From Dream to Reality, A Woman Owned Ag Operation

Photo Submitted by Christine Womack

It's Women's History Month and we're celebrating the women of our communities! Akiptan is proud to say that 19% of our loans are home to women-led operations. Christine Womack is the owner of Horny A Manure Spreading, a manure spreading and cattle operation based in Dupree, South Dakota, on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Our Loan Officer, Phannette Gray, was able to work with Christine to get her business plan to the next step. Akiptan is not just a lender who producers talk to once a year; we invest in getting to know our clients to see their operations grow through lending practices that balance lender security and borrower prosperity. 

Christine grew up on a small ranch with just enough space for a few head of cows and horses, but it fueled her desire to want to grow and expand. While growing up she was always at the neighbors ranch helping them in day to day activities, from there she went onto tech school and as a part of that program she completed an internship at the West Ranch in Pierre, South Dakota, and then worked at the local sale barn. These spaces built her aspiration and love of the agricultural industry. 

In the Spring of 2024, Christine applied for a loan with Akiptan and was able to purchase bred cows and the manure spreading equipment to kickstart her operation. Christine felt pretty scared to make this big jump in starting her own operation. Her exact thoughts were, “Oh man if this doesn't work, what's going to happen?” A concern that many agricultural producers feel in the beginning while penciling out their business. Now, a few years into operating she has gained the confidence to grow her complimentary businesses from real-life working experience. 

Photo Submitted by Christine Womack

Christine had heard about Akiptan through close friends a year before applying. She took time to plan and design her dream operation. Starting from scratch, she began to figure out the details, finances, goals and was even able to find a place for her cattle. When she started the application process she felt that Akiptan was going to be a good fit for her emerging business because the application process and website looked less intimidating. She appreciated that there was a focus on beginning operators like herself. As for the actual application process, Christine said that it was easy because her Loan Officer, Phannette, made everything pretty simple. This was Christine’s first big loan and when she had any questions, Phannette was great at answering them.

"Working with Christine has been wonderful! She is responsible, organized, and consistently makes sound business decisions. Seeing her growth and accomplishments over the past few years has been a success and the Akiptan team is very proud to be a part of it."

-Phannette Gray, Loan Officer

Photo Submitted by Christine Womack

If you were to ask Christine about the impact the loan with Akiptan made, she’d say “it was huge!” She is incredibly thankful for the opportunity to work with Akiptan, because trying to go through a typical bank was more daunting than applying with Akiptan. Finding leases locally has helped her start her business and now she is excited to be operating the manure business in conjunction with her cattle. With support and encouragement from her significant other, Christine has already expanded the manure business by increasing her operational capacity and keeping busy! 

While looking to the future, Christine hopes to expand her cow herd again while improving their genetics. She started out with older cows to get her feet wet and she plans to transition to younger cows and age diversification. She hopes to purchase her own land to run her cows on. As for the manure spreading operation, she has goals to increase clientele and to hire truck drivers. Christine says that it sounds cliche, but she would give this advice to fellow ranchers and farmers in the industry:  

“Don't be afraid to take the risk; I know I was, but I'm sure glad I had faith in Akiptan because being able to start my own little herd was just a dream, and now it's a reality.” 

Our team is honored to be a partner with Christine and her successful businesses. She is part of the growing 42% of American Indian/Alaska Native women producers in agriculture.(Source: USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture: American Indian / Alaska Native Producers). Akiptan is thrilled to have featured Christine in this month's success story, to learn more about Akiptan’s lending products, services and youth initiatives visit our website at www.akiptan.org.