One of Tom's earliest memories is riding a tractor with his dad and granddad on the family’s farm in Western Tennessee. In high school, he would come home from football practice to help his dad, instilling a strong work ethic that led him back to his roots in agriculture after college.
When Tom graduated with his degree in agribusiness, agriculture was experiencing a period of high yields and strong commodity prices. By the time he had the opportunity to start his own operation, the industry had entered a downward cycle. Adding to the challenge, he established his operation on land with poor-quality soil that produced low yields. Still, he reflects on those initial years of his operation with gratitude.
“I'm very thankful I came into farming during that cycle because I think it helped teach me what to expect management-wise and not to assume everything's always going to be easy,” Tom said. “Nine times out of 10, it's not easy. You have to figure out a way to be profitable and successful.”
Tom had a solid foundation with his education, community connections and his father as a mentor, but quickly realized he needed more support for his operation to grow. As a young farmer, Tom didn’t know how to access all the available tools and resources. That’s when Tom learned about the Growing Forward® program* through his Farm Credit Mid-America financial officer.
Growing Forward is Farm Credit Mid-America’s program for young, beginning and first-time farmers. Designed and exclusively offered to producers age 35 and younger, or those with fewer than 10 years of farming experience, Growing Forward reduces barriers to entry for new farmers by providing access to the first-time farm loans and financial education they need to build a thriving operation.
“I went from farming land that no one wanted to work, producing maybe 20 to 50 bushels of beans per acre,” said Tom. “Today, I operate 1,400 acres and grow corn, cotton and soybeans. I could not have done it without Farm Credit Mid-America by my side, working with me and telling me the possible outcomes of each decision I needed to make.”
Growing Forward helped Tom dig deeper into the financial side of his operation and strategize for the future by setting one, five and 10-year goals. The program also provided the opportunity to meet and learn from other young and beginning farmers of different backgrounds who were on similar journeys.
“It really helped me decide how I want my operation to grow and get different perspectives,” Tom explained. "Farm Credit Mid-America is a huge advocate for first-generation farmers. They're not just looking for operations that have been doing business with them for years—they're also looking to grow with brand-new operations."
Learn more about our Growing Forward program and how to get involved today.
*Growing Forward® is a registered trademark of Farm Credit Mid-America.
