My dream as a teenager was to return to our family farm and be a full-time dairy/beef producer. I may have thought it was my obligation to do so as well! I was the 4th generation and all the other men had returned and worked the family farm, so it should have been given that I should too. After graduating Virginia Tech, I did return to the farm. However, as we all know, life brings us unexpected changes. After being at the farm for a couple years my wife Laura and I were blessed to have our first child, a daughter, Bailey. I remained on the farm after she was born but she changed the way I viewed life. My father and I would spend mornings scraping the manure in the dairy barn. During this time we would have conversations. He encouraged me to think about a different career. So, 24 years later, here I am!
Hello, my name is Anthony Watson and I am passionate about agriculture and what it provides to our lives! I make my home in southwest Virginia in the small town of Max Meadows, VA (Wythe County) with my wife, Laura, and two children Bailey and Siler. I am now a Commercial Agriculture Loan Officer with Farm Credit of the Virginias. I also own and operate a beef cow/calf operation with my family. As a Commercial Agriculture Loan Officer, I work with full-time and part-time agriculture producers in obtaining financing that supports their farming operations. I also help others who are not involved in production agriculture secure financing for their rural lifestyles. As you read above, at a young age I did not think I would have a career off the farm. I spent 11 years as a high school agriculture teacher, FFA Advisor, and basketball coach. Those years were very rewarding as I got to help shape and influence the lives of youth. They helped me discover that I could be happy in other careers and still be involved in agriculture. I also learned that I thoroughly enjoy working with people and helping them succeed in their goals. When Farm Credit opened a position for a Commercial Agriculture Loan Officer I was excited at the possible opportunity. I am now living the best of both worlds working as a loan officer and a part-time beef cow/calf producer! I have found that doing both is not only rewarding but beneficial. Being an agriculture producer myself, I am better able to relate with my customers and have an understanding of their challenges and successes in production agriculture. As a producer, I reap the benefits of working with so many other producers and agriculture industry personnel. I get to hear many different opinions and perspectives, and see a wide array of production practices that are implemented. This helps me make more informed decisions when making changes in my own operation. So, for those out there who have aspirations of working in production agriculture and may have possible roadblocks that prevent you from farming full-time, I encourage that you look at other careers in the agriculture industry. You may be surprised at the fulfillment you get from serving agriculture in a different way, and many of those careers would allow you to farm part-time as well. You too could live the best of both worlds!
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