COLUMBUS — Ohio Farm Service Agency Executive Director Steve Maurer has announced that Jason Gibbs, of Jackson Center, was selected as a farm loan officer trainee (FLOT).

Gibbs began his duties July 13 as the FLOT for Allen, Auglaize, Mercer, Shelby and Van Wert counties. While participating in the training program, he will assist the farm loan manager with making, servicing and supervising loans and providing technical advice, guidance and credit counseling to FSA loan applicants and borrowers.

Gibbs graduated from the Ohio State University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in animal science and a minor in criminology. While in school, he worked as a summer intern for Mercer Landmark Inc., providing producers with projected feed costs and supplying feed mix rations to producers. In 2012, he began working for the Mercer County Soil and Water Conservation District as a nutrient management technician. He has been part of a team that assisted landowners in the Grand Lake Watershed with proper land-nutrient application.

Gibbs is part owner of Gibbs Farms LLC, a 320-acre cash grain and cattle operation, where he manages a cow-calf herd of 80 Gelbvieh cattle using intensive managed grazing. He serves on the Shelby County Farm Bureau Board of Trustees, as a member of the advisory board of Farm Credit Mid-America in Versailles and as president of the Shelby County Cattlemen’s Association.