Farm Service Agency
The USDA’s Farm Service Agency supports the U.S. agricultural community through commodity programs, farmer operating and emergency loans, conservation, domestic and overseas food assistance and disaster programs that improve the economic stability of agriculture and the environment. These programs help farmers produce an adequate food supply, compete for export sales, and keep consumer prices reasonable while caring for the environment and natural resources. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs.
The Farm Service Agency’s mandate is to assure a continuous supply of food and fiber for all Americans, and to promote sound resource management systems. As part of this mandate, it works with poultry producers to share the costs of solving erosion and water quality problems that result from nonpoint source pollution.
Services Available to Growers
The Farm Service Agency administers low-cost loans and cost-share programs. Under the latter, it is authorized to share with producers up to 60 percent of the cost of some conservation practices, including the building waste storage facilities such as lagoons, dry-stacks, and composting units.
Contact
For more information about cost-share programs, call or visit the FSA office listed in your telephone directory.
Cooperative Extension System
Cooperative Extension System (CES) empowers farmers, ranchers, and communities of all sizes to meet the challenges they face, adapt to changing technology, improve nutrition and food safety, prepare for and respond to emergencies, and protect our environment. CES links the research and education programs of the USDA and works with land-grant institutions to advance a global system of research, extension, and higher education in the food and agricultural sciences. Its overall mission emphasizes partnerships with the public and private sectors to maximize effectiveness and to improve economic, environmental, and social conditions in the United States.
Services Available to Growers
Educational programs to protect natural resources and the environment, to manage waste efficiently, and to deal with water quality are included in the national priority initiatives of the Cooperative Extension System. CES (better known simply as Cooperative Extension) is internationally known as a leader in providing community access to research and education. Its publications are widely available and many of them are on the Internet. Land-Grant University System faculty and staff experts extend extension’s reach even further by providing science-based content for the eXtension website. The site offers an online resource where users have continual access to research information on a wide range of topics.
Contact
For more information about the Cooperative Extension System, call or visit the CES office listed in your telephone directory under local government or look for the CES links at your local land-grant university webpage.
Natural Resources Conservation Service
NRCS and our Conservation Partners work together to conserve, maintain and improve natural resources. Our natural resource conservation programs help people reduce soil erosion, enhance water supplies, improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat, and reduce damage caused by floods and other natural disasters.
Services Available to Growers
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is NRCS’ flagship conservation program that helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners integrate conservation into working lands.
Contact
For more information about the Natural Resources Conservation Service, call or visit the NRCS office listed in your telephone directory under federal government or access this link to find your local service center.