Peterson Farm & Livestock

October 30, 2020 | Customer Stories

Since he was a kid growing up on a farm in central Kansas, David Peterson knew he would spend his life on a farm.

“It’s all I wanted to do,” he says, “I helped my dad when I was little and I love being outdoors, working with my hands.”

A fifth-generation farmer, David is president of Peterson Farm and Livestock in Assaria, Kansas. “We have a backgrounding operation with cattle, but we run a diversified operation, growing corn, wheat, milo, alfalfa, soybeans and sunflowers.”

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

And it’s all in the family for David, with his wife and three sons an integral part of the business.

“For me, the most rewarding thing about farming is working outdoors and working with my family,” he says, “Ever since the boys were little, they’ve been helping on the farm, and it’s a privilege to have all three of them involved with the farm. My youngest, Kendal, is working in the cattle operation. Nathan, the middle son, is in charge of more in the farming areas and technology. And then Greg, the oldest son, helps with expanding our operation. He majored in ag communications, so he works with helping the communication between all of us. I’m trying to turn over more areas to them. We’re transitioning.”

EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES

David found American AgCredit a refreshing change from his experience with his previous lender.

“We were running a background cattle operation, and with our bank we were stuck with frequent overdrafts,” he says, ”Once we switched to American AgCredit, that stopped. Our drafts were covered immediately. American AgCredit and our loan officer, Mark Slaughter, are great to work with. No surprises. Fair treatment. They’ve helped us with operating loans as we expand the business and acquire more land.”