Georgia News Releases

Physical loss loans through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) can help producers repair or replace damaged or destroyed physical property essential to the success of the agricultural operation, including livestock losses. Examples of property commonly affected include essential farm buildings, fixtures to real estate, equipment, livestock, perennial crops, fruit and nut bearing trees, and harvested or stored crops and hay.

This Presidential disaster declaration allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or to refinance certain debts. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced $58 million available for marketing assistance to eligible organic dairy producers through the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP) 2024 to help expand the market for organic dairy and increase the consumption of organic dairy.  

ATHENS, Ga., June 24, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Georgia State Executive Director, Arthur Tripp, reminds agricultural producers to file crop acreage reports with USDA to document the crops grown on their operation and their intended uses. Deadlines to file crop acreage reports vary by crop, state, and county. The next crop reporting deadline that impacts many agricultural producers is July 15, 2024. Agricultural producers should contact their local USDA Service Center for more information on deadlines and to file acreage reports.

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominations for four positions on the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.  USDA will accept nominations from May 7, 2024, to July 7, 2024. The 12-member Committee, which first convened in March 2022, is part of USDA’s efforts to increase support for urban agriculture and innovative production. Members of the Committee provide input on policy development and help identify barriers to urban agriculture as USDA works to promote urban farming and the economic opportunities it provides in cities across the country.  

 ATHENS, Ga., Apr. 1, 2024 – Eleven agencies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently organized a historic USDA career fair hosted at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC). At the career fair, representatives from the 11 USDA agencies shared information on the federal career and internship opportunities available through the Department.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2024– Starting next Wednesday, dairy producers will be able to enroll for 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), an important safety net program offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides producers with price support to help offset milk and feed price differences. This year’s DMC signup begins Feb. 28, 2024, and ends April 29, 2024. For those who sign up for 2024 DMC coverage, payments may begin as soon as March 4, 2024, for any payments that triggered in January 2024.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2023 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin mailing ballots this week for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) county and urban county committee elections to all eligible agricultural producers and private landowners across the country. Elections are occurring in certain Local Administrative Areas for these committee members who make important decisions about how Federal farm programs are administered locally. Producers and landowners must return ballots to their local FSA county office or have their ballots postmarked by Dec. 4, 2023, for those ballots to be counted.     

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2023 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued more than $1.77 billion this year to agricultural producers and landowners through its Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a critical piece of the Department’s efforts to support climate-smart agriculture and forestry on working lands. Right now, CRP’s more than 667,000 participants received payments from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) for their voluntary conservation efforts on more than 23 million acres of private land. Since 2021, CRP has grown by 21 percent in terms of acres enrolled, testament to the Biden-Harris administration’s program improvement efforts. 

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 22, 2023 – The Biden-Harris Administration today announced that agricultural employers can begin to apply for a pilot program designed to improve the resiliency of the food and agricultural supply chain by addressing workforce challenges farmers and ranchers face. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in coordination with other federal agencies, is announcing up to $65 million in grants available for the Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Program (FLSP Program). 

Athens, GA, April 27, 2023 – Agricultural producers and landowners with certain expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts can receive additional rental incentives and extend that land’s role in conservation for another 30 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has opened the signup period for its Clean Lakes, Estuaries, And Rivers enrollment (CLEAR30) now through July 31, 2023.

ATHENS, Ga., April 5, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Georgia State Executive Director, Arthur Tripp, invites agricultural producers to attend a workshop to learn about revenue loss assistance available through two new programs, the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase Two and the Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP).

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2023 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that beginning in April it will provide approximately $123 million in additional, automatic financial assistance for qualifying farm loan program borrowers who are facing financial risk, as part of the $3.1 billion to help distressed farm loan borrowers that was provided through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

ATHENS, Ga., March 16, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Georgia State Executive Director, Arthur Tripp, recently spoke on a panel at the 61st Annual Georgia Cattlemen’s Association Convention, where he shared valuable information on FSA’s conservation, disaster assistance, and farm loan programs.

WASHINGTON, Mar. 7, 2022 – Producers can take a nationwide survey to help the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) improve and increase access to its programs and services for America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest managers. The survey includes new and existing customers. USDA encourages all agricultural producers to take the survey, especially those who have not worked with USDA previously. The survey gathers feedback on programs and services available through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA). 

Athens, Ga., Feb. 16, 2023 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that agricultural producers and private landowners can begin applying for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General signup starting February 27 through April 7, 2023. CRP is a cornerstone voluntary conservation program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a key tool in the Biden-Harris administration’s effort to address climate change and help agricultural communities invest in the long-term well-being of their land and natural resources.

ATHENS, Ga., Feb. 16, 2023 – Yesterday, in recognition of Black History Month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 Administrator Daniel Blackman and USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Georgia State Executive Director Arthur Tripp co-hosted a roundtable discussion at Fort Valley State University directly engaging with underserved and/or underrepresented agricultural producers to learn about challenges, concerns and opportunities where the EPA and USDA FSA can provide support.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed a simplified direct loan application to provide improved customer experience for producers applying for loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA). The simplified direct loan application enables producers to complete a more streamlined application, reduced from 29 to 13 pages.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages urban producers, innovative producers and other stakeholders to virtually attend the fourth public meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (Committee) on Feb. 23, 2023.

WASHINGTON, January 23, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the details of additional assistance for dairy producers, including a second round of payments through the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program (PMVAP) and a new Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP).

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds agricultural producers with perennial forage crops of an option to report their acreage once, without having to report that acreage in subsequent years, as long as there are no applicable changes on the farm. Interested producers can select the continuous certification option after USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) certifies their acreage report. 

SAN JUAN, P.R., January 9, 2023 — Today, at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual convention, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced several major developments at the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will benefit farmers, ranchers and producers across the nation.

ATHENS, Ga., Oct. 17, 2022 – USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director, Arthur Tripp, recently hosted educational events on agriculture at schools in the Metro Atlanta area to launch USDA’s urban agriculture initiative for the state of Georgia.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15, 2022 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced plans for additional emergency relief and pandemic assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA is preparing to roll out the Emergency Relief Program (ERP)

ATHENS, Ga., Oct. 27, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched a new online tool to help farmers and ranchers better navigate the farm loan application process. This uniform application process will help to ensure all farm loan applicants receive equal support and have a consistent customer experience with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) regardless of their individual circumstances.  

Release Description: USDA has announced that distressed borrowers with qualifying USDA farm loans have already received nearly $800 million in assistance, as part of the $3.1 billion in assistance for distressed farm loan borrowers provided through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA directed USDA to expedite assistance to distressed borrowers of direct or guaranteed loans administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) whose operations face financial risk. Today’s announcement kicks off a process to provide assistance to distressed farm loan borrowers using several complementary approaches, with the goal of keeping them farming, removing obstacles that currently prevent many of these borrowers from returning to farming, and improving the way that USDA approaches borrowing and servicing.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds communities, farmers and ranchers, families and small businesses in the path of Hurricane Ian that USDA has programs that provide assistance in the wake of disasters. USDA staff in the regional, state and county offices stand ready and are eager to help.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2022 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has processed more than 255,000 applications for the new Emergency Relief Program (ERP). USDA has made approximately $6.1 billion, to date, in payments to commodity and specialty crop producers to help offset eligible losses from qualifying 2020 and 2021 natural disasters. By breaking-down agency barriers, using existing data across USDA and pre-filled applications, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in cooperation with the Risk Management Agency (RMA) has been able to expediently provide economic relief and save producers and staff over a million hours of time.

Athens, Ga, July 7, 2022 – Agricultural producers in Georgia who have not yet completed their crop acreage reports after planting should make an appointment with their U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) county office before the applicable deadline for the specific crop. The next crop reporting deadline that impacts most crop producers including those who have perennial forage crops is July 15.

CITY, STATE, JUNE 15, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting nominations for county committee members. Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA) for members. LAAs are elective areas for FSA committees in a single county or multi-county jurisdiction. This may include LAAs that are focused on an urban or suburban area. 

Athens, Ga., June 2, 2022- The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced appointees who will serve on the Georgia USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) state committee.

Members of the FSA state committee are appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and are responsible for the oversight of farm programs and county committee operations, resolving program delivery appeals from the agriculture community, maintaining cooperative relations with industry stakeholders, keeping producers informed about FSA programs and operating in a manner consistent with USDA equal opportunity and civil rights policies.

Georgia, May 3, 2022 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting more than 2 million acres in offers from agricultural producers and landowners through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General signup, which included 9756 acres in Georgia. This is the first of the program’s multiple signups occurring in 2022. With about 3.4 million acres expiring this year, Vilsack encourages producers and landowners to consider the Grassland and Continuous signups, both of which are currently open.  

Athens, GA, 01/18/2022 - The Georgia USDA announced a virtual workshop for new and prospective farmers to learn more about getting started with their farming operations and working with the USDA agencies to assist them. The "Roadmap to Success" virtual workshop will be held on February 23, 2022 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Background: USDA has extended the deadline for agricultural producers who are certified organic, or transitioning to organic, to apply for the Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP). The deadline to apply for 2020 and 2021 eligible expenses is now Feb. 4, 2022, rather than the original deadline of Jan. 7, 2022. 

This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

Athens, May 21, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) today published the first notice of funding availability (NOFA) (PDF, 242 KB) announcing loan payments for eligible borrowers with qualifying direct farm loans under the American Rescue Plan Act Section 1005. The official NOFA will be published in the Federal Register early next week and USDA expects payments to begin in early June and continue on a rolling basis. A subsequent notice addressing guaranteed loan balances and direct loans that no longer have collateral and have been previously referred to the Department of Treasury for debt collection for offset, will be published within 120 days.

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2020 – Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced an initial list of additional commodities that have been added to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made other adjustments to the program based on comments received from agricultural producers and organizations and review of market data. Producers will be able to submit applications that include these commodities on Monday, July 13, 2020. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting through Aug. 28, 2020, applications for CFAP, which helps offset price declines and additional marketing costs because of the coronavirus pandemic. USDA expects additional eligible commodities to be announced in the coming weeks.

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 11, 2020 – Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for 2020 must do so by June 30. Although program elections for the 2020 crop year remain the same as elections made for 2019, all producers need to contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to sign a 2020 enrollment contract.

Athens, GA, May 26, 2020 – Agricultural producers can now apply for USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which provides direct payments to offset impacts from the coronavirus pandemic. The application and a payment calculator are now available online, and USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) staff members are available via phone, fax and online tools to help producers complete applications. The agency set up a call center in order to simplify how they serve new customers across the nation.

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 19, 2020 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to this direct support to farmers and ranchers, USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program is partnering with regional and local distributors, whose workforces have been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat and deliver boxes to Americans in need.

Athens, GA, May 6, 2020 – USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices in Georgia are currently open to phone and virtual appointments only but can still work with producers on timely filing crop acreage reports. FSA staff can provide assistance over the phone or email.

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2020 ─ The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is standing up a new team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) staff that will lead a department-wide effort focused on serving beginning farmers and ranchers.