Farm management experience for a Direct Operating Loan and a Direct Farm Ownership loan are vastly different. Under the Direct Farm Ownership Loan program, farm management experience involves all aspects of farm production and such day-to-day responsibilities as deciding crop rotations; when to cull livestock and which livestock to cull; selecting and purchasing breeding or feeding stock; feed formulations; making decisions on the purchase, repair and leasing of equipment; handling transport of grain to grain companies, drying or storage centers, and to buyers; outbuilding and facility maintenance, making decisions regarding chemical and fertilizer usages; marketing and marketing strategies; making short, intermediate and long range goal planning; and the list continues.
With organic operations, farm management may include such responsibilities as insect, disease, nematode and weed management strategies and other management preferences; managing crop rotations and establishing rotation procedures; intercropping and crop sequencing;manage upkeep of farm equipment and making decisions on purchasing, replacing or leasing equipment; planning and making financial decisions about such items as energy use or environmental and health issues associated with urban farming; allocating resources such as labor and machinery; marketing and marketing strategies; short, intermediate and long-range goal planning, irrigation planning and implementation; and the list goes on.