FSA Loans: Tips for Applications & Success Stories
Presented on February 11th, 2020 by: Carrie Chlebanowski, The Looney Farm & Karl Nail, USDA – FSA
Applying for loans can be challenging. Walkthrough the FSA loan process with both a loan officer & a successful applicant to find out if FSA loans are right for your farm.
About speakers:
Carrie Chlebanoski: In February 2015, Carrie, her husband Joe and 3 of her children moved from Edmond to a 10 acre property on the McClain County line. With little more than a strong gumption and a handful of YouTube subscriptions, they set out to grow a homestead where they could raise their own food and get back to a more sustainable lifestyle. In just the first 3 years they had managed to raised their own beef steer, milk goats, egg layers, and pastured pigs, turkeys and chickens. A garden was part of the endeavor from the beginning, but it wasn’t until mid 2017 that a shift happened and it became the primary focus of their farm. Building their market garden farm on the successful growing methods of internationally recognized farmers such as Eliot Coleman, JM Fortier, Curtis Stone and Ray Tyler, Carrie and Joe have seen firsthand the important role technology plays in farming in the 21st century. Carrie is excited to share how technology made it possible for a 40 something year old suburbanite to become a successful market grower in a little over a year, and how it plays a role in her everyday life on the farm.
Karl Nail: Mr. Nail is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a BS in Agricultural Economics. He has been involved in agriculture his entire life and was active in 4-H and FFA while in school. He resides in Newcastle, OK with his wife and 3 daughters where he owns and manages a diversified farming operation consisting of wheat, soybeans, hay, corn and a cow/calf operation. For over 25 years he and his family produced sweet corn on a large scale for fresh market sale. The sweet corn operation grew from a few extra rows when planting corn to over 40 acres at it’s largest. He also assisted his brother-in-law with his commercial vegetable operation on approximately 40-50 irrigated acres annually. This consisted of farmers markets, farm stand sales, sales to wholesale and supermarket clients and two fall pumpkin patch operations.
He has served on the Newcastle City Council for 14 years and as Mayor of the City of Newcastle for 11 years. He has worked for USDA for 30 years and currently oversees a 5 county service area in South central Oklahoma. He has worked with and provided credit for a large number of specialty and vegetable producers over this time period in addition to livestock and crop operations of all sizes and types.
