Stephen and Kayte Leatherwood check on one of their cows at their 66-acre cattle ranch in Georgia that was purchased with the help of an FSA farm ownership loan.
By Michael Booth, Public Affairs Specialist
Stephen Leatherwood looks out over his 66-acre cattle ranch, with two ponds fully stocked with catfish, and knows he’s come a long way since he started farming and ranching.
His cattle ranch in Georgia isn’t where he began, though. Four years ago, at the age of 20, on a four-and-a-half acre farm in North Carolina, Stephen started growing tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers. In the ensuing three years, he’s had successful growing seasons, finished his college degree, bought a cattle ranch, and, perhaps most important, married his girlfriend, Kayte.
Stephen worked his way through college by leasing the land in North Carolina and continued after graduation.
“I grew up on my dad’s farm and always said I’d go to school and do something else,” Stephen said. But after graduating from Western Carolina University with a degree in natural resources, with a focus on plant and soil sciences, farming still seemed to be a natural fit for him.
Stephen wanted to begin farming now, not wait several years until he had built up a credit history, so he visited the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Haywood County, North Carolina to explore a microloan for operating costs to get him through his first growing season until he could sell his harvest.
He paid off the microloan after crop sales, then did the same thing the next year. This time, after another successful growing season, he was ready to expand and applied for a traditional farm ownership loan to purchase the cattle ranch in Georgia.
“At 23 years old, I never would have been able to secure funding for this tract of land if it wasn’t for the USDA Farm Service Agency,” Stephen said.
He’s 24 years old now, on his fourth successful year of farming and ranching, and still has his eyes set on expanding his operations in both Georgia and North Carolina.
As for his decision to continue in his father’s footsteps, he said he has no regrets. He and Kayte are enjoying their new life together on the farm – and enjoying the fresh catfish, too.
To learn more about FSA farm loans, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/farmloans, or contact an FSA office near you. To find your local FSA county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov. New farmers can also learn more about USDA programs by exploring www.fsa.usda.gov/newfarmers.
