U.S. Department of Agriculture

All U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices nationwide will reopen Jan. 24 to provide additional administrative services to farmers and ranchers during the lapse in federal funding, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced Jan. 22.

Certain FSA offices will continue providing limited services for existing loans and tax documents through Jan. 23.

Additionally, Feb. 14 is the new deadline to apply for the Market Facilitation Program, which aids farmers harmed by unjustified retaliatory tariffs. Other program deadlines may be modified and will be announced as they are addressed.

“At President Trump’s direction, we 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,” Perdue said. “The FSA provides vital support for farmers and ranchers, and they count on those services being available. We want to offer as much assistance as possible until the partial government shutdown is resolved.”

The first two full weeks under this operating plan (Jan. 28-Feb. 1 and Feb 4-8), FSA offices will open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In subsequent weeks, offices will open Tuesday-Thursday, if needed to provide additional administrative services. 

Agricultural producers who have business with the agency can contact their FSA service center to make an appointment.

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

Updates to available services and offices will be made during the lapse in federal funding here. Programs managed by FSA that were re-authorized by the 2018 farm bill will be available at a later date yet to be determined.