USDA officials in Georgia visits with agriculture, forestry leaders
Nov. 23—ATHENS — USDA's Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Arthur Tripp recently visited with members of Advancing Georgia's Leaders in Agriculture and Forestry to discuss how FSA supports agricultural producers and to provide guidance on how these producers can start working with the agency.
"Our visit with Advancing Georgia's Leaders in Agriculture and Forestry is instrumental in our effort to inform producers of FSA's suite of commodity, conservation, disaster assistance and loan programs," Tripp said. "AGL is an organization that connects agricultural leaders across the state of Georgia. It is extremely important that we have these conversations with industry leaders to bring awareness to and amplify available FSA resources.
AGL, a program through the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia, focuses on leadership development for participants in the agriculture and forestry industries. AGL connects diverse groups of leaders across the state and nation to collaborate on issues directly and indirectly impacting Georgia's agriculture and natural resources industries.
Through this meeting with FSA, leaders representing a cross-section of agricultural sectors learned more about how producers can benefit from participating in FSA programs. FSA provides producers with a safety net through farm commodity and disaster programs in addition to providing loans to producers to start, expand, enhance, or maintain a family farming operation. To get started with FSA, the first step is contacting a local FSA County Office.
During the initial visit with FSA, producers should bring documents including proof of identity, proof of ownership, leases, and entity identification status. Local FSA staff will visit one-on-one with producers to review documents and register their farm with the agency. Next, FSA staff will consult with producers on which programs and loans are best suited to meet their operational goals.
After determining FSA programs and loan eligibility, producers will be walked through the application process.
As an FSA-registered farm, producers will receive monthly newsletters, have access to various informational resources, and be eligible to vote in FSA County Committee Elections. Additionally, agricultural producers who participate in an FSA program may be nominated for candidacy for County Committee Elections.
Producers can explore all FSA programs by visiting fsa.usda.gov or by contacting their local USDA Service Center.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in many positive ways. USDA is transforming America's food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production; fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities; building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices; making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the department by removing systemic barriers and building a work force more representative of America.
To learn more, visit usda.gov.
