make sound decisions.
ANOTHER GENERATION OF GROWTH Although he’s only 30 years old, Charles Henke already has more than a couple of decades of on-the-job experience. Like a lot of agricultural producers, the Salisbury farmer and cattleman got an early start, purchasing his first heifer at the age of 8 and buying half-interest in the family cowherd when he was 16. Today, he and his father, Ron, run an extensive cropping operation as well as an Angus seedstock enterprise with a growing reputation for putting its brand on the beef industry. “I enjoy farming but the cattle are my passion,” Henke says. “The challenge of matching the right cow with the right bull, balancing the traits important to commercial cattlemen, and continually improving our cattle is something I get a lot of satisfaction from.” Charles is a fifth generation Chariton County farmer and a fourth generation member of the FCS Financial family, a connection that goes back to the Production Credit Association (PCA) in the 1940s. The family farm has been built generation by generation and Charles is intent on keeping that tradition going. Recently, he and Ron had the opportunity to purchase the farm right across the road. “That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we didn’t want to miss if it made sense financially,” he says. “We sat down with the FCS Financial folks and came up with a plan. FCS Financial really stepped up to the plate. They were right there at our side and we were successful. We have a great relationship. There’s a lot of trust and respect back and forth — they’re important to our operation.” He adds that competitive interest rates and services like a Funds Held and Farm Cash Management complement FCS Financial’s understanding of production agriculture. Charles has plenty of reasons to keep the family farm prosperous and growing but two of them are special. He and his wife, Robyn, have two sons — 2-year old Colin and Byron who was born in July. “I’m hoping they’ll want to be part of this someday,” Charles concludes. “They’d be the sixth generation — and the fifth to be FCS Financial customers.”
Story and photos by Mark Parker
PASSION FOR AGRICULTURE Learning, teaching and sharing their love of agriculture, Jered and Ashley Brown are beginning a life together on a farm near Brighton. Both are vocational agriculture teachers —Jered at Marshfield and Ashley at Hermitage — but their own classroom is the dairy operation they run in partnership with Jered’s dad, Fred, and brother, Matt. “There’s always something new to learn,” Jered observes. “We’re just getting started but we want to build the herd, update the facilities, get more ground into alfalfa and find ways to become more efficient.” FCS Financial has been there to help the young couple create a beginning in agriculture with credit for cows, equipment and a home. “FCS Financial’s experience in agriculture has been important,” Jered says. “They know how to arrange a payment schedule that fits our cash flow and I’m sure that comes from experience with a lot of different types of farming operations. Understanding what we’re trying to accomplish and the structure of our business is important to using credit as a tool to get where we want to be.” Although Jered and Ashley plan to grow the dairy, their ag educator careers will remain a big part of their lives. “We’re passionate about agriculture,” Ashley explains. “We love the students and we feel we’re doing something to help agriculture stay strong. Ag teachers made a difference in my life and I want to do the same for my students.” Active in the Missouri Farm Bureau, Jered and Ashley chair Polk County’s Young Farmers and Ranchers and won the state YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award. In addition to a trip to Hawaii where they competed with other state winners, the Browns were awarded a John Deere Gator through FCS Financial’s support of the YF&R program. With competitive rates and the focused, customized service they receive, Jered and Ashley plan to include FCS Financial in their future plans. “When it comes time to buy land and expand the operation, that’s where we’ll go,” Jered says.
JUMPSTARTING A FUTURE IN FARMING Getting started in farming — that’s the toughest part. Everybody knows it, especially Lee Schmitz. The young man from Wyaconda knew what he wanted but, sometimes, hard work and pinching pennies isn’t enough to get you where you want to go. Sometimes, you need high-level financial expertise and a commitment to the future of farming and rural communities — the kind of assistance at which FCS Financial excels. “It would have been very tough to finance it without FCS Financial — probably impossible,” Lee says. “The capital requirements aren’t easy for a young guy to come up with.” Lee farms with his dad, David, and works in the family’s custom ag spraying business. And now, thanks to his FCS Financial connection, he owns the small farm that will be the beginning of a future in farming for him and his wife, Susan, their 3-year old son, Jonathan, and 6-year old daughter, Kathrinn. “I always wanted to farm and the Beginning Farmer program is making that possible,” Lee explains. “It’s not just about interest rates. I’ve gotten a lot of valuable financial advice. FCS Financial has been great to work with. They know agriculture and they want to help me succeed.” The ag spraying business will continue to be important for Lee, who served three years in the Army after high school. “I enjoy it and I learn a lot,” he says. “And, I sure don’t have near enough acres to be a full-time farmer but it’s a start.” Farming with his father and working with other area growers, however, is a tremendous learning experience on the production side of farming. On the financial side, Lee is counting on the team of professionals from FCS Financial to help him navigate the industry that is their everyday focus. “I feel like I’m investing in the future for my family,” Lee concludes. “I expect tough times as well as good times but I believe it will be well worth it.” Who is a Young, Beginning or Small Farmer? Young farmers are 35 years old or younger; Beginning farmers have less than 10 years of farming, ranching, or aquatic experience; Small farmers generate less than $250,000 in annual gross sales from agricultural production. If you meet one or more of these criteria, you may be eligible for an FCS Financial special lending program. This program is available for new loans to existing, qualifying customers or for new loans to new, qualifying applicants. Federal and state loan guarantee programs are also available as part of our special financing program. For more information about this and other financing programs, contact your nearest FCS Financial office.
DRIVEN BY A FUTURE IN FARMING Most days, Wayne Hackmann is chasing his dream from before sunup to dark:30. When the workday ends at his excavating company job, he’s back home building his future in farming. “I don’t mind the work,” he says. “It moves me toward my goal and that’s what drives me.” Near Warrenton, Mo., the young farmer’s small but diverse operation includes crops and forage, a small cowherd, and a partnership in a gilt-farrowing enterprise. At 25, he’s just getting started but he’s thankful for the opportunity to be a part of American agriculture. “My dream was always to farm but how do you even get started? There wasn’t a family farm for me to be part of but I still had the dream,” Hackmann says. Having worked for his friend and brother-inlaw, Jeremy Hecktor, since he was 14, Hackmann had the experience and with the help of FCS Financial, he’s building his farming future. “In every way, they’ve been helpful and supportive,” Hackmann says. “Everybody you work with is so knowledgeable. I didn’t have much experience with the financial side of things and they’ve helped me understand and pick the best options for me. Stacy Ward, my loan officer, has just been great. He understands farming and credit and my goals. Maybe I could have gotten a start without them— I don’t know — but I know it’s been a lot better with their help.” Hackmann’s relationship with FCS Financial began two years ago with a loan for some cows and calves. Today he owns 42 acres, rents more, and he and Hecktor are farrowing out 80 gilts in partnership — and he’s part of Hecktor’s farming operation. “With a full-time job on top of it all, the hours add up,” Hackmann admits, “but I love it and I have to give a lot of credit to FCS for helping me get a start.”
Focused. Customized. Solutions.™ For Who You Are. For What You Do.
Visit www.myfcsfinancial.com or call 1-800-444-3276 to find an FCS Financial team member in your area and learn how we can put our expertise to work for you.
Focused. Customized. Solutions. is a trademark of FCS Financial, ACA. FCS Financial is an equal opportunity provider.