Does the system really want new small scale farmers?

      So there it was, the perfect farm starter property. Yeah, it needed about $15,000 of work before it was move in ready, but with 23 acres of pasture plus a pond and a usable barn for a list price of 94,900, it was a great deal. All I had to do was get a loan...
 
      I spent 5 hours Tuesday on the phone with online banks, major banks, local banks, credit unions and military only banks. These are the reasons I was told I cannot get a farming loan for a primary residence mortgage through their specific insitutions:

•  Navy Fed- We don't do anything over 10 acres but it is waiverable. Oh, you're going to be farming on it, we don't do farm loans.
• USAA- We don't do farm loans.
• Ifreedomdirect- we don't do farm loans. You're going to have to call one of the local banks. See if you can get a cosigner for the loan to give them assurance there will be continued income after you get out of the military.
• NCB (a local bank) for farm loans, we don't do conventional or VA. They can only be 5/1 ARMs. Oh, you're getting out of the military in 9 months and won't have a gauge of your future income, sorry no can do.
• First State Bank (another local bank) Getting out in 9 months? Sorry, we can't help you.
• Wells Fargo We don't do farm loans.
• Bank of America. We can do farm loans. How much is the current mortgage you have now and what is the list price of the next property? Oh, we can't give you a mortgage for a primary residence of a farm if the purchase price is less than the current property's mortgage; it is seen as an investment property because it is downsizing. (This is where I went off on the guy explaining that my net worth is more than the list price of the property and how I have zero debt, 3 cars paid off blah blah blah) Wow, sounds like you have been listening to Dave Ramsey (In a completely joking manner as if it would have no bearing on the reliability of a borrower to pay back a loan). As a matter of fact, I am helping to lead one of his classes as we speak. Well, good luck to ya...
• Adams County Bank: we can't give you a mortgage because your current income will end in 9 months. "Well, what if I use a cosigner?" We won't cosign for mortgages if the cosigner isn't living with you.
• Farm Service Agency (a division of the USDA) We could only lend you a mortgage if you have 3 years farming experience. Me: "What constitutes farming experience?" Your taxes must show you had ownership or financial liability with some sort of agricultural product for the past 3 years.

          If you go to the Veteran's Administration page for guidance on VA loans, it specifically says they will back loans for farms as long as it is the service member's primary residence. Dear VA, tell that to all your military specific banks. And is it just me, or does it seem wrong that they can deny me a loan because I am in the military and know when my paychecks will stop? What other full time job could that be applied to? I may have to do my online fundraising in two steps: one very large one to help pay the mortgage in full and a small one to purchase livestock and equipment.

           In the meantime, we are going to have a yard sale, save as much as we flippin can, we have stopped adding to the kids college funds and our retirement (that was a couple years ago that we stopped), and we'll complete Financial Peace University.
   
          In the time since I wrote the last article, Morningland Dairy (having done honest business in Missouri for 30 years where NO ONE ever got sick from their cheeses) did end up having their 50,000 pounds of cheese disposed of despite zero appeals process and zero secondary testing or even their own primary testing. The state governor didn't want to get involved in the dispute between the state milk board and one small farmer! In South Carolina, the Federation of the American Farm Bureau is quietly working to ban the sale of raw milk in the state; one of few states remaining with the right to sell raw milk. WAKE UP AMERICA! Things aren't this difficult for the small farmer for no reason...If raw milk is SO DANGEROUS, why not just educate people to the POSSIBLE dangers. Why are cigarettes still sold by the billions???? Legal in every state... We know they are horrible for the body and contain these fun little things called toxins and this addicting substance called nicotine... Why do we have to sneak around to get our "raw milk fix" when cigarettes are legal?

        Pretty soon, we are going to see the opposite of what happened throughout the 1900s and all the highly skilled and informed people are just going to leave the country, tired of the infringements, corruption and socialism.