Matt Alt Senior Financial Services Officer 7 years of service
BEHIND THE SCENES In this behind the scenes, two GreenStone employees share their work and passion to serve on GreenStone’s CultivateGrowth committee. The committee has been instrumental in the recent expansion of the program that serves young, beginning and small farmers (YBSF).
How does your role tie into your work with the development of the new CultivateGrowth program? As a loan officer, I am meeting and talking with young, beginning and small farmers often. I have the opportunity to discuss what is working for them as well as any pain points they may be running into when applying for credit or starting their farming career. This gives me a great perspective. Why are you passionate about supporting YBSF? Growing up on a farm, I have many family and friends that are YBSF right now. They face the same obstacles and challenges that we are trying to address with this new program. How will the expanded program benefit your customers? I think the program offers a lot of great educational opportunities. They can apply for a grant to assist with costs of conference registration, industry educational classes or general finance classes. Also, we have a mentor program that can pair them with another farmer to learn and gain experience.
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I am excited to share the many different options YBSF applicants will have with the expanded program.
What change in the program are you most excited to share with YBSF customers? I am excited to share the many different options YBSF applicants will have with the expanded program. Each request and situation is different; some may be best suited for a direct GreenStone loan, others may benefit from joint financing with GreenStone and FSA. We want to work together to establish a structure that meets their goals and sets them up for long term success. 25
Winter 2022 — Partners
