Walter Oliver was born and raised in Carroll County, Mississippi on a farm that he now owns and operates. He and his family run Oliver Farms—a 3,000-plus acre farm where they grow cotton, corn and peanuts. 

“My daddy taught me everything I know about farming. He retired in 2008, and I picked up from there.  2009 was a hard year without having him on the farm, but I managed to get by,” Walt said.

Southern AgCredit’s Relationship With Oliver Farms

Walt’s father began a relationship with Land Bank South (now Southern AgCredit) in 1976. Now, fast forward some 45 years later, and the relationship between the Oliver family and Southern AgCredit is still going strong. “They’re just good people, hard workers, and great farmers,” said Elliott Fancher, Southern AgCredit’s Greenwood branch manager and loan officer for Oliver Farms. “Not only are they our borrowers, but they’re also our friends. Our kids go to the same school. We talk about business, but we also talk football and hunting.”

Why Experienced Farming Lenders Matter

Walt acknowledges that although his father started the financial relationship with Southern AgCredit, he knew that he wouldn’t change it. “They understand farming and the demands that it has, the unpredictable weather and the volatile commodity prices. They know that every year won’t be a record year, and they can help us plan for that,” said Walt. 

Walt values the agricultural knowledge of Elliott and others at Southern AgCredit, where most of the staff grew up on farms and are even farming part-time today. “It’s important to us,” Walt explained.  “It makes the conversations easy because they truly get it.” 

Fulfill Your Rural Living Dreams

Southern AgCredit is proud to help fulfill the dreams of owning land, farming, or just living in the country.