Allen Mackrain, farm loan manager (left), assisted Leonard Bird with a farm loan to help his family have more control over their farming operation.
by Leonard Bird, small acreage farmer along the Rio Grande River
I live on the Santo Domingo Pueblo reservation in North Central New Mexico. My father is from Santo Domingo Pueblo and my mother is from Cochiti Pueblo. As far back as I can remember, all of my childhood years were centered around riding horses, taking of our small herd of livestock or helping my uncles with their alfalfa. Raising alfalfa was something I always wanted to do. There was something about looking at a green field of alfalfa and smelling the plants. I knew I was destined to be a farmer — like it or not.
My father died in an accident when I was young and since I was the eldest of two sons I was put into the position of taking care of my family’s livestock and farmland. At that time we had no farming equipment and had to ask other farmers from the Pueblo who owned equipment to help us harvest alfalfa and feed for our livestock. I made a promise to myself that I would one day own my own equipment so I wouldn’t have to ask anyone for help.
But the cost of equipment is high and with my father no longer there to provide, and no bank willing to accommodate a young person with no collateral, it was going to be a good while before we could stop asking other farmers for help.
About five years ago I was able to purchase my own tractor and piece by piece I was able to buy basic equipment needed on the farm. The only item I did not own was a baler — until this past fall.
I met with a Farm Service Agency Loan officer and explained my situation of having to pay someone to bale my newly planted alfalfa. I filled out an application, which was easy with his help. Within a month I had found a John Deere baler online. It was located in Kansas, but fit within my budget. My FSA application was approved and I traveled to Kansas with my trailer in tow and brought back a John Deere baler.
Thanks to FSA I now have a baler that I can use when I want and I no longer have to ask or wait on someone or pay a high price for baling. That is the best part. Independence is a great thing.
