Zach Ducheneaux, the former Farm Service Agency administrator, has launched 5th-C to bring new investment capital into agriculture. Ducheneaux said, “Throughout my life, I’ve seen producers struggle to overcome the four C’s of credit, which are capital, collateral, capacity and character, and I believe that we need to make sure that there is someone providing ag finance that matches the courage that producers bring to the table every day.” To demonstrate the model, he pointed to a young producer he invested $30,000 in, explaining, “You pay me a 10% return on my money, but you keep my money,” allowing the producer to build equity while maintaining working capital.
