By Kathryn Fidler, USDA

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is celebrating 25 years of the agency’s popular Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL) this month. For a quarter century, family-owned agricultural operations have received low-interest financing through the program to enhance or expand their operations and manage marketing of the commodities they produce by building or upgrading permanent and portable storage facilities and purchasing needed handling equipment. 

“Participating in FSA’s Farm Storage Facility Loans program provides producers affordable financing that allows them to build an on-farm storage system the right way from day one — a system that provides grain handling capacity for years to come,” said FSA Administrator Bill Beam. “Many people think of grain storage when they hear on-farm commodity storage, but the reality is, the program has expanded over the past quarter century to include a variety of storage and handling options including bins, cold storage, trucks and more, all designed to help agricultural producers take their commodities from field to facility to the end user.”   Continue reading →

Meet Kirstin Bailey of Fox Run Farms, a diversified family operation in Brainard, Nebraska. Photo by Sydney Erickson, FSA.

By Sydney Erickson, Farm Service Agency 

Meet Kirstin Bailey of Fox Run Farms, a diversified family operation in Brainard, Nebraska. Kirstin and her family transformed the farm in the early 2000s, planting the beginnings of their vineyard and adding specialty crops soon after. As the farm began to grow, Kirstin discovered new opportunities for growth and sustainability with honeybees, showing that busy bees can make a big difference.  

Finding a Solution  

Walking around Kirstin’s family farm, it is easy to see the history of Fox Run Farms. Sheds, large and small barns, and a vineyard showcase the generations that have helped it become what it is today.   Continue reading →

Daniel Jossund is a beginning farmer from Perley, Minnesota, and the 2023 American FFA Star Farmer. Photo courtesy of Daniel Jossund

By Ellyn Oelfke, FSA, Minnesota 

Meet Daniel Jossund of Perley, Minnesota, where he raises corn, wheat, soybeans, sugar beets, and barley with his family. When he isn’t working the land, he’s busy studying economics at North Dakota State University with plans to farm full time after he graduates in 2025.

Daniel received an honor of a lifetime at the 2023 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis – the American FFA Star Farmer award. According to FFA, this award goes to the FFA member that demonstrates the top production agriculture supervised agricultural experience in the nation. The member must demonstrate outstanding achievement, active FFA participation and an exemplary scholastic record. Continue reading →