Case Studies / Ohio AgLink Application Management
Government
Business Organization
Government Solutions
Process Management
Web App Development
Switchbox built a secure, role-based web portal for the Ohio AgLink program that digitized $100M+ in annual agricultural loan applications—automating scoring, communication, and approvals that previously required weeks of manual work and multiple full-time staff positions.
$0M
In annual agricultural loans funded
0+
Farm loan applications processed each year
0 FTE
Staff positions reduced through automation
0 seconds
Application ranking time (down from 2 weeks)
The Challenge
Manual, messy, and maxed out
The Ohio State Treasurer’s AgLink program provides over $100 million in low-interest loans to farmers each year. But for decades, the process behind that funding was completely manual and painfully complex.
Farmers and bankers juggled dense, multi-step forms collecting everything from funding history to military service to crop types. Applications were submitted through mail or email, then manually entered into spreadsheets by state employees. Staff had to request follow-ups, verify submissions, and apply a nuanced scoring algorithm to rank applicants.
The result: a high-touch, labor-intensive workflow that took weeks to process and strained state resources. The program had scaled over 30 years, but the system behind it hadn’t.
Our Approach
Digitizing a 30-year-old manual process
Switchbox worked with the Ohio State Treasurer’s AgLink team to map the full complexity of their existing process—from farmer and banker form submissions to manual scoring, priority ranking, and follow-up communications.
We designed a centralized portal architecture with role-specific dashboards for each user type, automated communication flows for every stage of the process, and a built-in scoring engine that could reproduce the nuanced ranking algorithm in real time. The solution was scoped to eliminate every manual touchpoint without sacrificing compliance or oversight.
What We Built
Centralized, role-based automation with real-time communication
Switchbox delivered a custom web-based platform that streamlined every step of the process without sacrificing compliance or human oversight. Key upgrades included: a single secure web portal for farmers, bankers, and state staff to submit, review, and manage applications; online forms and scan-to-upload tools consolidating all communication and documents in one place; role-specific dashboards showing each user exactly what needed to be completed and when; automated workflows and real-time emails guiding users through each stage from submission to approval; and a built-in scoring engine that ranked applications in seconds.
The Results
Zero phone calls, instant rankings, and $100M managed with ease
The transformation was immediate and measurable. Inbound and outbound calls dropped to near zero thanks to fully digital, automated communication. Bankers gained a centralized hub to manage all clients in one place. Repeat submissions skyrocketed—users could now easily copy over prior year data.
Four full-time staff positions were reallocated, freeing capacity for other high-impact projects. Loan application ranking time shrank from 2 weeks to just 4 seconds.
Scaling one experience across a lot of locations?
That is the kind of problem we like. Let's talk about what it could look like for you.
Start a Conversation