Financial Officer

Jonathan West has been a Financial Officer at Farm Credit Mid-America for 5 years. He jumped straight into this career path after knowing from a young age agriculture was a passion of his; growing up on a farm and school programs like FFA helped to fuel his interest.

Jonathan obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Career & Technical Education in Agriculture from the University of Kentucky. His Master’s degree is in Agriculture with an Agribusiness Economics Concentration from Murray State University. 

 When evaluating the career options available to him, Jonathan decided that working in agricultural finance would be his best option. When asked to describe his duties as a financial officer, he responded, “I work with full time and part time farmers to help them meet their financial needs and goals for their farming operation. I provide credit knowledge to customers to help them understand their financial positions, assist in developing risk mitigation strategies, and help with any other needs customers might have.”

Jonathan loves to see his clients succeed in their agricultural ventures. Looking back on his five years of work, Jonathan sees the value that studying more about agricultural economics and agronomy in college would have provided. Courses like these provide a solid foundation of knowledge which can allow a financial officer to be familiar with the many unique facets of agriculture that they will come across. 

When asked what advice he would give to young people looking at an agriculture career, Jonathan says, “The best advice I can provide is to work harder than anyone else, ask questions, and find a mentor who will point you in the right direction.”