Welcome to the Louisiana FSA Website!

The employees of FSA look forward to assisting you as we continue our mission of providing customer based service to Louisiana's farmers and ranchers.

Coronavirus and USDA Service Centers

USDA Service Centers in Louisiana are open to limited visitors by appointment only. Contact your Service Center to find out if it is open to limited visitors and to schedule an appointment. You can find contact information at farmers.gov/service-locator. Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) staff also continue to work with agricultural producers via phone, email, and other digital tools. Producers can learn more about how to leverage these digital offerings by visiting https://www.farmers.gov/mydocs.

Emergency Conservation Program Assistance - Deadline Extended to May 16

FSA is accepting ECP applications in Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St Bernard, St Charles, St Helena, St John the Baptist, St Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne and Washington Parishes.  If you’ve suffered a loss from a natural disaster contact your local FSA County Office and request assistance.

ECP helps you with the cost to restore damaged farmland to pre-disaster conditions. You may receive up to 75 percent of the cost of approved restoration activity. Limited resource, socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers and ranchers may receive up to 90 percent cost-share.

In most cases, you must apply for assistance prior to beginning reconstructive work. FSA’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and environmental compliance review process is required to be completed before any actions are taken. Submitting an application after reconstructive work has been completed may not qualify for ECP. Conservation concerns that were present on the land prior to the disaster are not eligible for ECP assistance.

FSA County Committees will evaluate applications based on information provided and if applicable, an on-site inspection of the damaged land, taking into consideration the type and extent of the damage. Submission of an application does not guarantee that cost-share funding will be provided. 

Contact your local FSA office for approved ECP practices.

Emergency Forest Restoration Program - Deadline Extended to May 16

FSA is accepting EFRP applications in Livingston, St Helena, St Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes.  If you’ve suffered a loss from a natural disaster may contact your local FSA County Office and request assistance.

EFRP provides payments to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land to enable them to carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster. After applications are received, local FSA County Committees determine land eligibility using information provided and if applicable, an on-site damage inspection to assess the type and extent of damage.

Eligible forest restoration practices include debris removal, such as down or damaged trees, in order to establish a new stand or provide natural regeneration; site preparation, planting materials and labor to replant forest land; restoration of forestland roads, fire lanes, fuel breaks or erosion control structures; fencing, tree shelters and tree tubes to protect trees from wildlife damage; and wildlife enhancement to provide cover openings and wildlife habitat.

In order to meet eligibility requirements, NIPF land must have existing tree cover or had tree cover immediately before the natural disaster occurred and be sustainable for growing trees. The land must also be owned by any nonindustrial private individual, group, association, corporation or other private legal entity that has definitive decision-making authority over the land. The natural disaster must have resulted in damage that if untreated would impair or endanger the natural resources on the land and/or materially affect future use of the land.

More Information

For more information on disaster recovery, visit farmers.gov/recover, or contact your local USDA Service Center. To locate your local FSA office, visit farmers.gov/service-center-locator.

USDA Provides $1.8 Billion to Offset Market Fluctuations

Agricultural producers who enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2020 crop year are receiving $1.8 billion, providing critical support to help mitigate fluctuations in either revenue or prices for certain crops.

FSA is also encouraging producers to contact their local USDA Service Centers to make or change elections and to enroll for 2022, providing future protections against market fluctuations. The election and enrollment period opened on Oct. 18, 2021 and runs through March 15, 2022. 

USDA 2022 Signup for Dairy Margin Coverage and Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage deadline has been extended to March 25

The USDA opened signup for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program and expanded the program to allow dairy producers to better protect their operations by enrolling supplemental production. This signup period – has been extended to to March 25, 2022 – enables producers to get coverage through this important safety-net program for another year as well as get additional assistance through the new Supplemental DMC.

To determine the appropriate level of DMC coverage for a specific dairy operation, producers can use the online dairy decision tool.

To learn more or to participate in DMC, producers should contact their USDA FSA County office.

Disaster Assistance Available for Louisiana Farmers and Livestock Producers

USDA provides technical and financial assistance to help Louisiana farmers and livestock producers recover from damages brought on by recent storms.

Link to www.farmers.gov/recover

Subscribe to our Updates

FSA provides electronic news on programs direct to your email inbox.  It can help you remember important program announcements, deadlines and requirements so you can effectively utilize FSA programs in your farm operation.  In addition to the newsletter, you also can sign up to receive information through our Farmers.gov text messaging service from your County FSA office.  Our offices will only issue text messages to remind subscribers of timely, important program deadlines or other information. 

Visit farmers.gov/subscribe to sign-up and receive email and text message alerts from your Louisiana County FSA office. 

Are you interested in a Farm Loan through USDA Farm Service Agency?

Farm Loan Discovery Tool is new online tool to help farmers and ranchers find information on farm loans that may best fit for their operations.

Your Guide to FSA Farm Loans was designed for new loan customers.

Your FSA Farm Loan Compass was developed for current farm loan customers.

For more information, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/dafl, https://newfarmers.usda.gov/ or contact your local FSA office at http://offices.usda.gov.

Farmers.gov

Producers with farmers.gov accounts can now access farm records and maps online, the latest self-service feature added to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) website.

You can quickly and easily access your land information in real time by desktop computer, tablet or phone. Capabilities include:

• View, print and export detailed farm records such as cropland, base acres, yields, CRP acres, land ownership details, and much more;
• View, print and export farm/tract maps that can be provided to lenders, chemical or fertilizer providers, and FSA for reporting acreage and crop insurance agents; and
• Export common land unit (field) boundaries as ESRI shapefiles.

The ability to access these records on demand without a visit to the service center saves you time and money.

Important Dates 2022

Ongoing

• Reports of Failed Acreage must be filed with the County Office before disposition of the crop.
    
• Offers for Continuous CRP enrollment are still being accepted.
    
• Reports of Prevented Planting Acreage must be filed with the County Office no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date for that county and producers of hand-harvested crops and certain perishable crops must notify FSA within 72 hours of when a loss becomes apparent.

• Contact FSA right away for notice of loss deadlines and disaster program requirements.

For more information, contact your local USDA FSA County office.