Ask FSA Andy about farm loan servicing

Hello again,

I hope that everyone has been able to get their hay made and field work kept up with.

The weather this spring has certainly kept us all on our toes.

We have had some personnel changes with our Farm Loan team this year and I thought I ought to share that with you.

Loan officers

Our area farm loan manager is Lisa Baird. She operates out of the New Philadelphia office.

Stephanie McDougal is starting in the New Philadelphia office as a Farm Loan Officer in Training.

These ladies assist producers with loans in Belmont, Carroll, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, and Tuscarawas counties. Contact them at 330-339-4791.

In Ravenna, you can see Teresa Goode, farm loan officer serving Ashtabula, Columbiana, Geauga, Lake, Mahoning, Portage, Stark, Summit and Trumbull counties. Call the Ravenna office at 330-297-7633.

In Zanesville, the farm loan officer is Tina Mellinger serving Coshocton, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry, Washington, and Muskingum counties. Call 740-454-2824.

If you need to contact anyone for information on the Farm Loan Program, you can also contact your local FSA office and we will put you in touch with our local farm loan team.

We are fortunate to have such a caring and skilled set of folks to take care of us.

Tight budget

Speaking of taking care of us, let’s chat about a touchy topic.

Let’s say you have a loan with FSA and your payment is coming due. The market prices have tanked and you are coming up short.

Give your farm loan office a call. We are not in the loan business because we want to come and seize your collateral — we are farmers too.

We want to work with you and your situation, and give you some tools to get you back on track.

Unlike your traditional bank loan, FSA can provide you with credit counseling and take a serious look at your business operating plan, make suggestions, and have an honest conversation with you about your farming operation.

We want your operation to succeed and we have the tools to help you achieve that goal. We just need you to communicate with us as early as possible if there are problems.

Credit

The ultimate goal of an FSA loan officer is to build up your business to a place that we can move you on to a more traditional form of credit.

The purpose of the FSA Loan Program is to provide funding to producers who can’t attain financing from traditional sources of credit.

Not every bank understands why you want a loan to buy cows or fertilizer. We have a variety of loans from microloans, operating loans, and guaranteed loans, to build up your farming operation and help you achieve your goals.

Give one of our Farm Loan team members a call or stop by your local FSA office with any questions.

We are here to serve!

Have a great week,

FSA Andy