Center for Regional Food Systems Michigan’s Emerging Farmers

Mission: Farm Service Agency (FSA) equitably serves all farmers, ranchers, and agricultural partners through the delivery of effective, efficient agricultural programs.

Learn more

• What does FSA do?
• How do I connect with FSA? 
• What resources does FSA offer? 
• Who is eligible for their offerings?

What does FSA do?

FSA administers disaster assistance, safety net, and farm loan programs and is the farmer record keeping agency for the USDA. Registering and connecting with the FSA makes it possible to apply for and receive federal assistance, such as loans and insurance.

How do I connect with FSA?

For farmers that are new to working with USDA, an FSA team member at a FSA office in a USDA Service Center can help register an individual’s farm with a farm number. Filling out an acreage report each season can ensure you are eligible for many programs and allows you to vote in county FSA elections. For more information about farm numbers, check out this guide from MIFFS: Farm Number Registration with USDA Farm Service Agency.

FSA has offices and service centers in most counties to serve Michigan farmers and producers. You can choose to work with a service center outside of the county you live in if that is more convenient, or if you farm in multiple counties.

To visit your FSA office in a USDA Service Center:

1. Find your local service center by county here: https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator or Google search: county name + USDA Service Center + MI
2. Prepare for your visit with this helpful guide: Finding USDA Service Centers in Michigan which includes making an appointment with the office.

To prepare further for your visit, read these resources and eligibility forms:

• FSA Apply Now Packet for Individuals
• FSA Apply Now Packet for Entities
• FSA Apply Now Packet for Tribal Nations

FSA has a state office in Michigan that oversees local USDA Service Centers. For specific FSA services, including farm loans or farm numbers, visit a local USDA Service Center.

Michigan State FSA Office
3001 Coolidge Rd. Suite 350 East Lansing, MI 48823
Phone: 517-324-5110

What resources does FSA offer?

• Loans
  • There are loan options available for a variety of situations, from emergencies to operating to climate-smart agriculture. Each loan type has its own set of eligibility requirements and application procedure. FSA is a last resort lender, meaning if you qualify for commercial loans, you are not eligible for FSA loans. Farm Credit lenders are a good place to start before considering a USDA loan.
  • To see if you are eligible for an FSA loan, use this Loan Assistance Tool. If you are eligible, FSA Loans may cover operating costs, farm emergencies, buying or expanding a farm business, and/or refinancing farm real estate debt.
• Disaster Assistance
  • FSA offers Disaster Assistance in the form of ongoing, established programs like the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). These disaster recovery programs act as a safety net, granting farmers a percentage of their yield and price for which it could have been sold.
  • They also offer emergency loans, which are not last resort loans, but rather relief to cover eligible production or physical losses in federally declared disaster areas. Learn more about Protection and Recovery resources here, which include up-to-date information about available temporary programs: https://www.farmers.gov/protection-recovery

Learn about USDA disaster assistance programs that might be right for you by completing five simple steps here:

Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool

Who is eligible for their offerings?

Record keeping is essential to be eligible for FSA’s risk management and farm safety net programs. These programs usually require three years of the records list below to qualify. To start demonstrating eligibility for disaster assistance and risk management, farms should:

• File a Schedule F (farm taxes) annually.
  • Support resources: _____
• Keep production records of everything you grow by quantity
  • Support resources: _____
• Keep revenue records of all sales and income
  • Support resources: _____
• Submit an acreage report to FSA annually
  • Support resources: _____