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Historic, Archive Document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. WELCOME TO THE The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's principal agency charged with promoting a stable and abundant American food supply. This objective is best met by supporting America's production agriculture community and helping protect the Nation's food and natural resources. FSA serves the public by providing all farmers and ranchers access and opportunity to participate in farm commodity,credit, conservation,environmental, and emergency assistance programs. Through these activities, FSA supports the USDA mission and The Farm Service helps ensure a healthful, stable,acces- Agency helps ensure sible, and affordable food supply. The national FSA office guides State Through these programs, FSA also fos- and county offices in their implemen- the well-being of ters good land stewardship,which tation ofprograms legislated by American agriculture will help preserve our agricultural Congress. Farmers and ranchers who prosperity for generations to come. are eligible for FSA programs nomi- and the American nate and elect representatives from public through effi- their peers in the local community to serve on the local FSA Count}- cient and equitable Committee. This extensive county- administration of based structure provides us a unique farm commodity, position from which to serve rural America. farm loan, conservation, emergency FSA is dedicated to: assistance, and domestic and inter- • Serving our customers through effectiveprogram delivery; • Following sound managementpolicies andfinancialprocedures; national food assis- • Providingfair and equitable treatment ofcustomers and employees; tance programs. • Ensuringproducer compliance withprogramprovisions; • Promoting land and natural resource stewardship; • Providing charitablefood distribution;and • Meetingfuture challenges and opportunities. Serving All Americans Strengthening Protecting Reaching Sharing Implementing Focusing FSA responds to rapidly changing farm markets and agricultural policies by focusing on producer needs. The key to FSA's success is the development ofpolicies and procedures that implement commodity and conservation program statutes. FSA is continuously making improvements in farm programs to ensure they are administered cost-effectively and equitably. "Program payments Farm Programs Help help me manage my Producers Manage overall financial risk Market Risks and give me marketing options v/ould not oth- Under the 2002 FarmAct,FSA helps I erwise have. In short, farmers manage market risk through these farm programs several key programs,including mar- have helped keep my keting loans, direct payments, and Farmers may also apply for Farm countercyclical payments. Storage Facilit)' Loans to construct or business on a sound renovate storage structures,or to footing." FSA offers a marketing assistance loan install grain handling and drjing equipment. program so farmers have an alterna- Brian Taliaferro, tive to selling crops at harvest when Center Cross, Virginia prices tend to be seasonally low. To provide income stability", FSA makes direct payments to farmers Farmers can receive a loan using their and eligible landowners in the form crops as collateral. Repayment is typi- of annual, fixed direct payments. cally made after a rise in prices. If When prices drop below specified prices fall,the producer can generally levels, FSA also makes countercyclical repay the loan at the low prevailing payments to producers to offset lost market price. market income.To be eligible for these farm programs, producers must use approved conservation practices and meet other land stewardship requirements. 2 Serving Ail Americans 4 Sonny Pourier, a Native American rancher, came to FSA in need of financing. At the time, o bank was about to foreclose on his operation. Times were tough, and the previous spring got the best of him with late blizzards, which caused a high livestock death loss. When Sonny contacted FSA in South Dakota, he Disaster Assistance Helps had 25 cows, 1 Producers Manage replacement heifers, Weather Risks and 12 calves. He was trying to make ends meet by taking in When disaster strikes, FSA reacts The Emergency Conservation some pasture cattle. promptly to help producers recover Program (ECP) shares with agricultur- their noninsurable crop losses. The al producers in the cost ofrehabilitat- Working with on FSA Noninsured Crop Disaster ing farmlands damaged by natural form loan manager. Assistance Program (NAP) is federal- disaster.During severe drought, ECP Sonny learned how his business could operate ly funded and provides financial also pr—ovides emergency water assis- more efficiently. assistance to producers affected by tance both for livestock and for Together, they set goals natural disasters. existing orchard and vineyard irriga- and developed a busi- tion systems. ness plan. Sonny applied for and Conservation Reserve Program received a direct oper- acreage can also be made available for ating loon from FSA. emergency haying and grazing situa- Five years later. tions. In addition, FSA also provides Sonny's operation had ^Americans spend around 7 7 emergency loans to help producers grown to 1 16 cows, recover from production and physical 5 bulls, and 17 year- percent of their disposable losses due to drought,flooding,other lings. Sonny says, income on food^ the lowest natural disasters, or quarantines. "hlonesty, pride, hard work, and working percentage in the world. with FSA's loan officer contributed to my success." Serving All Americans 3 | TEACHING KIDS RESPONSIBILITY In Utah, FSA helped an eager high-school stu- Farm Loan Programs Help dent start his own cattle Producers Manage Credit business. After receiv- Needs ing a Youth Loan, the FSA makes direct loans to producers young man is gradually Farming in the 21st century is a to finance farm ownership and oper- ating expenses, and to provide need- building his herd and, sophisticated business requiring sub- in the process, learning stantial resources and extensive man- ed capital in times ofemergency. FSA the skills he will need to agement skills. FSA makes and guar- sets aside a percentage offunds for antees loans and provides credit coun- loans to minority applicants and be an effective rancher. seling and supervision to farmers and beginning farmers. He says, "I think this ranchers who are temporarily unable loan is a good idea to obtain private, commercial credit. In addition to loaning money, FSA pro- because it teaches kids vides credit counseling and helps bor- how to manage money, Many FSA loan applicants are begin- rowers manage their debt and repay- responsibility, and how ning farmers who do not qualify for ment schedules. to work." conventional loans because ofinsuffi- cient net worth. Other applicants are established farmers who have suf- fered financial setbacks from natural disasters or economic downturns. Developing Tomorrow's Leaders FSA is a strong bridge in helping rural youth to grow both personally and pro- fessionally in preparation for becoming tomorrow's leaders in agriculture. FSA offers special loans ofup to $5,000 for rural youths. To qualif>' for a loan, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen; be between 10 and 20 years old; live in a town of less than 10,000 people; be unable to obtain a loan from other sources; and conduct a modest income-producing project in a supervised program ofwork. 4 Serving All Americans YOUTH LOAN HELPS BUILD HERD There aren't many 16-year-old girls in Connecticut who assist in the birthing process of lambs, which makes Rachael Gately no ordinary teenager. Starting with three ewes and two ewe lambs in 1998, she has tripled her flock every year. She shows her sheep at fairs throughout New England and uses her winnings and youth loan to purchase supplies and grow her operation. Serving All Americans 5 PffOTFCTING TMP gMVIPOMMi=MT FSA protects America's natural resources by reducing soil erosion on millions of farmland acres, improving air and water quality, and increasing wildlife fiabitat. FSA administers conservation and environmental programs and activities The Conservation Reserve to conserve our Nation's natural EnhancementProgram (CREP) is an resources,including land,water, air, offspring ofCRP. CREP is a voluntary and wildlife. program for agricultural landowners in which State priorities drive pro- The Conservation Reserve Program gram enrollment. State and Federal (CRP) is a voluntary program for agri- partnerships allow participants to cultural landowners. Through CRP, receive incentive payments for landowners receive annual rental pay- installing specific conservation prac- Trees on CRP land ments to put farmland into environ- tices. Through CREP, farmers can remove on estimated mentally friendly conservation uses. receive annual rental payments and 3.7 million tons of They also receive cost-share assis- cost-share assistance to establish long- tance to establish long-term, resource- term conservation measures on land. carbon per year from conserving practices. the atmosphere. Eligible farmers and ranchers may also enroll their land in filter strips,ripari- CRP provides environ- an buffers,grass waterways, and other mental benefits estimated similar practices at any time. These to total more than $2 practices protect fragile streams and billion per year. rivers from eroding soil and chemical runoff The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which is Since its inception in administered by the Natural 1986, CRP has pro- Resources Conservation Service, duced dramatic offers financial and technical assis- improvements in the tance to participants who install or health and size of implement structural and manage- wildlife populations. ment practices that help reach conservation goals. 6 Serving All Americans I