Ed Spence retired from the U.S. Marine Corps and moved back home to North Carolina with his wife Sheila to farm. The FSA microloan helped Spence purchase a plastic mulcher and seed and fertilizer for two years.
Growing up on a farm in Kipling, North Carolina, Edward Spence thought the one thing he was not going to do as an adult was farm.
“It was hard work from sunup to sundown and there was no reward for it because we didn’t own the land,” said Spence, whose parents were sharecroppers. “We had a place to live and a small plot to grow the food we ate, but there was no financial reward, nothing tangible.”
That all changed when “life happened,” said Spence. After losing two brothers in the Vietnam War, Spence volunteered — when others were drafted — to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps and fight for his country.
“Hindsight is 20/20. We got up early on the farm to work, but when I got up early in the military it was because I was fighting for my life.”
Now a retired veteran, Ed and his wife Sheila started out with a small backyard garden that grew into what is now an agribusiness that teaches children about food and provides a place of healing for veterans.
“I went into the military because I was angry that my two brothers were killed in Vietnam. I thought I could go over there and make a difference,” said Spence, who spent 24 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and also served in Operation Desert Storm. He was stationed in California and after retiring, returned home to North Carolina.
Ultimately, Sheila was the motivating factor. A native of North Carolina, she wanted to eat like she did growing up — off the farm. “When you grow your own food, it tastes totally different. Not only does it taste better, but it’s better for you.”
But turning their backyard hobby into a business was more challenging than they thought. “We didn’t know about registering a farm and keeping records,” said Spence. “I went to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and bugged them to death. USDA programs are very helpful, but if nobody tells you about them, then you don’t know.”
In the past five years since he officially started a farming operation, Spence said he used his own money to finance everything, but it was the FSA microloan and USDA’s focus on helping veterans to enter agriculture that helped him get ahead.
Since 2009, USDA has provided $443 million in low interest farm loans to help more than 6,505 veterans purchase farmland and equipment and make repairs or upgrades. Microloans — for small- or niche-type farms — have provided more than $24.2 million for about 1,154 veterans across the country.
The FSA microloan program is available to all farmers, providing up to $50,000 in loans using a simplified application process. Since the program began in 2013, over 20,000 farmers received microloans. About 70 percent of microloans are issued to beginning farmers and 55 percent to first-time FSA borrowers.
For Spence, the loan allowed him to purchase a plastic mulcher and put a fence around his 12-acre farm. It also provided seed and fertilizer for two years. “Without [the microloan], I would have had to piecemeal everything little by little and it would have taken me longer to arrive to where I am now.”
And where he is now provides an opportunity to help others.
Using his land as a training ground, the Spences have become advocates for small farmers and educators of young minds, offering tours and workshops for children, and providing a place of healing for fellow servicemen who volunteer at the farm.
“We are a one-stop-shop farm. People come to us for answers,” said Spence. “We need to keep pushing, retraining, rethinking and reinvesting in small farms that feed America. It’s a win-win for everybody.”
For more information on USDA’s efforts to help veterans, visit www.usda.gov/veterans. To learn more about microloans, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/microloans.
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