​Retained Producer Income: Discussion & Design of Farm Finance for the Central Coast

​Wednesday, November 19, 2025 | 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Environmental Hub, Santa Barbara
Open to producers, lenders, and advocates

(Note - we are also holding a similar event Nov 18 in Ventura County and in Santa Maria on afternoon of the Nov 19 - inquire at david@regen.network if this works better for your schedule and location)

​What if agricultural finance worked with producers — not against them?

​Join former U.S. Farm Service Agency Administrator and third-generation rancher Zach Ducheneaux for a conversation about the Retained Producer Income (RPI) strategy — a bold approach to rural lending that lets farmers and ranchers retain more of what they earn, creating space to reinvest, innovate, and build long-term resilience.

​Instead of rigid repayment schedules that ignore growing seasons, RPI aligns capital with production cycles. Producers repay when operations can truly afford it — not when the bank demands it. It’s a model built on trust, flexibility, and shared prosperity rather than extraction.

​“We’ve had the four C’s of credit banged over our heads our whole lives. What we really need is a fifth — Courage.”
— Zach Ducheneaux, The Fifth C

​Agenda
8:30 – 9:15 AM — Breakfast & Networking
9:15 – 10:00 AM — RPI Presentation by Zach Ducheneaux
10:00 – 10:30 AM — Breakout Discussions/Tracks: Funders, Producers & Advocates
10:30 – 11:00 AM — Report Outs & Group Dialogue
11:00 – 11:30 AM — Next Steps & Closing

Speakers:
Zach Ducheneaux, former USDA Director
David Cooper, Transformational Investing in Food Systems (TIFS)
James Cutler, Fronthill Partners

​This gathering is part of a regional effort led by Transformational Investing in Food Systems (TIFS), DiversiFund, and The Fifth C to co-design financial tools that keep wealth rooted in local communities and align investor returns with producer resilience across Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura Counties.

​👉 RSVP to join a working session shaping the future of 805 agricultural finance.

Special thanks to our host Community Environmental Council.