Indiana State Office

Welcome to the Indiana Farm Service Agency Website

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Indiana USDA Provides Local Support for Beginning Farmers

The first 10 years of a farming operation are tough. USDA recognizes you need dedicated support to help make sense of all the information coming your way.  Each state has a Beginning Farmer team headed up by a state coordinator.  The coordinator helps producers who have operated a farm for less than 10 years navigate USDA and partner resources. 

Bridgette Wanhainen is the Indiana Beginning Farmer Coordinator. She is a Farm Loan Officer with the Farm Service Agency. Bridgette is the team lead and will answer questions from farmers. She can be reached at Bridgette.Wanhainen@usda.gov or at 765-529-2303 Extension 2125. 

The other members of the team are Champions. They assist Bridgette in responding to questions, provide support to county offices and plan outreach events specifically for beginning farmers. Your Indiana Champions are:

• Brianne Lowe, Acting Outreach Coordinator with Natural Resources Conservation Service.
• Terri Weyer, Direct Single-Family Housing Programs Specialist with Rural Development.
• Jessica Heyen, Risk Management Specialist with the Risk Management Agency.

For more beginning farmer resources, visit the website at www.farmers.gov/newfarmers. 

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USDA Partners with FarmRaise to Offer Educational Tools and Resources to Promote Financial Access and Equity for Ag Producers

FarmRaise, in partnership with FSA, recently launched their online, FSA Educational Hub – comprised of videos, tools and interactive resources that enable USDA cooperators and ag producers to learn about and access FSA programs.    

Additional FSA program resources and tools will continue to be added to the FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub. Cooperators and agricultural producers are encouraged to visit the FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub often to access all available educational resources.   

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FSA Provides Receipt for USDA Services

FSA provides a receipt to customers who request or receive assistance or information concerning any FSA program. The receipt should be issued regardless if the request comes via an office visit, email, fax, or letter.

The 2014 Farm Bill requires a customer receipt to be issued for any agricultural program assistance requested from FSA, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Rural Development (RD). Receipts include the date, summary of the visit and any agricultural information, program and/or loan assistance provided to an individual or entity. 

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Indiana FSA State Committee

The Committee is responsible for 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.

FSA State Committee Members:
Travis Nolcox (Committee Chair) - Gibson County   
Amanda Berenda - Benton County
      Joe Pearson - Grant County     
      Beth Tharp - Putnam County     
   Emily Wilson - Decatur County

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If you have issues with any links on this website,
please reach out to in-fsa-webmaster@usda.gov

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Check out our resources page.