Customer-owner Krystal didn't come from a farming background. She was not raised on a farm. She had no experience growing the staple Mid-South crops, or any crops for that matter. What she did have is something powerful-a dream.
Krystal has wanted to be a farmer for as long as she can remember. Not everyone shared her enthusiasm, however. She pitched her idea to bank, after bank, after bank without success.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” Krystal said, “I just knew I wanted to be a farmer, so I kept up knocking on doors and finally, someone said yes.”
That someone just happened to be Farm Credit. Krystal found support in Christy Case, who believed in what she was trying to do.
“Krystal came to us about 10 years ago,” Christy shared. “She had been to a number of banks and they were struggling to take her seriously, mostly because she was a young female trying to get started in farming on her own without family support or even background in farming.”
Christy further explained that, "realizing not everyone has that support system, Farm Credit is dedicated to our Young, Beginning & Small Farmers Program. Krystal was a perfect fit for it and she has flourished."
After being shocked by the pushback she had received from other lenders, even Krystal was a little surprised at the support at first. She has taken that support and ran with it, starting that first year with 200 acres and today farming a little over 1000 acres—half soybeans and half rice, sometimes with a little milo or corn. She works with a supportive partner, who offers input and insight as she makes important decisions.
Krystal shares that the toughest challenge she faces in the agriculture industry really has nothing to do with the work itself and everything to do with being a woman. No matter what though, she has not let that affect her success. In fact, it’s a driving force for her. After all, she has her daughter, Haiven, to model behavior for; so quitting is not an option.
As Krystal lives by every day, "if you have a dream, just because you come from nothing, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do big things in the world.”
