Washington, DC — FSA offices in two of our four primary coverage counties are open this Friday and will be open again on Tuesday in the midst of the government shutdown.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue says that many Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices are open temporarily to perform certain limited services for farmers and ranchers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recalled about 2,500 FSA employees to open offices on Friday, January 18, and Tuesday, January 22, during normal business hours. The offices will be closed for the federal Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 21.
The two offices in our area that will be open are the Osceola County office in Sibley and the Sioux County office in Orange City.
USDA officials tell us that in almost half of FSA locations, FSA staff will be available to assist agricultural producers with existing farm loans and to ensure the agency provides 1099 tax documents to borrowers by the Internal Revenue Service’s deadline.
Secretary Perdue says that until Congress sends President Trump an appropriations bill in the form that he will sign, the USDA is doing their best to minimize the impact of the partial federal funding lapse on America’s agricultural producers. He says they are bringing back part of the FSA team to help producers with existing farm loans. Meanwhile, says Perdue, they continue to examine their legal authorities to ensure they are providing services to their customers to the greatest extent possible during the shutdown.
Staff members will be available at certain FSA offices to help producers with specific services, including:
Processing payments made on or before December 31, 2018.
Continuing expiring financing statements.
Opening mail to identify priority items.
Additionally, as an intermittent incidental duty, staff may release proceeds from the sale of loan security by signing checks jointly payable to FSA that are brought to the county office by producers.
Information on the locations of FSA offices to be open during this three-day window will be posted:
On the USDA website.
On Twitter at @SecretarySonny and @USDA.
On USDA’s Facebook
While staff are available in person, most available services can be handled over the phone.
Additionally, farmers who have loan deadlines during the lapse in funding do not need to make payments until the government shutdown ends.
Other FSA Programs and Services
Services that are NOT available include, but are not limited to:
New direct or facility loans.
New Farm loan guarantees.
New marketing assistance loans.
New applications for Market Facilitation Program (MFP).
Certification of 2018 production for MFP payments.
Dairy Margin Protection Program.
Disaster assistance programs, such as:
Livestock Indemnity Program.
Emergency Conservation Program.
Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program.
Livestock Forage Disaster Program.
Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish.
While January 15, 2019, had been the original deadline for producers to apply for MFP, farmers have been unable to apply since December 28, 2018, when FSA offices closed because of the lapse in federal funding. Secretary Perdue has extended the MFP application deadline for a period of time equal to the number of business days FSA offices end up being closed, once the government shutdown ends. These announced days of limited staff availability during the shutdown will not constitute days open in calculating the extension. Producers who already applied for MFP and certified their 2018 production by December 28, 2018 should have already received their payments.
More information on MFP is available at www.farmers.gov/manage/mfp. More information on FSA programs and services during the partial government shutdown is available at www.fsa.usda.gov/help/shutdowninfo.
