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United States Department of Agriculture
 Farm Service Agency
United States Department of Agriculture
 Farm Service Agency
Rhode Island
Rhode Island

Rhode Island

Welcome to the Rhode Island FSA Home Page

State Executive Director

W. Michael Sullivan, SED
Rhode Island State Farm Service Agency
60 Quaker Lane Suite 62
Warwick, RI 02886
Phone: (401) 828-8232
Fax: (855) 924-2345

State Office Location

60 Quaker Lane, Suite 62
Warwick, RI 02886

Phone: (401) 828-8232
Hours: 8:00am to 4:30pm

State Office Staff
State Committee
  • Doreen Pezza - Chairperson
  • Judith Carvalho. - Member
  • Ellen Puccetti - Member

The Rhode Island State Committee meets the second Wednesday of every month subject to change.

County Office

County Office Location
60 Quaker Lane Suite 49
Warwick, RI 02886

Phone:

  • County Office: (401) 828-3120 Option 2
  • Farm Loan Office: (401) 828-3120 Option 3
  • Fax: 855-924-4567

Hours: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

County Office Staff
Farm Loan Staff
County Committee
  • Vincent J Confreda - Chairperson
  • Victor Hoogendoorn - Vice Chairperson
  • Kim Coulter - Member
  • Joseph Silveira - Member
  • Donald Baffoni Jr. - Member

The County Committee meets the first Wednesday of every month subject to change.

County Committee Elections

Elected county committee members serve a three-year term and are responsible for making decisions on FSA disaster assistance, conservation, commodity, and price support programs as well as other important farm program issues.

County committee members are a valuable asset because they are comprised of local producers who participate in FSA programs themselves and have a direct connection to farmers in the community.

County committees are unique to FSA and serve as a direct link between agricultural communities across the country and USDA. FSA’s been across the country interviewing current committee members to spotlight their involvement in their county. Read what they have to say and check back each week.

The 2018 elections for Rhode Island Farm Service Agency County Committee to represent LAA-1, Providence County is underway.

Important Election Dates

June 15, 2018-The Nomination period begins for LAA-1 Providence County.  Request for nomination forms from the local USDA Service Center or obtain online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections

August 1, 2018-Last day to file nomination forms at the local USDA Service Center

November 5, 2018-Ballots Mailed to eligible voters

December 3, 2018-Last day to return voted ballots to the USDA Service Center

January 1, 2019-Newly elected county committee members take office

For more information visit www.fsa.usda.gov/elections or contact the Rhode Island Farm Service Agency County Office at 401-828-3120 Option 2.

Non Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)

Sign up Deadlines for Rhode Island
  • March 15th Annual Crops
  • September 1st Value Loss Crops
  • November 20th Perennial Crops
  • December 1st Specialty Type Crops

Farm Bill icon

2014 Farm Bill

Other Programs including Farm Loans

Click here to obtain more information on other Farm Service Agency programs that are available including Farm Loans.

Spotlights

Purdue Unveils Farmers.gov, an interactive website for Agricultural producers

– U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today unveiled Farmers.gov, the new interactive one-stop website for producers maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Farmers.gov is now live but will have multiple features added over the coming months to allow agricultural producers to make appointments with USDA offices, file forms, and apply for USDA programs. The website, launched at a breakfast hosted by the Michigan Farm Bureau, gathers together the three agencies that comprise USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation mission area: the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Risk Management Agency.

In the News

Emails and Text Messages

Receive timely notifications, newsletters, reminders and updates from FSA through GovDelivery emails and text messages.

Emails: Stay up-to-date on new programs, important program deadlines, program eligibility requirements, changes in federal farm program policy etc. Subscribe to receive email notifications from FSA online at www.fsa.usda.gov/subscribe or contact the Rhode Island County Office for subscription assistance. Subscribers can establish preferences by choosing to receive timely federal farm program information by topic and by state.

Text messages: Receive text message alerts from FSA while on the go. To enroll to receive text message alerts from Rhode Island text RIKent to 372-669.

USDA and SCORE Launch Innovative Mentorship Effort to Support New Farmers and Ranchers

SCORE matches business professionals and entrepreneurs with new business owners to mentor them through the process of starting-up and maintaining a new business. USDA and its partners across rural America are working with SCORE to support new farming and ranching operations, and identify and recruit mentors with a wealth of agricultural experience.

“SCORE’s mission to help people start and grow vibrant small businesses is boosted by this new partnership with USDA. America’s farmers, ranchers and agri-businesses will benefit from the business knowledge and expertise SCORE can offer,” said Records. “The partnership allows both SCORE and USDA to serve more people while providing America’s farmers added support to lead to more sound business operations, create profitable farms with sustainable growth and create new jobs. We are excited at the opportunity to extend SCORE’s impact to our farmers and the agriculture industry.”

SCORE mentors will partner with USDA and a wide array of groups already hard at work serving new and beginning farmers and ranchers, such as the FFA, 4-H, cooperative extension and land grant universities, nonprofits, legal aid groups, banks, technical and farm advisors. These partnerships will expand and integrate outreach and technical assistance between current and retired farmers and agri-business experts and new farmers.

This joint initiative leverages SCORE’s 10,000 existing volunteer mentors and USDA’s expertise and presence in agricultural communities to bring no-cost business mentoring to rural and agricultural entrepreneurs. This initiative will also be another tool to empower the work of many community-based organizations, cooperative extension and land grant universities working with beginning farmers in their communities. SCORE mentorship will also be available to current farmers and ranchers. Anyone interested in being a mentor can get more information and sign up on the USDA New Farmers’ website at https://newfarmers.usda.gov/mentorship.

Organic Certification Cost Share Program

The Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) provides cost share assistance to producers and handlers of agricultural products who are obtaining or renewing their certification under the National Organic Program (NOP). Certified operations may receive up to 75 percent of their certification costs paid from Oct. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2017, not to exceed $750 per certification scope.

Eligible costs include application fees, inspection costs, fees related to equivalency agreement/arrangement requirements, travel/per diem for inspectors, user fees, sales assessments and postage.

Ineligible costs include equipment, materials, supplies, transitional certification fees, late fees and inspections necessary to address National Organic Program regulatory violations.

Producers and handlers may submit OCCSP applications to FSA county offices or they may apply through participating State Agencies, which will be listed at Organic Certification Cost Share Program webpage as their agreements to administer the program are finalized.

The FSA OCCSP application form is available at USDA's eForms site, by selecting "Browse forms" and entering "OCCSP" in the "title or keywords" field on the search page.

To learn more about organic certification cost share, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/organic or contact a local FSA office by visiting http://offices.usda.gov.

Other News
USDA Historic Aerial Photography Available!

For more than half a century, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has acquired high quality aerial photographs to support federal farm programs. Over the years, the USDA has photographed the vast majority of the nation and its territories at approximately seven-year intervals.

The USDA’s Aerial Photography Field Office (APFO) is home to one of the country’s largest aerial film libraries. We currently house more than 70,000 rolls of film. Our imagery dates from 1955 to the present, and is available at several different scales and in stereo. The APFO has a photographic wet lab, which allows us to print photos on site.

USDA historic photography can play a vital role in environmental assessments, change detection, past land use and property boundary disputes. Our photographs are frequently ordered by attorneys, universities, local governments and individuals.

USDA imagery is available to the general public at minimal cost. We can provide black and white, color infrared, or natural color prints depending on the original film type. Enlargements up to 38”x38” are available. We can also provide tiff scans which can be viewed on any computer. We are able to certify photos for use in court.

You can order this aerial imagery by contacting the APFO by phone, fax, mail or email. Please be prepared to provide an accurate description of the area you wish to be included in your photo; this can be a legal description, latitude and longitude, or a local map. All products are made to order and completion time may vary depending on existing workload. Please include your name, address and phone number with your inquiry.

Customer Service Section
Telephone: 801-844-2922
Fax: 801-956-3653
Email: apfo.sales@slc.usda.gov

USDA Farm Service Agency
Aerial Photography Field Office
2222 West 2300 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84119-2020

More information about our products and services is available on our website: www.apfo.usda.gov