fsa

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced the Producer and Agricultural Credit Enhancement (PACE) Act, legislation to improve farmers and ranchers’ access to credit by modernizing loan limitations for U.S. Department of Agriculture loan programs.

At the 2023 National Association of State Departments of Agriculture annual meeting, NASDA members adopted policy to protect farmers’ right to farm, fixing federal disaster relief, advocate for clear labeling on cell-based meat products, and agriculture apprenticeship programs.

Shellfish growers who suffer losses from a qualifying natural disaster event may be eligible for assistance through the Farm Service Agency.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs.

A new, simplified direct loan application is now available for all producers seeking a direct farm loan from the Farm Service Agency.  The new application went from 29 to 13 pages to provide an improved customer experience for producers applying for loans and enables them to complete a more streamlined application  Producers also have the option to complete an electronic fillable form or prepare a

One of the serious issues for beginning, small, or underserved farmers is the lack of access to credit.  And ask anyone who’s farmed for a while, without credit, it's almost impossible for any farmer to make it.   “This is what I feel like I was brought to the agency for is to help improve access to credit especially to those underserved populations.”   FSA Adminis...

On Monday, Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse as well as Representative Austin Scott, of Georgia, led a letter to United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack with Chair of House Agriculture Committee “GT” Thompson urging immediate action to improve outdated and inefficient FSA program operations.    “...

“We find that the percentage of socially disadvantaged and the percentage of getting farming operations are negatively correlated with things like average lease size," noted Scott Callahan with ERS.  "And positively correlated with the percentage of rented farmland.”    ...

FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux said he would like to see changes to the federal farm loan system.  He said he would like to see FSA operate less like a lending institution and more like a federal government initiative.  He said right now, one of the biggest challenges is that many of the Department’s loan officers have a more conservative frame of mind then needed, which he says does not result

Climate change as an issue in the next farm bill is already causing temperatures to rise in the nation’s capital.  But if there’s anything farm leaders agree on, it’s conservation incentives, not dictates.   “Let the innovators compete, let them go after it and do what they want, it’s not ‘one size fits all,’ it gives them a shot to do it," said former Farm Service Agency chief, Jonathan Copp