FCS Diversity and Inclusion - PROPOSED RULE - MARCH 2011 Dear Mr. Van Meter,
As the President of Kirschenmann Family Farms in North Dakota I know how important affordable capital is for the next generation of farmers to enter the farming business. We have a young family managing our farm for us in North Dakota and it is my goal to have them eventually own enough of the farm so they can support their own family into the future. Since North Dakota is the only state with a state owned bank, the state has had the opportunity to launch a lending program for beginning farmers which makes capital available to them at a little below 2% interest. This has made a huge difference. This young family now owns 240 acres of our farm with a farmstead and we look forward to them owning more of it shortly. Low interest loans, I believe, are critical to sustaining an adequate farm population to meet our food production needs. and as we are learning almost every day, farmers producing food in and for thier own communities is becoming increasingly critical to the food security ofour communities. So I hope the FCS will support the effort to make low interest loans available to small and midsize farmers.