37th Annual SE Ag Lenders School
The room was overflowing with ag lenders, farm consultants, extension agents, and farmers for the 37th SE Ag Lenders School (SEALS). There were no COVID-19 worries as the school was held in Cyberville for three days of learning how to make informed financing decisions for both farmers and ag lenders. Eighty-five people from SC, NC, GA, TN, KY, IN, and OH participated in the school to hear from Dr. David Kohl (Virginia Tech/Ag Finance), Dr. Steve Isaacs (University of Kentucky/Farm Management & Leadership), Scott Mickey (Clemson University/Farm Finance), Eric Snodgrass (Nutrien Principal Meteorologist), and Dr. Joe Outlaw (Texas A&M University/2020 Election Analysis).
The 2020 SEALS was the first ag lenders schools in the country to have a cross-section of lenders, producers, and others involved in agriculture, which enabled farmers to see a lender’s perspective and gave lenders a view from the farmer’s side. Emily Duckworth of Farm Credit Mid-America said, “Having attended the SEALS conference in person in 2019, I was excited to participate in the virtual session being offered this year. It can be difficult to stay focused on Web-Ex meetings, but the team of presenters did a great job engaging the participants with relevant topics, chat sessions, polls, and case studies. Each presenter demonstrated their passion and knowledge for the topics they covered and provided tangible information that I can use as a financial officer.”
The SEALS mission is geared to educating ag lenders on the factors impacting farm production in the southeast. Topics covered included a 2021 economic and weather outlook, financial ratio to monitor, management skills that lead to higher performance, 2020 Election influences, as well as mental health and motivation. The school concluded with a Q/A session moderated by Patrick Kerrigan of Farmer Mac.
Submitted by: Scott Mickey, Clemson Agribusiness Extension Associate
