Location: Huntsville, Ark.
History: Congress created Farm Credit in 1916 to ensure rural America had access to reliable, affordable credit.
“We finance farms, homes, land, livestock, equipment and more,” explained AVP, Loan Officer at Farm Credit Services of Western Arkansas Trey Villines. “I earned a degree from Northwest Arkansas Community College. After earning my degree, I worked for Shannon Fancher on his poultry farm, then for Simmons and Tyson as a field tech before joining the Farm Credit team as a loan officer.”
Products and Services: “Farm Credit values the rural lifestyle and finances all aspects of it. This mirrors my personal goal of helping people fulfill their dreams of starting a new ag operation or expanding an existing one. I enjoy seeing people reaching their goals of farming and living in the country. I like to begin with a casual conversation to discover the seriousness of their intent and passion. At the same time, potential members share their financial information, as well as their plans. My job is to explain how Farm Credit might help them achieve their goals and what to expect from the loan process. Sometimes I have to help customers take a broad idea and work through the specifics of their financing needs. For example, a young person may want to purchase a poultry operation. I help them identify their existing resources. If their resources don’t support their existing plan, I work with them to narrow their immediate goals to ones that are financially possible while also serving as a sounding board for how they might use our services to expand their operation over time. My job is always interesting. I’ve made everything from small youth loans to young people buying their first show animals, to multimillion-dollar loans to seniors with years of ag experience. No two borrowers, or loans, are the same.”
Philosophy and future: “It’s exciting to be a part of a company like Farm Credit that is always looking forward and adapting protocols to remain current and relevant in ag financing. Because we are a cooperative, we partner with organizations like FSA when it benefits our members. We support our local communities because that is a fundamental cooperative principle. Plus, we are committed to the cooperative principle of providing educational opportunities. Farm Credit supports a variety of poultry, beef and grazing land seminars that are open to the public and also hosts a statewide young farmers conference every two years in conjunction with other Farm Credit associations in Arkansas.”
