FSA makes loans to individual rural youths to establish and operate income-producing projects of modest size in connection with their participation in 4-H clubs, Future Farmers of America, and similar organizations.

Each project must be part of an organized and supervised program of work. The project must be planned and operated with the help of the organization adviser, produce sufficient income to repay the loan, and provide the youth with practical business and educational experience.

Each year, many young entrepreneurs take advantage of these loans and gain valuable business experience in the process

NTDA will provide the following services at no charge to the youth.

• Outreach to youth
• Identification of youth interested in entrepreneurship
• Work with Tribal business planners and educators if available to prepare
if not available, NTDA will provide these services
• Youth Loan packaging
• Hands on mentoring for youth projects
• Development of youth business network including communication
• Follow-up with youth businesses so that success is enhanced.
• Report to Tribal Council both successes and failures of the project

Almost any agricultural or aquacultural project for rural youth is fundable.

• The project must be income producing so that the loan may be repaid.
• The project must be carried out under supervision
• Will provide the youth with practical business and educational experience.
• Loan Amounts are for up to $5000, with a repayment term of up to seven (7)
years.
• The type of business and the use of the funds will determine the term of the
loan.
• The payment plan depends on the type of business. Weekly, monthly, and annual payments may be used.
• FSA provides funding to modest size businesses.
• FSA will review the overall objectives, size, and if there is adequate capital for repayment before making the loan.
• Youth applicants must sign a promissory note, and be responsible for repaying the loan
• Have parental permission to enter into the loan.
• Eligibility for these loans:
• Be a citizen of the United States
• Be between 10 - 20 years of age
• Live in a rural area or town of less than 10,000
• Conduct a modest size income producing project in a supervised program
of work.
• As long as youth repay loans this program is available to them to continue the business.
• Youth must prepare a business and marketing plan.

 

 

Oglala Sioux
Porcupine, South Dakota

Brittany Pourier was born and raised on the Oglala Sioux Indian Reservation. Brittany resides in Porcupine, a small community in the heart of the Oglala Reservation. Brittany’s an accomplished barrel racer and is active in youth rodeos and is on the volleyball team at the “Lady of Lourdes School.”
Her main interest is in taking care of her small angus cattle herd that she has purchased with the help of the Farm Service Agency Youth Loan program and the FSA American Indian Credit Outreach program. Brittany was eleven years old when she first started working on her loan application. During that time, she Attended the Beef Basic Training Program at the Oglala Community College in Kyle, South Dakota. With the help of her father Bob, Brittany is of to a good start in the cattle business.  For more about Brittany click here!

Shoshone-Bannock
Fort Hall, Idaho

Young Credit Outreach Program Recipient Steve Hardy and his parents Howard and Virgene Hardy are members of the Shoshone Bannock Tribes. They make their home in the beautiful Bannock Creek area on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. Steve comes from a family of lifelong farmers and ranchers. Last summer Steve Hardy was 12 years old when he applied and obtained a FSA Youth Loan. Steve wanted to enlarge his current cattle herd. This spring 13 year old Steve bought three pairs and five yearlings with his youth loan increasing his herd to 22 head. For more about Steve click here!

Shoshone-Bannock
Fort Hall, Idaho

Credit Outreach Program Recipient Lizzie Dixey, 21 years of age, resides on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation with her parents Clyde and Louise Dixey. Lizzie and her parents are enrolled tribal members of the Shoshone Bannock Tribes.  Lizzie is active in the sport of Rodeo, and competes in her favorite event, Ladies Breakaway Roping. Right now Lizzie is working at the Shoshone Bannock Tribes Gaming and Bingo Hall as a Casino Cashier/Supervisor. She plans on going back to College in the Fall of 2003 majoring in Environmental Science.  For more about Lizzie click here!

Oglala Sioux
Porcupine, South Dakota

Meilani Pourier is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is nineteen years of age and is from Porcupine, South Dakota on the Oglala Sioux Indian Reservation. Meilani is a graduate of the Red Cloud Indian School and is presently enrolled as a sophomore at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska with a Physical Therapy Major.

Meilani is active in the sport of Rodeo and competes in the Ladies Barrel Racing. She has purchased six pairs of cattle, making her a fifth generation cattle rancher. Meilani obtained her youth loan, along with her sisters, Caryna age fifteen and Brittany age thirteen. All three loans were approved at the same time at the Bennett County FSA office in Martin, South Dakota. With the help of their father and little brother the girls are off to a very good start in the cattle business. The girls also took the Beef Basic Course from the Oglala Community College in Kyle, South Dakota.

Bill is proud of his daughters and is glad that they are following in his footsteps. The girl’s great grandmother has taken her land out of a BIA unit and plans to lease the land to them for $100 dollars a piece per year. Mr. Pourier has plans to apply for an FSA loan making it a FAMILY AFFAIR. The Pourier family heard about the FSA Indian Credit Outreach program from a friend and attended a meeting that Marlene Whipple held at the Lakota Fund in Kyle, South Dakota.

Northern Cheyenne
Lame Deer, Montana

FSA youth loan recipient, Micah Whitefoot is 16 years old and is a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Indians located in southeastern Montana. Her youth project is a concession stand where she is open for business during the summer months. If there is no pow-wow, softball game, or rodeo, Micah is set up in downtown Lame Deer, across from the Cheyenne Depot. Her business hours are 10:00 am until midnight and her menu consists of hamburgers, hotdogs, nachos, chips, snow-cones and drinks.

Micah’s decision to own and operate a concession stand stems from her desire to earn money to help pay her school tuition costs. She decided to pursue an FSA youth loan with the help and encouragement of her mother, Cleone. She devised a business plan and presented it to her local FSA Outreach Liaison in the summer of 2002. With the assistance of the FSA Outreach Program, Micah completed her FSA youth loan application and submitted it to the Rosebud County FSA Loan Manager where she was approved for funding. Micah and her mother researched for supplies and materials to start a concession stand and with the approved loan, purchased the necessary equipment. Micah definitely possesses those qualities of a true entrepreneur. As a Girl Scout member, she still holds the record for the highest number of Girl Scout Cookies sold.

Shoshone Paiute
Duck Valley, Nevada

Three youth from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde have received Farm Service Agency Youth Loans with the help of Sharilyn Hice, Farm Loan Manager and Kathey Naegeli, Farm Loan Officer of Marion County FSA and Maria Godines, Outreach Liaison of National FSA American Indian Credit Outreach Initiative.  The loans are in the amount of $5,000 per youth for the purchase of Alpacas.

Winston Mercier age 13, Tamera George age 12 and Seth Mercier age 11 are excited to have the opportunity to generate an income by raising Alpacas.  The youth's will breed the alpacas and sell the offspring's and fiber to repay the youth loans. 

Alpacas are hearty, gentle animals that graze and need only grain, minerals and hay as supplements making them inexpensive and easy to care for.  The fiber is comparable to cashmere and is very marketable.

Barbara Lake has been very instrumental with assisting in researching this business venture.  Barbara is an exemplary parent who is committed and dedicated in supporting her children.  She believes this opportunity will give these three youth the experience of learning responsibilities and positive work ethics in preparation for becoming an adult and entering the workforce.

Shoshone-Paiute
Duck Valley, Nevada

Weston Heath and Dean Thomas are first cousins and members of the Shoshone Paiute Tribes from the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. They started on their FSA Youth Loans last October and were approved in January of 2003 to buy Angus cattle. Dean has on his list to buy a couple goats and pigs as well. The boys will be second generation Angus cattle ranchers. Dean’s father Brian Thomas has started a successful Angus cattle herd on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.

Weston and Dean were really excited to start their own Angus herd as they have watched and helped Brian start his herd. The boys understand the importance of quality not quantity of the Angus cattle business. We wish the boys success on their Angus Herd enterprise.

Bad River Band of Chippewa
McMinnville, Oregon

Nathan Cook a member of the Bad River Band of Minnesota Chippewa is 13 years young and full of ambition. Nathan received a Rural Youth Loan in November 2003 to purchase three Polled Hereford cows with three calves by their side and two bred Beef Master cows with two calves by their side. He bought ten cows total with two on the way.  The two Beef Master cows were already bred back to Black Angus and are expecting two calves in January.  Nathan thinks this is great that at his age he can get a loan to raise cattle.  This project will be great experience for him. So far his operation is going well.  He realizes this is a lot of work and is looking forward to the calves being born soon. When Nathan was asked Is there anything different going on now than what you expected in regards to having livestock, he replied  “no, I knew it would be work because my mom told me how she had to take care of one hundred fifty head of Black Angus cattle with her uncle, but when you’re out there in the snow feeding ten cows and making sure they have plenty of fresh water every day, it’s a tough job! “

Nathan’s mother grew up on a 350 acre ranch in Oklahoma raising Blank Angus cattle and is currently ranching in McMinnville, Oregon where Nathan is starting out his livestock operation. This is what Nathan’s mother Paula Cook had to say about the loan “this will be a wonderful experience for Nathan, not only in learning responsibility and care of animals, but also prepare him for the business world.” He has already been marketing his beef and has several clients lined up for buyers. This loan will benefit Nathan’s future greatly in that he will learn valuable lessons in business as well as daily care of a cattle herd.  He can take this experience into many other facets of the business world, not only cattle/agriculture but other businesses as well.  Nathan’s lifelong goal is to become a Neurosurgeon, and while this has little to do with cattle ranching, the experience of owning and managing his own herd of cattle will give him the business sense he’ll need later in life, possibly in his own medical practice.”

All and all the Cook family said the loan process was great, and the assistance they received from Maria Godines was invaluable!  Darca Glasgow at FSA was very helpful in the whole process and it went quite smoothly once all the paperwork was completed.
 

Crow Tribe
Crow Agency, Montana

On a cold January day, Old Elk sisters, Larna and Luvena are preparing to feed cattle. With the help of their father, Larry Old Elk, they load up in the pickup that has already been stacked with bales of hay from the day before. They head out to the winter feed ground several hundred yards from their house in Garryowen, Montana.

These 2 young women, who are members of the Crow Tribe, do not take their cattle businesses for granted. They know that it entails a lot of hard work and responsibility. With the assistance of the FSA Outreach Project, Larna and Luvena were able to purchase cattle utilizing funds from the FSA Youth Loan Program. Larna was approved for an FSA Youth Loan in 2000. She requested an application and received assistance from the former FSA Outreach Liaison Shawn Real Bird. She purchased 6 head of cows at that time and she has now built her herd up to 19 total head. She is currently a student at the University of Montana majoring in Pharmacy. When she is away at school, her father, sister and brother Lawren, help take care of her cattle for her.

After witnessing her older sister participate in the FSA Youth Loan Program, Luvena requested an application from FSA Outreach Liaison Lorri Not Afraid in the spring of 2002. She was approved for funding and she purchased her cattle in the winter of 2003. Luvenia is 19 years old and is a graduate of Hardin High School. She plans to attend school at a later date since she is busy managing her FSA youth loan project. For now, she is busy learning some business skills as well as saving money for college.

Crow Tribe
Crow Agency, Montana

Cotton Real Bird is 15 years old and is a member of the Crow Tribe of Indians in southeastern Montana. Cotton is currently a sophomore at Hardin High School where he participates and excels in Varsity Football and Basketball. He is a member of Varsity Club and the Hardin High School Rodeo Team where he competes in team roping and calf roping.

Cotton requested assistance from the American Indian Credit Outreach Initiative Liaison in the spring of 2003 to apply for an FSA Rural Youth Loan to purchase cattle. With the assistance of the Outreach Liaison and Cotton’s father, Curtis Real Bird, a business plan was put together for him to purchase six head of cattle. Cotton submitted his FSA youth loan to the Big Horn County FSA Office in July and his youth loan was approved in September.

Cotton has opted to wait until the spring of 2004 to purchase his cattle. In the meantime, he will be busy concentrating on his other interests, such as school, sports and roping. Cotton’s family roots consist of ranchers, rodeo cowboys and horsemen. When he was little he was quoted as saying “ I come from a long line of rodeo cowboys and I am going to be a good one”. This determination and confidence will contribute to his success as a Crow Indian cattle rancher.

Pyramid Lake Paiute of Nevada
Winterset, IA

Carisa Kochampanasken from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe received a youth loan from the Madison County FSA Office in Winterset, IA in the Spring of 2003.

The program recipient requested a loan to purchase a sewing machine to design and sew dance dresses and also to purchase beads, thread, etc. to design and sell beadwork. Carisa will sell her artwork at Pow Wows throughout the country in her step-father’s booth.

Carisa brought in samples of her beadwork to show the loan officer when she submitted her loan. Along with her business plan, Carisa also had signed contracts with her step-father to purchase supplies wholesale and to sell her artwork in her family’s booth paying them a 20% commission. Willeen Whipple-Johnson, Region I Outreach Liaison, will be sponsoring Carisa throughout her endeavor.

Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of Montana
Arlee, Montana

Cameron, Tucker, and Charlie Lytle are three brothers from the Arlee area on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Northwest Montana. They all attend the Arlee School and are active in the Mountain Home 4-H Program.
Cameron (Age 15) and Tucker (Age 13) borrowed $5,000 each to purchase three (3) steers and participate in the Advanced Youth Market Beef Project sponsored by the MSU County Extension Office. They will raise the steers to market weight then haul them to Billings, Montana to be judged. The animals will be judged individually and as a pin. The steers will be sold according to USDA Quality and Yield Grade.

In addition, they purchased two cows each to increase their herd size and future income potential. Charlie (Age 10) purchased five (5) cows to increase his herd size. This will increase his annual earning potential and his market steer selection cattle.