Washington, D.C. — Good news for farmers — the Farm Service Agency has reopened their offices, despite the continuing government shutdown.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has announced that all Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices nationwide have reopened to provide additional administrative services to farmers and ranchers during the lapse in federal funding. FSA offices are also offering a longer list of transactions they will accommodate, compared to the recent limited re-opening.
Additionally, Secretary Perdue announced that the deadline to apply for the Market Facilitation Program, which aids farmers harmed by unjustified retaliatory tariffs, has been extended to February 14. The original deadline had been January 15. Other program deadlines may be modified and will be announced as they are addressed.
Perdue says that at President Trump’s direction, they have been working to alleviate the effects of the lapse in federal funding “as best we can, and we are happy to announce the reopening of FSA offices for certain services.” He says that the FSA provides vital support for farmers and ranchers and they count on those services being available. He says they want to offer as much assistance as possible until the partial government shutdown is resolved.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture 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. President Trump has already signed legislation that guarantees employees will receive all backpay missed during the lapse in funding.
For the first two full weeks under this operating plan (January 28 through February 1 and February 4 through February 8), FSA offices will be open Mondays through Fridays. In subsequent weeks, offices will be open three days a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays if needed to provide the additional administrative services.
Agricultural producers who have business with the agency can contact their FSA service center to make an appointment.
There has been no word on how President Trump’s Friday announcement to reopen the government until February 15th will affect this arangement.
FSA can provide these administrative services, which are critical for farmers and ranchers, because failure to perform these services would harm funded programs. 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 |
