Managing for Profit

An historical perspective on farm lending

Mike Loyd is well known in agriculture circles because of his career with Farm Credit Illinois.  He recalls a difficult time as that career began.  Loyd is retiring after 33 years with the lending institution.  He began with the organization in 1984, in the midst of what’s known as the mid-80s farm crisis.

“It was a trying time for both farmers and financial institutions,” Loyd tells Brownfield Ag News.  With plans to retire at the end of November, Loyd easily recalls his favorite part of the job: colleagues, farmers, and the people he’s met as a result of what he does.  But looking back to the difficult time when he hired on with the Farm Credit System, there are also times when the job was not pleasant.  His least favorite was dealing with a piece of acquired property.

“You knew that property was once part of a growing, flourishing farm at one time, and that because of the crises or issues at hand part of it had to be let go or liquidated,” he said.

AUDIO: Mike Loyd (3 min. MP3)