Welcome to the USDA-Illinois Farm Service Agency
Scott Halpin, State Executive Director
Stabilizing farm income, helping farmers conserve land and water resources, providing credit to new or disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and helping farm operations recover from the effects of disaster are the missions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). FSA was set up when the Department was reorganized in 1994; though its name has changed over the years, the Agency’s relationship with farmers goes back to the 1930s. At that time, Congress set up a unique system under which Federal farm programs are administered locally. Farmers who are eligible to participate in these programs elect a three-to-five-person county committee, which reviews county office operations and makes decisions on how to apply the programs. This grassroots approach gives farmers a much needed say in how Federal actions affect their communities and their individual operations. After more than 60 years, it remains a cornerstone of FSA’s efforts to preserve and promote American agriculture.
Illinois Farm Service Agency State Committee
State Committee Chairperson
- Steve Turner
State Committee Members
- Erika Rae Allen
- Johari Cole-Kweli
- Ben Curtin
- Brenda Hill
The State Committee responsibilities cover four major areas. They consist of the FSA and CCC commodity and conservation programs, COC operations, policy determinations and information available to public.
The State Committee, in conjunction with the SED, in carrying out responsibilities, determine and advise the COC’s of applicable program and administrative policies as authorized by: applicable regulations, instructions and procedures. This may involve applying national programs to meet local needs and conditions and exercising judgment based on the effect of program rules on producers.
For additional Organizational Structure please visit our FSA Structure and Organization webpage.
Spotlights
Farm Service Agency Call Center
Farmers and ranchers can contact a call center to receive one-on-one assistance from USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) employees ready to help. By calling 877-508-8364, customers can ask questions about FSA programs.
The call center was created as a way to better serve customers, especially those who have not worked with FSA previously.
Customers who contact the call center can expect to receive the same great service they would receive as if they were in their FSA county office. Illinois USDA-FSA Service Center Locator
FSA Call Center staff can also provide service to non-English speaking customers. Customers using the call center will still call 877-508-8364 and select 1 for English and 2 to speak with a Spanish-speaking employee. For other languages, customers select 1 and indicate their language to the call center staff.
The call center is just one of many ways USDA has adjusted and added flexibilities to meet the needs of our customers. One thing remains the same, USDA stands committed to offering exceptional customer service to our nation’s farmers and ranchers.
Conduct Business Online Through the Farmers.gov Portal
Looking for ways to do business with USDA that saves you time? Look no further than farmers.gov.
When you create an account for the farmers.gov authenticated customer portal, you have access to self-service features through a secure login. Managing your business with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is faster than ever. From e-signing documents, viewing, printing, and exporting maps and receiving notifications of payment disbursements, a farmers.gov authenticated account makes doing business with USDA easy and secure.
What can you do with your farmers.gov account?
- View FSA Farm Loan information including interest payments, loan advances, payment history and paid-in-full/restructured loans.
- Make USDA direct farm loan payments using the Pay My Loan feature.
- Access the Online Loan Application portal.
- View, print and export detailed FSA farm records and farm/tract maps.
- Import precision agriculture planting boundaries, create labels containing crop information, and print both on farm tract maps.
- View and print your FSA-156EZ with farm details
- View and print your Producer Farm Data Report
- View NRCS Disbursements and Farm Loans financial activity from the past 180 days.
- View your land, access NRCS data on your conservation plans, contracts, and planning land units through the Conservation Land Area page.
- View, upload, download and e-sign NRCS documents.
- Request NRCS conservation and financial assistance, including submitting a program application.
- View detailed information on all previous and ongoing NRCS contracts, including the amount of cost- share assistance received and anticipated, and even request contract modifications, report practice completion and request practice certification.
- “Switch Profiles” to act on behalf of your entity or another individual when you have active representative authority on file.
If you’d like to see the features in action and learn more about how to use them, check out the 3–5-minute farmers.gov account video tutorials.
To learn more about loans, producers can use the:
- Loan Assistance Tool – helps producers better navigate the farm loan process. The online Loan Assistance Tool provides producers needing agricultural financing with an interactive, step-by-step guide.
- Farm Loans Overview Factsheet – provides an overview of all FSA direct and guaranteed loans, and eligibility requirements.
- Farm Loans Homepage – gives in-depth farm loan information, including fact sheets, for those who don’t want to use the online Loan Assistance Tool.
To learn more about ELAP or farm loans, producers should contact the FSA at the local USDA Service Center.
How do you create a farmers.gov account?
Visit farmers.gov/account to access information about farmers.gov accounts and sign in to the site’s authenticated portal. You will need a Login.gov account linked to your USDA customer record to access your farmers.gov authenticated site. Customers who are new to USDA should visit Get Started at Your USDA Service Center, then go to farmers.gov/account to create a farmers.gov account.
To create a farmers.gov account you will need:
- A USDA individual customer record — A customer record contains information you have given to USDA to do business with them, like your name, address, phone number, and any legal representative authority relationships. Contact your local USDA Service Center to make sure you have an individual USDA customer record on file and your information is up to date.
- A Login.gov account — Login.gov is a sign-in service that gives people secure online access to participating government programs. You can create a Login.gov account linked to your customer record by following the directions on farmers.gov/account.
- Identity Verification — You can choose to verify your identity with Login.gov or in-person at a USDA Service Center.
In addition to the self-service features, farmers.gov also has information on USDA programs, farm loans, disaster assistance, conservation programs and crop insurance.
Login.gov/help
Nominations Close for the 2024 County Committee Elections on Aug 1st
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees and urban county committees are a critical component of the day-to-day operations of FSA and allow grassroots input and local administration of federal farm programs.
Committees are comprised of locally elected agricultural producers responsible for the fair and equitable administration of FSA farm programs in their counties. Committee members are accountable to the Secretary of Agriculture and if elected, become part of a local decision-making and farm program delivery process.
All nomination forms for the 2024 election must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by Aug. 1, 2024. For more information on FSA county committee elections, including fact sheets, nomination forms and FAQs, visit fsa.usda.gov/elections.
Free Webinar on USDA Funding Opportunities for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
Learn how USDA provides financial assistance to individual farmers through loans, cost share and grant opportunities. This assistance provides beginning farmers and ranchers with capital to support their ag operations from start-up and expansion through disaster recovery. In this webinar, representatives from various agencies will provide an overview of the opportunities and how to participate.
Topic – USDA Funding Opportunities
Date – July 31, 2024, at 3pm Eastern
2024 COC Nominations and Elections
Nominations are now being accepted for farmers and ranchers to serve on local Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees. These committees make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2024 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by August 1, 2024.
Learn More: www.fsa.usda.gov/elections
Farm Service Agency Seeking Nominations for Farmers and Ranchers to Serve on Local County Committees
Nominations are now being accepted for farmers and ranchers to serve on local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees. These committees make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2024 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1, 2024.
Administrators Physical Loss Notifications
Inflation Reduction Act Assistance for Distressed Borrowers
Since October 2022, USDA has provided approximately $1.5 billion in immediate assistance to more than 24,000 financially distressed direct and guaranteed FSA loan borrowers through the Inflation Reduction Act.
FSA is currently accepting individual requests for assistance from borrowers who took certain extraordinary measures to avoid delinquency on their direct FSA loans, missed a recent installment, or are unable to make their next scheduled installment.
Inflation Reduction Act Section 22007 – Discrimination Financial Assistance Program
The Discrimination Financial Assistance Program is a new program, authorized by Section 22007(e) of the Inflation Reduction Act, that will provide financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs prior to 2021.
Details about the program, including an application and e-filing portal, are available at 22007apply.gov. Applicants can also call the free call center at 1-800-721-0970
Filing an application is FREE and does not require a lawyer. The application period is open and runs through January 13, 2024.
Farm Service Agency Outreach and Education
To receive Outreach information directly to your inbox, subscribe today and select Outreach and Education.
Read more farmer stories in our weekly blogs:
National News Room Releases (usda.gov)United States Department Of Agriculture, Urban Agriculture Programs At a Glance
Are you farming or gardening in a city or suburb? From community gardens to indoor vertical farms, urban agriculture provides critical access to healthy food for local communities, as well as jobs, increased green spaces, and closer community ties. USDA can provide resources to start, expand, and operate your farm or garden, market what you grow, and help you recover in case of disaster.
(Click on picture below to view/download Urban Agriculture at a Glance brochure)
On Wednesday, May 11, 2022, Illinois was very fortunate to have U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, along with Robin Kelly, U.S. Representative, visit the Jeff and Gina O’Connor farm in Kankakee County. Amongst the topics discussed during the Illinois farm visit was the plan to extend crop insurance coverage for farmers who practice double cropping (growing soybeans and wheat as two separate crops in the same field, in the same year). Many agriculture leaders were in attendance from several agriculture organizations as well as Erika Rae Allen and Ben Curtin – FSA State Committee members; Brian Frieden – Regional Director at USDA/Risk Management Agency (RMA); Ivan Dozier – State Conservationist at USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); Betsy Dirksen Londrigan – State Director at USDA/Rural Development (RD); myself and my family.
Pictured in the photo above: U.S. President Joe Biden; Jeff O’Connor – Illinois, Kankakee farmer and Director on the Illinois Soybean Association board; along with U.S. Representative Robin Kelly and USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. (Photo credits to Catrina Rawson, Illinois Farm Bureau)
Pictured front row, left to right; Scott Halpin – State Executive Director (SED); Sarah Halpin – Scott’s wife; Deb Halpin – retired FSA employee of 30 years (Grundy county office) and mother of SED Scott Halpin; and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Back row left to right are Scott and Sarah Halpin’s children Ty, Cale, Grace Halpin and Frank Halpin – father of SED Scott Halpin.
New Hiring Process - Apply Now for Current and Future Openings with FSA in Illinois
Interested in a career with the Farm Service Agency (FSA)? There are several County Program Technician positions open throughout Illinois at various locations. Apply Now!
Duties include general office activities supporting FSA programs administered at the field level. Successful applicants must be reliable, have a professional attitude and enjoy working with the public.
If you are interested or know of someone who might be interested, please share this information with them. To apply go to USAJOBS - Job Announcement
***NEW TO ILLINOIS FSA'S HIRING PROCESS***
Didn't see a county you were interested in through the link above? FSA encourages any person who is interested in possible future employment with FSA in Illinois to apply to the CURRENT job posting.
Applying to this vacancy constitutes your understanding that your resume, assessment, and other application materials may be shared with other hiring managers within Illinois for future employment considerations.
Any applicants not selected to fill the current vacancies listed above could be used to fill future vacancies. Once summited, your application could be used to fill future vacant positions within Illinois FSA for the next 240 days!
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Box and OneSpan: Secure, New Online Document Signature Solutions
FSA and NRCS have collaborated to deliver new, secure services for agricultural producers to access, sign, and share documents with USDA Service Center staff in just a few clicks. These tools are in place to improve efficiency for our customers working with USDA Service Centers and support safety measures related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Box and OneSpan support USDA’s mission of improved customer service now and into the future by increasing efficiency for our farmers and ranchers. By using these tools, our customers can digitally complete most business transactions with USDA without ever leaving their homes or agricultural operations. Learn More.
Sign in/Sign up!
Farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers have new online options to access U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs. Through USDA’s new streamlined process, producers doing business as an individual can now register, track and manage their applications for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) and 2017 Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program (2017 WHIP) on the secure and convenient www.farmers.gov. USDA eAuthentication does not have the mechanism to issue login accounts to businesses, corporations, other entities, or for anyone acting on behalf of another individual or entity. Producers, doing business as an individual, first need to sign up for Level 2 eAuthentication access.
- Step 1: Create and online account at www.eauth.usda.gov
- Step 2: Complete identity verification by either using the online self-service identity verification method or by completing the identity verification in-person at your USDA Service Center.
- Step 3: Contact your local USDA Service Center to have your new Level 2 account linked with your USDA customer record
- Step 4: You’re enrolled and ready to log in
Users with a secure Level 2 eAuthentication ID, linked to their USDA customer record, can apply for select USDA programs, view and print farm maps and farm records data. Enrolling is easy! Visit farmers.gov/sign-in to learn more.
To locate a service center near you or use online services not requiring eAuthentication access, visit www.farmers.gov. For technical assistance, call the eAuthentication help desk at 1-800-457-3642.
New Feature on Farmers.gov
Farmers.gov just launched a new soil health page – farmers.gov/soilhealth. It’s the first of many topic pages which the site will feature, focusing on the needs of farmers, ranchers, and forest stewards. Visit the page and submit feedback to the farmers.gov team.
United States Drought Monitor/Illinois
Click here to view the Drought Monitor for Illinois
The National Office hosts avariety of Webinars regarding various subjects.
Below is a link that will connect you to the Webinars site. Feel free to participate and share these open webinars with anyone in your area that may be interested.
Outreach and Education Webinars
Conduct USDA Business Online by creating an eAuthentication account
eAuthentication Account Registration
Click here for instructions on how to sign up for eAuth
Introducing FSAfarm+ -- FSA’s Customer Self-Service Portal--
A fast and easy way to access your FSA farm information, plus a lot more!
- Access your customer profile, farm records information and your maps.
- Print your farm records information, including crop bases and yields.
- Print your maps to use when reporting your annual crop acreage information.
- Export your field boundaries as common land unit for sharing with your crop insurance agent.
- Available to operators and owners with eAuth Level 2 access from USDA.
Contact your FSA County office for additional details and about obtaining eAuth Level 2 access to USDA.
eAuthentication Web Applications
Sign up to Receive News Releases
To have news releases sent directly to your email go to the FSA subscription page.
Are you interested in FSA's Loan program and have questions.
Check out the FSA's Guide to Farm Loans.
This guidebook simplifies information on the types of farm loans available; how to apply for a guaranteed loan, direct loan, or land contract guarantee; what you can expect once you submit your application; and most importantly, your rights and responsibilities as an FSA customer.
Farm Loan Current Interest Rates
Farm Loan Program’s (FLP) new webpage has been launched! The new webpage is located at the following URL: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/dafl
FSA Offers New Loans for Portable Farm Storage and Handling Equipment
Can Help Producers Get Products to Market Quickly?
FSA provides a new financing option to help farmers purchase portable storage and handling equipment. The loans, which now include a smaller microloan option with lower down payments, are designed to help producers, including new, small and mid-sized producers, grow their businesses and markets. For more information, check out FSA's Farm Storage Facility Loan Program.
Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Current Interest Rates
Illinois Drought Information
Contact your local FSA Office
Contact your local FSA Office for additional information and other USDA benefits.
City of Springfield, Illinois
Located in the central part of the state, Springfield is the capital city of Illinois and the seat of Sangamon County.
Visit Springfield, Illinois/ Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
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