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AgStart Youth enhances 4-H experience

By Mark Parker

Thanks to an innovative Frontier Farm Credit program, Reid Shipman has a clearer understanding that there’s more to a 4-H market steer project than scotch combs and feed buckets.

Managing dollars and cents, the 14-year old Manhattan, Kan., youth can now tell you, makes tomorrow’s blue ribbons possible—and paves the way for a lifetime of informed financial decisions.

“I learned so much from the AgStart program,” Reid says. “Working with Frontier Farm Credit really opened up my eyes. They helped me understand how important it is to keep track of your expenses, how interest works—things I’d never really thought much about. It has been a really awesome experience.”

AgStart Youth is one of the ways in which Frontier Farm Credit extends a helping hand to young, beginning and minority farmers by tailoring lending programs to fit their needs and expanding those loans into educational experiences. It is, as Frontier Farm Credit Senior Vice President Dennis Fike explains, all about the future of agriculture:

“AgStart is a part of our commitment to the agricultural community and to helping develop future leaders in our industry,” Fike says. “The primary intent of the program Reid participated in is to educate young people. We felt there was an educational gap—a lack of opportunity for youth to learn about the financial aspects of agriculture. AgStart is designed to provide that opportunity.”

After five years of exhibiting pigs, Reid had his heart set on a beef project. He was nominated to participate in the 2008 American Royal Calf Scramble where he was one of 17 kids trying to catch one of 14 roping calves. When the sawdust had settled, Reid got his hands on the last available calf which earned him the final pick of 14 show steer prospects. That remaining calf was the only red one in the bunch and Reid happily took him home and named him “Kasey.”

The calf was donated to the Calf Scramble by Neal and Jeanne Patterson of Belton, Mo., but Reid’s parents—David and Susan Shipman—knew all-too well that there would be expenses aplenty and they wanted their son to be completely vested in the experience.

“This was an incredible experience for Reid,” his mom, Susan, says. “It helped him better understand the costs of raising an animal and I think it will make him a better money manager. This was a real world experience for Reid—he wasn’t reading a book about how to do cash flow projections, he was actually doing it and he was responsible for the dollars involved.”

There were plenty of non-financial lessons along the way. Early on, the calf bloated and later he had foot problems. Even those animal husbandry challenges, however, related to the financial aspects of the equation.

For both the American Royal Calf Scramble and AgStart, Reid kept detailed records of all phases of the project. That information was shared with his Frontier Farm Credit Financial Services Officer, Greg Legleiter, who helped Reid better understand the financial side of beef production.

“Greg was amazing,” Reid asserts. “He taught me so much. He made sure I kept an eye on what I was spending and helped me understand where I was at financially at all times. It felt good to know that I was the one who was responsible but it was also nice to know there was someone who was willing to teach me what I needed to know.”

That satisfaction was a two-way street because Legleiter, who works out of Frontier Farm Credit’s Manhattan location, found that he also enjoyed the experience.

“It was gratifying that we could provide a program to help fund Reid’s project,” Legleiter notes. “He did a very good job and, as we went along, I could really see that things were clicking for Reid—he was really grasping the financial side of owning a calf. I looked forward to our interactions and it was great to see him at the county fair and feel like we had a role in what he was gaining from that experience.”

Reid’s calf placed second in his class at the Riley County Fair, with the judge commenting that he was “still a little green.” That was just fine with Reid because he was aiming at the Royal where he gathered up several honors, including a grand championship of the scramble calves and a reserve championship in junior showmanship, as well as a spot in the premium sale.

“It’s fun to win but I know that it’s not really about winning— it’s about the experience,” Reid observes. “It’s about what you learn and I learned a lot. I know a lot more about the financial part now. If I had won in the show ring but had lost money then I couldn’t afford to do this again—and that would be a real loss.”

Reid will be showing a steer again this year. He and Greg Legleiter have already gotten started on another AgStart Youth loan—and another opportunity for Reid to learn more about agriculture.

To learn more about AgStart opportunities and other financial services, visit with the folks at your local Frontier Farm Credit office.

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