As our lives changed with the passing of my elderly parents and the wish to work together as a family to honor their wishes and take care of their aging Arabian horses on the family homesteaded ranch. We started farm to service our local counties with fresh veggies, meat and herbs, allowing each of us to participate with our passions and prosper together,. We live in an area with limited access to food, so providing better access to our community is critical to our mission. As my husband Roger and I move into retirement (myself a Realtor for 40+ years and Roger a general contractor for 45+ years), and being an avid gardener and herbalist since learning from my grandmother at a very early age, it seemed a very natural and lucrative progression for a family of entrepreneurs!
We’re farming with our son Derek (general contractor for 20+ years), his wife Kelly (works with children with special needs) and their one week old darling baby (Baby Bev)! With their energy, love of the land, and forethought, we’ve been able to convert from a large garden supplying our family and friends to a REALLY large garden supplying 50+ local families! Our daughter Angela and granddaughter Kaitlyn raise and provide grass fed beef and pasture raised pork that we offer as add-ons for the CSA - invaluable during the pandemic when meat was very difficult to get in our area! Our goals are to increase from 50 families to over 200 in the next few years.
We, as a family, are incredibly thankful to be stewards of such a beautiful place! To be able to not only live and work here to carry forward our dreams but to continue to carry forward my parents’ dreams for Moon River Ranch, is incredibly rewarding!
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Funded
A loan helped a women owned small farm provide veggies to an underserved community.
Lisa's story
This loan is special because:
More about this loan
Business Description
Moon River Ranch, LLC grows naturally grown vegetables through regenerative agriculture practices. We avoid the use of chemicals, and strive to leave our little plot of land more healthy than when we started growing. We distribute our produce, and products for other farmers and ranchers in the area, with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, serving 50 families this season, expanding to over 200 in the next few years. Our farm is located in Clinton, Montana, and serves mainly the rural communities within 90 miles of us. When starting the farm in 2020, we saw a huge need to increase food security and access to the I-90 corridor between Missoula and Deer Lodge. Our location is key to our goal of providing healthy options to a part of the state that lacks even a basic grocery store in an 80 mile stretch of highway. Better access to quality produce, meat, eggs, etc will improve the health and lives of our neighbors, provide jobs, and support the local agricultural economy. We offer options to help families in need purchase veggies, including payment plans, scholarships donated by members and the community, SNAP/EBT payments, and a work trade program, to ensure that everyone who wants a CSA share receives one, regardless of income. Our primary goal in starting this business is to find a way to make a living while caring for land and horses that were left here by our family, and giving back to the community that surrounds us, making lives better for us and our neighbors. We think the best way to do this is through helping our community to eat better and live healthier lives.
What is the purpose of this loan?
We are applying for an $8500 KIVA loan to purchase a walk-in cooler for the farm. We have invested a substantial amount into the tools and infrastructure needed to efficiently provide the highest quality products to our neighbors, and the walk-in cooler is one of the last pieces we need to support up to 250 families over the next few years. This last piece is very important to our business. It allows us to rapidly cool and store produce as soon as it is harvested, giving us more flexibility in when we can harvest. This flexibility means we can harvest when the veggies are at their most perfect and then store them, versus being forced to harvest right before each market or CSA pickup. Keeping our product cold all the way to our customers hands will be possible with funding of the KIVA loan, and is key to distributing fresh, nutritious veggies.
Loan details
Loan length:
Repayment schedule
Monthly: One repayment made per month
End of term: One repayment made at the end of the loan term
Irregular: Any other repayment schedule
To see a detailed repayment schedule for a specific loan, click the "Repayment schedule" link on the loan profile under "Loan details."
What is the disbursed date?
In the case of partner loans, many of our Lending Partners choose to disburse loan funds before the loan request is posted on Kiva. We allow pre-disbursal because it ensures that the funds reach the borrower as soon as they are needed. Loan funds from Kiva lenders then go to backfill that amount and as a lender you assume the risk of the loan. By doing this, our Lending Partners assume the risk that, if the loan isn't funded by lenders, they will have to fund the loan without any funds from Kiva.
If a partner loan is not pre-disbursed, it will be listed on Kiva with an expected "post-disbursed" date. If a post-disbursed loan is not funded on Kiva, there is a chance that the borrower may not receive their loan. Some Lending Partners choose to disburse loans with other sources of funding, while other partners don't have the resources available to fund loans without Kiva lenders' support. No direct loans will be disbursed unless they fully fundraise on Kiva.
Funding model
What does "Partner covers currency loss" mean & how could it affect my Kiva loans?
Potential for currency exchange loss is noted on every loan profile under the loan details:
"Yes" means the Lending Partner will cover any currency loss. Lenders will not bear losses due to currency fluctuation
"Partial" means that the Lending Partner has opted to cover losses only up to 10%. If the U.S. dollar appreciates more than 10% against the local currency, those losses will be passed onto lenders.
"No" means that the Lending Partner is not covering any currency losses and all losses will be passed onto lenders.
"N/A" means the Lending Partner disburses loans to borrowers in USD so their loans are not subject to any currency fluctuation.
Do Kiva borrowers pay any interest on their loans?
Our partners collect interest from borrowers because there are many operational expenses associated with microfinance in developing markets, especially in rural areas. Many of Kiva's Lending Partners also provide additional services alongside their loan products such as business training, financial literacy lessons, or health services.
Kiva will not partner with an organization that charges unreasonable interest rates, and we require Lending Partners to fully disclose their rates. In addition, we only partner with microfinance institutions and organizations that have a social mission to serve the poor, unbanked, and underserved.
There are some 0% interest loans on Kiva, including all direct loans in the United States. To learn more about the interest rates Kiva borrowers pay, you can review the "Average cost to borrower" field on a loan profile.
We also encourage you to read the following articles if you are interested in further educating yourself on the topic: Microfinance 101 (https://www.kiva.org/microfinance), Top 10 things to know about microfinance (https://www.kiva.org/blog/top-10-things-to-know-about-microfinance), Microfinance interest rates explained (https://www.kiva.org/blog/whats-up-with-microfinance-interest-rates)
What is a risk rating?
The Lending Partner risk rating reflects the risk of institutional default associated with each of Kiva’s Lending Partners. A 0.5-star rating means the organization has a relatively higher risk of institutional default, while a 5-star rating indicates the organization is at a relatively lower risk of default, based on Kiva's analysis and the available information displayed in the Lending Partner section of every loan. Lending Partners with the lowest credit tier undergo a lighter level of due diligence and do not receive a risk rating; instead, in places where a risk rating would normally appear, these partners are labeled as “Experimental.” For more information, see "What is an Experimental Lending Partner?"
Direct loans also do not receive a formal risk rating. Instead, these loans are approved through “social underwriting”, where trustworthiness is determined by friends & family lending a portion of the loan request, or by a Kiva approved Trustee vouching for the borrower. Direct loans will appear as "Unrated" and lenders should always assume these loans represent the highest level of repayment risk on Kiva.
How are loans facilitated?
Kiva loans are facilitated through 2 models, partner and direct, that enable us to reach the greatest number of people around the world.
For partner loans, borrowers apply to a local Lending Partner, which manages the loan on the ground. Lending Partners are responsible for screening borrowers, disbursing loans, posting borrowers to the Kiva website for funding, collecting repayments and otherwise administering Kiva loans on the ground to borrowers.
For direct loans, borrowers apply through the Kiva website and may or may not be endorsed by a Trustee. Unlike Lending Partners, Trustees don't handle any financial transactions or have any duty to repay loans on behalf of their borrowers. Instead, Trustees take the role of providing support and business advice to their borrowers throughout the term of the loan.
More information about successive and concurrent loans
Most borrowers take out loans consecutively, meaning that they receive a second loan after having repaid the first. However, sometimes our Lending Partners give out concurrent loans, allowing borrowers to take out one primary loan and a secondary "add-on" loan along with it. These additional loans are typically smaller than the borrower's primary loan and serve a different purpose. We trust our partners to determine whether a borrower has the means to be able to repay a successive or concurrent loan.
About Moon River Ranch, LLC
Lenders and lending teams
Country: United States
Trustee: Community Food & Agriculture Coalition
What are Trustee tiers?
For for more information about Trustee tiers, visit: kivaushub.org/trustee-tiers
Why are you endorsing Lisa?
CFAC enthusiastically endorses Lisa and Moon River Ranch. Lisa is developing and growing a farm in an area that does not have a lot of access to fresh, local food. Her farm will provide fresh produce through a CSA, farm stand and selling at a local farmers market. Lisa’s loan application has been reviewed and approved by CFAC’s Kiva Review Team, made up of community business leaders and farmers, who believe her business will thrive.
Tags
Loan details
Loan length:
Repayment schedule
Monthly: One repayment made per month
End of term: One repayment made at the end of the loan term
Irregular: Any other repayment schedule
To see a detailed repayment schedule for a specific loan, click the "Repayment schedule" link on the loan profile under "Loan details."
What is the disbursed date?
In the case of partner loans, many of our Lending Partners choose to disburse loan funds before the loan request is posted on Kiva. We allow pre-disbursal because it ensures that the funds reach the borrower as soon as they are needed. Loan funds from Kiva lenders then go to backfill that amount and as a lender you assume the risk of the loan. By doing this, our Lending Partners assume the risk that, if the loan isn't funded by lenders, they will have to fund the loan without any funds from Kiva.
If a partner loan is not pre-disbursed, it will be listed on Kiva with an expected "post-disbursed" date. If a post-disbursed loan is not funded on Kiva, there is a chance that the borrower may not receive their loan. Some Lending Partners choose to disburse loans with other sources of funding, while other partners don't have the resources available to fund loans without Kiva lenders' support. No direct loans will be disbursed unless they fully fundraise on Kiva.
Funding model
What does "Partner covers currency loss" mean & how could it affect my Kiva loans?
Potential for currency exchange loss is noted on every loan profile under the loan details:
"Yes" means the Lending Partner will cover any currency loss. Lenders will not bear losses due to currency fluctuation
"Partial" means that the Lending Partner has opted to cover losses only up to 10%. If the U.S. dollar appreciates more than 10% against the local currency, those losses will be passed onto lenders.
"No" means that the Lending Partner is not covering any currency losses and all losses will be passed onto lenders.
"N/A" means the Lending Partner disburses loans to borrowers in USD so their loans are not subject to any currency fluctuation.
Do Kiva borrowers pay any interest on their loans?
Our partners collect interest from borrowers because there are many operational expenses associated with microfinance in developing markets, especially in rural areas. Many of Kiva's Lending Partners also provide additional services alongside their loan products such as business training, financial literacy lessons, or health services.
Kiva will not partner with an organization that charges unreasonable interest rates, and we require Lending Partners to fully disclose their rates. In addition, we only partner with microfinance institutions and organizations that have a social mission to serve the poor, unbanked, and underserved.
There are some 0% interest loans on Kiva, including all direct loans in the United States. To learn more about the interest rates Kiva borrowers pay, you can review the "Average cost to borrower" field on a loan profile.
We also encourage you to read the following articles if you are interested in further educating yourself on the topic: Microfinance 101 (https://www.kiva.org/microfinance), Top 10 things to know about microfinance (https://www.kiva.org/blog/top-10-things-to-know-about-microfinance), Microfinance interest rates explained (https://www.kiva.org/blog/whats-up-with-microfinance-interest-rates)
What is a risk rating?
The Lending Partner risk rating reflects the risk of institutional default associated with each of Kiva’s Lending Partners. A 0.5-star rating means the organization has a relatively higher risk of institutional default, while a 5-star rating indicates the organization is at a relatively lower risk of default, based on Kiva's analysis and the available information displayed in the Lending Partner section of every loan. Lending Partners with the lowest credit tier undergo a lighter level of due diligence and do not receive a risk rating; instead, in places where a risk rating would normally appear, these partners are labeled as “Experimental.” For more information, see "What is an Experimental Lending Partner?"
Direct loans also do not receive a formal risk rating. Instead, these loans are approved through “social underwriting”, where trustworthiness is determined by friends & family lending a portion of the loan request, or by a Kiva approved Trustee vouching for the borrower. Direct loans will appear as "Unrated" and lenders should always assume these loans represent the highest level of repayment risk on Kiva.
How are loans facilitated?
Kiva loans are facilitated through 2 models, partner and direct, that enable us to reach the greatest number of people around the world.
For partner loans, borrowers apply to a local Lending Partner, which manages the loan on the ground. Lending Partners are responsible for screening borrowers, disbursing loans, posting borrowers to the Kiva website for funding, collecting repayments and otherwise administering Kiva loans on the ground to borrowers.
For direct loans, borrowers apply through the Kiva website and may or may not be endorsed by a Trustee. Unlike Lending Partners, Trustees don't handle any financial transactions or have any duty to repay loans on behalf of their borrowers. Instead, Trustees take the role of providing support and business advice to their borrowers throughout the term of the loan.
More information about successive and concurrent loans
Most borrowers take out loans consecutively, meaning that they receive a second loan after having repaid the first. However, sometimes our Lending Partners give out concurrent loans, allowing borrowers to take out one primary loan and a secondary "add-on" loan along with it. These additional loans are typically smaller than the borrower's primary loan and serve a different purpose. We trust our partners to determine whether a borrower has the means to be able to repay a successive or concurrent loan.
Trustee: Community Food & Agriculture Coalition
What are Trustee tiers?
For for more information about Trustee tiers, visit: kivaushub.org/trustee-tiers
Why are you endorsing Lisa?
CFAC enthusiastically endorses Lisa and Moon River Ranch. Lisa is developing and growing a farm in an area that does not have a lot of access to fresh, local food. Her farm will provide fresh produce through a CSA, farm stand and selling at a local farmers market. Lisa’s loan application has been reviewed and approved by CFAC’s Kiva Review Team, made up of community business leaders and farmers, who believe her business will thrive.
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