As a high school student, Clay Binford sometimes disliked working on his family’s horse farm while his friends played all weekend. He never shirked his responsibilities though, because he wanted to contribute to what his family was trying to accomplish.

Now, the 30-year-old attorney and his wife, Krista, have chosen the farm and ranch life for themselves.

“My dad always told me I would miss this life someday, and he was right,” says Clay, who commutes 35 miles from his property in Castroville to the Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C. law firm in San Antonio on weekdays. He now spends his weekends fixing fences and baling hay.

Both Clay and Krista grew up on farms, so for them, hard work is the norm. To their coworkers, however, their lifestyle is anything but normal.

“The life we lead is completely foreign to our coworkers,” Clay says. “They come out and bring their kids, but they see it as a big yard with some neat animals.”

Krista adds, “People just don’t understand how much work it was. For us, it is very rewarding to look out and see a field that was once covered in brush, now covered in hay bales.”

Developing a Long-Range Plan
The Binfords moved to the family property in 1999, a couple of years before Clay graduated from law school at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. They immediately embarked on a long-range plan to improve the property and make it as profitable as possible.

Their first step was to reclaim and clean up a field overgrown with mesquite. Next, in 2001, they started buying cows, and in 2002 they doubled the herd. After three years cleaning up the coastal field, they installed their first pivot sprinkler system in 2003. This year they installed a second pivot, both with financing from Southwest Texas ACA.

“Our goal is to have 40 to 45 head of cattle and a hay field. Realistically, that’s the most this land will sustain,” Clay says. “I’m always trying to set goals. We started five years ago with a plan to accomplish certain things. And we’re seeing them accomplished. That’s very rewarding.”

Their business plan was implemented with the help of their lender, Southwest Texas ACA, and the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority’s (TAFA) Young Farmer Guarantee Program, offered through the Texas Department of Agriculture.

The TAFA program offers young farmers under the age of 40 a 90 percent loan guarantee and a rebate of 3 percentage points, which equals approximately 36 percent of interest costs over the life of the loan.

Finding the Right Lender
“I found the program online and called to find out about participating lenders,” Clay says. “There were none in this area. No one was interested, because of the red tape they had to go through.”

Then through a high school friend of Krista’s, they were recommended to Mike Tippit, a loan officer at Southwest Texas ACA. “I talked to Mike about it, and he said, ‘Absolutely. We’ll work with you. We’re always looking at new programs that will help our borrowers.’”

That conversation began a banking relationship that has carried through to his new loan officer, Bob Hart. “It means something to me that my loan officer is willing to leave his office and come put loan docs in my mailbox,” Clay says. “Time is precious to me, and anything that makes the process more convenient for me is valuable. A personal relationship is going to be worth a half percentage point difference that I might be able to save somewhere else.”

Making the Most of Young Farmer Programs
Clay found that many people do not take advantage of the TAFA program because they find it intimidating to write a business plan. However, he argues that the benefits far outweigh the burden.

“Ultimately, writing a business plan is in your best interest,” he says. “Getting started was the hardest part, but it’s not too cumbersome. It makes you think about everything you’re doing and provides you with a road map of where you want to go. It will drive all of your decisions.”

Because farming takes such a huge capital investment to get started, any rebate program can be beneficial. “The money gets reinvested back into your operation and allows you to grow your business faster,” Krista says. She also appreciates the stock dividends they receive from Southwest Texas ACA.

Meanwhile, Tippit, their first Southwest Texas ACA loan officer, has watched the Binfords’ farm take shape.

An Ag Lender’s Dream
“When I lived in Castroville and worked in Hondo, I drove past the Binfords’ property every day and could see their hard work and effort producing positive results,” Tippit says. “Clay and Krista are the kind of people with initiative and dedication who are an agricultural lender’s dream to work with.”

The couple looks forward to continuing with their long-range plan, working on fences and improving the area around their newly built home. Clay also stays busy serving as a Medina County director for the Edwards Aquifer Authority and a Medina County representative on the City of San Antonio’s Conservation Advisory Board.

They know the work will never be done.

“There’s always stuff to do, and I love it. We’re both professionals with demanding jobs, but when you push paper behind a desk all day long, you look forward to getting out and working on something that’s tangible,” Clay says.

For more information about the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority’s Young Farmer Guarantee Program, visit www.agr.state.tx.us/eco/finance_ag_development/tafa/fin_yfarmer.htm.