Isreal Gordon, Jr., (right) and FSA Farm Loan Officer Precilla Wade worked to make Gordon’s dream of being a successful farmer a reality.
by Latrice Hill, FSA Outreach program lead
With the help of the Farm Service Agency, young minority farmers like Isreal Gordon, Jr., have the opportunity to achieve their dreams.
“My grandfather and my daddy were farmers. So, farming is all that I know. Farming has been passed down from generation to generation in our family,” said Gordon.
Gordon is a third generation farmer in Marianna, Ark., who began his own farming operation in 2006 with financial assistance from the Farm Service Agency.
“Without FSA financing my operation, I would not have had this opportunity to do what I love,” said Gordon. “Through hard work and dedication I have been able to pay back FSA and all other debts for six years.”
Gordon has a row crop operation consisting of 1,500 acres of wheat and soybeans. In fiscal year 2011, the young farmer received an FSA low interest farm operating loan and more recently applied for a farm ownership loan to purchase 150 acres. With plans to continue to build on his operation, Gordon said the Lee County FSA staff has provided assistance that his operation has truly benefited from.
Gordon also profited from the Direct Crop Payments to help him successfully meet his farming goals. He received a Crop Assistance Program payment to assist him during the distressed economy and recent excessive rainfall in Arkansas.
“Besides the farm loan assistance, Mr. Gordon was approved to receive Direct and Counter Cyclical Program payments. He has truly been one of our success stories,” said Farm Loan Officer Precilla Wade.
“Most banks require collateral in order to give you a loan and most beginning farmers don’t have that to start,” stated Gordon. “I would not have had the necessary resources or finances to be successful if it had not been for FSA. FSA has allowed me to do what I love through their beginning farmer loan program.”
When asked what his plans for the future are, Gordon said “I look back at how my father farmed and raised me and my sibling. Hopefully I can do the same or better. In the future I hope to pass this down to my son to be a successful black farmer like me.”
