USDA Deputy Under Secretary Darci Vetter recently got a first hand look at the results that can be generated with a little “stimulus money” in the form of a low interest loan.  Tanner Kings a young kid with a dream…in the form of a cattle operation.It’s  a small cow-calf operation in Marsing and Tanner’s just 22! Realistically, there’s no way King could have gotten started without a low interest loan from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Caldwell, Idaho: King got two FSA loans that allowed him to start the feeder cattle operation and he told Undersecretary Vetter firsthand that he tried to take out a conventional loan through his bank in Caldwell but was turned down because of his age.

 Here’s the Undersecretary herself after hearing stories like Tanner’s: “I don’t know if I need to say anything I think that encapsulated things pretty well in just a few minutes to talk about how important the Recovery act has been for us at USDA particularly trying to provide support to rural America.” Vetter says there’ll be more funding for rural hospitals, fire and police services, improving infrastructure and adding  funds for farmer disaster relief and now getting a new generation of farmers and ranchers starting is a priority at the USDA.