FSA
Makes Changes to Farm Loan, Disaster, Conservation and Safety Net
Programs to Make it Easier for Customers to Conduct Business
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[April 04, 2020]
USDA’s Farm
Service Agency (FSA) county offices are open in Illinois by phone
appointment only until further notice, and FSA staff are available
to continue helping agricultural producers with program signups,
loan servicing and other important actions. Additionally, FSA is
relaxing the loan-making process and adding flexibilities for
servicing direct and guaranteed loans to provide credit to producers
in need.
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FSA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment
only. While our program delivery staff will continue to come
into to the office, they will be working with our agricultural
producers by phone and using email and online tools whenever
possible.
FSA is delivering programs and services, including:
Farm loans;
Commodity loans;
Farm Storage Facility Loan program;
Disaster assistance programs, including signup for the Wildfire
and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (this includes producers
now eligible because of losses due to drought and excess
moisture in 2018 and 2019);
Safety net programs, including 2020 signup for the Agriculture
Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs;
Conservation programs; and
Acreage reports.
Relaxing the Farm Loan-Making Process
FSA is relaxing the loan-making process, including:
Extending the deadline for applicants to complete farm loan
applications;
Preparing Direct Loans documents even if FSA is unable to
complete lien and record searches because of closed government
buildings. Once those searches are complete, FSA would close the
loan; and
Closing loans if the required lien position on the primary
security is perfected, even for loans that require additional
security and those lien searches, filings and recordings cannot
be obtained because of closed government buildings.
Servicing Direct Loans
FSA is extending deadlines for producers to respond to loan
servicing actions, including loan deferral consideration for
financially distressed and delinquent borrowers.
FSA will temporarily suspend loan accelerations, non-judicial
foreclosures, and referring foreclosures to the Department of
Justice. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will make the determination
whether to stop foreclosures and evictions on accounts under its
jurisdiction.
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Servicing Guaranteed Loans
Guarantee lenders can self-certify, providing their borrowers
with:
Subsequent-year operating loan advances on lines of credit;
Emergency advances on lines of credit.
FSA will consider guaranteed lender requests for:
Temporary payment deferral consideration when borrowers do not
have a feasible plan reflecting that family living expenses,
operating expenses and debt can be repaid; and
Temporary forbearance consideration for borrowers on loan
liquidation and foreclosure actions.
Contacting FSA
FSA will be accepting additional forms and applications by
facsimile or electronic signature. Some services are also
available online to customers with an eAuth account, which
provides access to the farmers.gov portal where producers can
view USDA farm loan information and payments and view and track
certain USDA program applications and payments. Customers can
track payments, report completed practices, request conservation
assistance and electronically sign documents. Customers who do
not already have an eAuth account can enroll at farmers.gov/sign-in.
FSA encourages producers to contact their county office to
discuss these programs and temporary changes to farm loan
deadlines and the loan servicing options available. For Service
Center contact information, visit farmers.gov/coronavirus.
[USDA Farm Service Agency]
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