Author

Doug McCarty

Doug runs Spencer Shadow Ranch near Eugene, Oregon, and writes Farmer’s Navigator. Since 2014 he’s navigated EQIP, CSP, FSA loans, and disaster programs on his own operation — mostly through trial, error, and a stack of phone calls. The site is the guide he wished existed when he started.

The ranch

Spencer Shadow Ranch is a Black Angus cow-calf operation in the Willamette Valley. Doug works it with his dad. The day-to-day includes pasture management, drought planning, livestock health, and the ordinary paperwork that comes with running a working ranch.

What he writes about

• USDA conservation programs — EQIP, CSP, ACEP, CRP
• FSA farm loans and the beginning farmer track
• Livestock disaster assistance — LIP, ELAP, LFP, SDRP
• Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) insurance and LRP
• State-by-state office locations, deadlines, and local context

How the site is written

Every guide is written in plain English with the numbers shown on the page. Program details change, so every page links out to the underlying USDA source and a nearby Service Center. NRCS and FSA staff are collaborative professionals — the goal here is to help you walk in prepared so the meeting goes faster for both of you.

More on the ranch and the site’s mission on the About page.