Richard J. Burke, State Executive Director

Massachusetts State Farm Service Agency

445 West Street

Amherst, MA 01002

413-253-4500

Message from the Director PDF (211 KB)

Meet the Massachusetts State Committee PDF (246 KB)

James Larkin, Chair

Adrienne Kravitz, Member

Donald Leab, Member

H. Michael Smolak, Jr., Member

USDA's Farm Service Agency makes and guarantees loans to eligible farmers to buy and operate family sized farms through the Land Contract (LC) Guarantee Program.

See how the Farm Service Agency benefitted Massachusetts Agriculture last year!

Click here if you are a woman or Hispanic farmer and believe you were improperly denied farm loan benefits by USDA between 1981 and 2000.

Prevented Planting - Although field conditions have been favorable for this planting season, please be aware of Prevented Planting (PP) rules. If you are unable to plant intended crop acreage by the final planting date, you should contact your local FSA office. The planting delay must be the result of a natural disaster and documented within 15 days of the final planting date. All PP claims should include supporting documentation and will be spot-checked by FSA.

HEL/WC Determinations - Producers are reminded that all tilled acreage (including one-pass planters) must have a Sod/Swamp determination from Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Please review Form AD-1026 and AD-1026A with your local FSA office prior to tilling new acreage. Violations of the 1985 Farm Bill's Highly Erodible Land (HEL) or Wetland Conversion (WC) regulations may affect your eligibility for USDA programs.