All USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices nationwide will soon reopen to provide additional administrative services to farmers during the lapse in federal funding and partial government shutdown, according to U.S. Secretary of Ag Sonny Perdue.
Natzke dave
Dave Natzke
Editor / Progressive Dairy

Some FSA offices have been providing limited services for existing loans and tax documents since Jan. 17, and will continue to do so through Jan. 23. Beginning Jan. 24, however, all FSA offices will open and offer a longer list of transactions they will accommodate.

Additionally, Perdue announced that the deadline to apply for the Market Facilitation Program, which provides payments to farmers harmed by retaliatory tariffs, has been extended to Feb. 14. The original deadline was Jan. 15. Other program deadlines may be modified and will be announced as they are addressed.

The USDA has temporarily recalled all of the more than 9,700 FSA employees to keep offices open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays beginning Jan. 24.

For the first two full weeks under this operating plan (Jan. 28-Feb. 1 and Feb. 4-8), FSA offices will be open Monday through Friday. In subsequent weeks, offices will be open three days a week: on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, if needed, to provide the additional administrative services. 

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FSA staff will work on the following transactions:

• Market Facilitation Program

• Marketing Assistance Loans

• Release of collateral warehouse receipts

• Direct and Guaranteed Farm Operating Loans, and Emergency Loans

• Service existing Conservation Reserve Program contracts

• Sugar Price Support Loans

• Dairy Margin Protection Program

• Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage

• Livestock Forage Disaster

• Emergency Assistance Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program

• Livestock Indemnity Program

• Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program

• Tree Assistance Program

• Remaining Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program payments for applications already processed

Transactions that will not be available include, but are not limited to:

• New Conservation Reserve Program contracts

• New Direct and Guaranteed Farm Ownership Loans

• Farm Storage Facility Loan Program

• New or in-process Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program applications

• Emergency Conservation Program

• Emergency Forest Rehabilitation Program

• Biomass Crop Assistance Program

• Grassroots Source Water Protection Program  end mark

Dave Natzke