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 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recalled about
2,500 FSA employees to open offices on Thursday, January 17 and
Friday, January 18, in addition to Tuesday, January 22, during
normal business hours. The offices will be closed for the
federal Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January
21.
In almost half of FSA locations, FSA staff will be available to
assist agricultural producers with existing farm loans and to
ensure the agency provides 1099 tax documents to borrowers by
the Internal Revenue Service’s deadline.
“Until Congress sends President Trump an appropriations bill in
the form that he will sign, we are doing our best to minimize
the impact of the partial federal funding lapse on America’s
agricultural producers,” Perdue said. “We are bringing back
part of our FSA team to help producers with existing farm
loans. Meanwhile, we continue to examine our legal authorities
to ensure we are providing services to our customers to the
greatest extent possible during the shutdown.”
Staff members will be available at certain
FSA offices to help producers with specific services,
including:
·
Processing payments made on or before December 31, 2018.
·
Continuing expiring financing statements.
·
Opening mail to identify priority items.
Additionally, as an intermittent incidental duty, staff may
release proceeds from the sale of loan security by signing
checks jointly payable to FSA that are brought to the county
office by producers.
Information on the locations of FSA offices to be open during
this three-day window will be posted on the USDA
website.
While staff are available in person during this three-day
window, most available services can be handled over the phone.
Producers can begin contacting staff on January 17 here.
Additionally, farmers who have loan deadlines during the lapse
in funding do not need to make payments until the government
shutdown ends.
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Other FSA Programs and Services
Reopened FSA offices will only be able to provide the specifically
identified services while open during this limited time. Services
that will not be available include, but are not limited to:
·
New direct or facility loans.
·
New Farm loan guarantees.
·
New marketing assistance loans.
·
New applications for Market Facilitation Program (MFP).
·
Certification of 2018 production for MFP payments.
·
Dairy Margin Protection Program.
·
Disaster assistance programs, such as:
o
Livestock Indemnity Program.
o
Emergency Conservation Program.
o
Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program.
o
Livestock Forage Disaster Program.
o
Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish.
While January 15, 2019 had been the original deadline for producers
to apply for MFP, farmers have been unable to apply since December
28, 2018, when FSA offices closed because of the lapse in federal
funding. Secretary Perdue has extended the MFP application deadline
for a period of time equal to the number of business days FSA
offices end up being closed, once the government shutdown ends.
These announced days of limited staff availability during the
shutdown will not constitute days open in calculating the extension.
Producers who already applied for MFP and certified their 2018
production by December 28, 2018 should have already received their
payments.
More information on MFP is available at www.farmers.gov/manage/mfp.
More information on FSA programs and services during the partial
government shutdown is available at
www.fsa.usda. gov/help/shutdowninfo.
[USDA Farm Service Agency] |
