December 9, 2016
CapitalPress.com
15
Operating loans financial lifeblood for ranchers, farmers
By DIANNA TROYER
For the Capital Press
For most southeastern
Idaho ranchers such as Doug
Ward, an annual operating
loan is the financial lifeblood
of their business.
“We couldn’t operate with-
out it,” says Ward, 59, who
runs 300 cows and raises hay
on about 300 acres near Almo
just north of the remote Ida-
ho-Utah border.
A third generation rancher,
Ward applies for the annual in-
fusion of cash at one of Idaho’s
oldest banks. Established in
1904 in the small town of Albi-
on about 30 miles from Ward’s
ranch, D.L. Evans Bank is the
same bank his dad and grandad
used.
Ward relies on Kent Gun-
nell, commercial ag loan offi-
cer and assistant manager, not
only for the loan, but also for
information about new lending
practices and financial assis-
tance in case of emergencies.
“You can’t budget for
unpredictable events,” says
Ward. “Sometimes a tractor
needs major repair or replace-
ment or other things happen,
so it’s good to know I can ex-
tend out my payments. Kent’s
really on the ball and gets pa-
perwork processed on time.”
Ward says he appreciates a
banker who takes the time to
know his clients.
“I can sit down and tell him
what my needs are, and we go
from there,” says Ward.
To help clients, Gunnell
has sometimes advised them
to rewrite their business plan,
estimating their income con-
servatively.
“If unforeseen things hap-
pen, it gives you a buffer,”
Gunnell says. “We sometimes
advise borrowers to write a
personal budget, too, to help
them make decisions about
their money.”
“We’re on a first-name basis with most people who walk through our doors. Our customers are
like friends and repay their loans, so we don’t have the losses a larger city bank might have.”
Kent Gunnell, commercial ag loan officer at D.L. Evans Bank
Photos by Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press
Doug Ward and grandson Jack “Hard Tack” Francis driving a tractor. Ward, a rancher near Almo, Idaho, relies on D.L. Evans Bank for an
annual operating loan.
Gunnell says generations
of families, such as the Wards,
have supported the bank for
more than a century and helped
build it into what it is today.
“We’re on a first-name ba-
sis with most people who walk
through our doors,” Gunnell
says. “Our customers are like
friends and repay their loans,
so we don’t have the losses a
larger city bank might have.
They know that if a problem
arises or if they want to discuss
financial objectives, they can
talk to someone face-to-face
instead of a person at an 800
number.”
The bank was Cassia Coun-
ty’s first financial institution.
When state Sen. D.L. Evans
established it for farmers and
ranchers in remote areas, he
said, “Banking is really just
about one thing: helping peo-
ple.” The bank was capitalized
with $25,000.
Today, the third-generation,
family-owned
community
bank has more than $1.2 bil-
Kent Gunnell, commercial ag
loan officer at D.L. Evans Bank
in Albion, analyzes farmers’
business plans.
BELOW: A view of Doug
Ward’s ranch near Almo, Idaho.
Ward relies on D.L. Evans Bank
for an annual operating loan.
lion in assets with 28 full-ser-
vice branches and seven mort-
gage lending offices across
Southern Idaho.
The bank’s headquarters
eventually moved from Albi-
on, a town of 270, to Burley, a
town of 10,500 about 18 miles
to the northwest.
At the Albion branch, Gun-
nell says a small town atmo-
sphere still prevails.
“We’ve stayed true to our
founder’s goals about helping
people.”
Farmers rely on accountants
in making tough decisions
By DIANNA TROYER
For the Capital Press
Would a robotic milking
system be a sound investment
for Midway Dairy?
Dairy manager Dave Ger-
ratt asked the question recent-
ly during the weekly board
meeting of Ida-Gold Farms’
general partners in southeast-
ern Idaho.
The third-generation fami-
ly business includes a 4,000-
cow dairy north of Malta and
a sprawling 8,000-acre farm
that produces potatoes, alfal-
fa, grain and corn. Gerratt’s
cousin, Todd Gerratt, over-
sees crop production.
To answer the question,
they turned to their certified
showed we couldn’t cover
our existing debt while add-
ing more debt with a new ro-
botic system,” Gerratt says.
“It would have worked if we
were building a new facility
or were debt-free.”
For the Gerratts, their ac-
countants are indispensable.
“We need to know the
unit cost of production,
whether it’s 100 pounds of
Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press milk, a bushel of wheat, or a
100-pound sack of potatoes,”
Dave Gerratt, manager of Mid-
way Dairy north of Malta, Idaho, Gerratt says. “When agreeing
monitors valves as milk is sent to to contracts, we make our
decisions based on that infor-
a holding tank.
mation.”
The Gerratts have relied
public accountants at Condie
Stoker and Associates in near- on the Rupert accounting firm
by Rupert.
Turn to RELY, Page 16
“A financial analysis
Financial planner, CFO offer unique expertise
By DIANNA TROYER
For the Capital Press
Realizing he would one
day switch his role from chief
executive officer of Moss
Farms to retiree, Dan Moss
sought advice from a financial
planner 20 years ago.
The Idaho farmer not only
needed an investment port-
folio to provide retirement
income for himself, but he
wanted to offer an employ-
er-matching 401k plan to his
workers.
The farm’s 50 full-time
summer workers grow pota-
toes, sugar beets, wheat and
corn on 14,000 acres. The
business’ potato packing plant
in Rupert has 40 full-time
year-round workers. Some 80
workers are hired during har-
vest.
“I wanted to offer some
financial help to our employ-
ees for their retirement,” says
Moss, 64.
Courtesy of Bill Schaefer
Dan Moss, CEO of Moss Farms, grows corn, wheat, potatoes and
sugar beets in southeastern Idaho.
He turned to a financial
planner, Dee Darrington, an
investment representative at
D.L. Evans Bank in Burley.
“Dan was really progres-
sive for offering a matching
401K plan to his employees,
from managers to pipe mov-
ers,” says Darrington. “I think
more farmers will start doing
that in the future.”
He emphasizes that a re-
tirement portfolio needs di-
versification.
“Safety through diversifi-
cation is the key,” says Dar-
rington, who helps clients pick
from a combination of stocks,
bonds, mutual funds and
Turn to PLANNER, Page
16
AgF16-7/#14