Ag Loans for Local 4-H, F.F.A, and La Grange Students

The Redwood Acres Fair is over but the work continues for local 4-H and FFA students.  For many, the livestock auction at the Humboldt County Fair is the goal from the beginning, though some students did auction their livestock at the Redwood Acres Fair this past weekend.

Kelly Miller, who leads the Agriculture Department at Arcata High School and also acts as an FFA Advisor, told Redwood News “American Ag Credit locally gives FFA students loans.”

That’s right– American Ag Credit in Eureka gives interest-free loans of up to $2500 per student and serves Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity Counties. These loans can be used for the purchase or care of their livestock animals.  Any student who is a part of a local 4-H, Future Farmers of America (FFA) or La Grange club with a 2.0 grade point average or above can apply.  Students must be at least 9 years old to join these agricultural clubs.

“Depending on, you know, the parent child involvement, they get to keep track of their expenses,” continues Miller. “Like that could be the purchase of the animal feed supplies that they might need for show. And then when they sell their animal, they can decide and look at their numbers and to see if they made money, if they lost money.”

Once the students sell their animals at auction, at either the Humboldt County Fair or the Redwood Acres Fair, they pay back their loans– interest free. Entering the fair is no joke– the Humboldt County Fair student entry form is 76 pages long.

“There are some life lessons that are learned,” says Miller of the program, “so that’s another piece of it, too, where the kids once they sell their animal, then they pay back their loan and then the profit is theirs.  So, it’s fabulous.”