Rhode Island State Office

Welcome to the Rhode Island FSA Home Page

State Office Staff

• Acting State Executive Director: Matthew Richter
• Administrative Officer: Alison Rose
• Administrative Specialist: Leila Naylor
• District Director: Matthew Richter

State Committee

• Ellen Puccetti - Member
• Kevin Breene - Member
• David Frerichs - Member

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

County Office

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

• County Executive Director: Sheryl Michener
• Program Technician: Nancy Becker
• Program Technician: Anne Belleville
• Program Technician: Vacant
• Temporary Program Technician: Lillian Toth

RI FSA Interns

Emma Schlam

County Committee

• Joseph Polseno- Chairperson
• John Sousa-Vice Chairperson
• George Goulart Jr.- Member
• Kim Coulter - Member
• Gilbert Rathbun Jr.- Member

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

Farm Loan Office: 401-828-3120 Option 3

Farm Loan Analyst: Patricia Sullivan

Coronavirus and USDA Service Centers

USDA Service Centers in Rhode Island will continue to be open for business by phone appointment only and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While our program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with our producers by phone, and using online tools whenever possible.

All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. In the event a Service Center is not currently available to serve customers on location, producers can receive assistance from the closest alternate Service Center by phone. Learn more at farmers.gov/coronavirus

Producers can find Service Center phone numbers at farmers.gov/service-center-locator. In Rhode Island, the USDA Service Center phone numbers are as follows;

USDA RI Farm Service Agency

• RI FSA State Office 401-828-3120 Option 1
• RI FSA County Office 401-828-3120 Option 2
• RI FSA Farm Loan Team 401-828-3120 Option 3

USDA RI Natural Resource Conservation Service

• RI NRCS 401-828-1300

Non Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)

Sign up Deadlines for Rhode Island

• March 15th Annual Crops including spring or fall-seeded small grains
• September 30th Value Loss Crops; Aquaculture, Oysters, Turf Grass, Christmas trees, Floriculture (except Chrysanthemums)Mushrooms, Ginseng
• November 20th Perennial Crops, Grass, Mixed Forage, Alfalfa, Perennial Forage
• December 31st Specialty Type Crops; Honey, Maple sap

Sign up Deadlines for Crop Insurance Under Risk Management Agency Programs.

• March 15th Corn, Sweet Corn and Potatoes
• November 20th, Apples, Cranberries, Grapes and Peaches

Please contact either RMA or FSA to learn more about your eligibility for these Crop Insurance Coverages. Program eligibility may vary depending on the county in which the crop is grown in.

Acreage Reporting Deadlines

• July 15, 2020, Annual, Grass, Mixed Forage, Alfalfa, Fruit and Nut Trees and Perennial Crops and Perennial Forage(except Apples, Cranberries and Peaches)
• September 30, 2020, Value Loss Crops such as Aquaculture, Floriculture, Turfgrass sod, Christmas Trees, Floriculture (except Chrysanthemums)Mushrooms, Ginseng
• January 2, 2020, Honey (beehive colonies)and Maple Sap
• January 15, 2020, Apples Cranberries and Peaches

Farm Loan Programs

A new online tool can help farmers find information on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm loans that may best fit their operations. USDA has launched the new Farm Loan Discovery Tool as the newest feature on farmers.gov, the Department’s self-service website for farmers.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers a variety of loan options to help farmers finance their operations. From buying land to financing the purchase of equipment, FSA loans can help. Compared to this time last year, FSA has seen an 18 percent increase in the amount it has obligated for direct farm ownership loans, and through the 2018 Farm Bill, has increased the limits for several loan products.

USDA conducted field research in eight states, gathering input from farmers and FSA farm loan staff to better understand their needs and challenges.

How the Tool Works

Farmers who are looking for financing options to operate a farm or buy land can answer a few simple questions about what they are looking to fund and how much money they need to borrow. After submitting their answers, farmers will be provided information on farm loans that best fit their specific needs. The loan application and additional resources also will be provided.

Farmers can download application quick guides that outline what to expect from preparing an application to receiving a loan decision. There are four guides that cover loans to individuals, entities, and youth, as well as information on microloans. The guides include general eligibility requirements and a list of required forms and documentation for each type of loan. These guides can help farmers prepare before their first USDA service center visit with a loan officer.

Farmers can access the Farm Loan Discovery Tool by visiting farmers.gov/fund and clicking the “Start” button. Follow the prompts and answer five simple questions to receive loan information that is applicable to your agricultural operation. The tool is built to run on any modern browser like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or the Safari browser, and is fully functional on mobile devices. It does not work in Internet Explorer.

For more information about Farm Loan Programs including the current interest rates click here.

Other Programs including Farm Loans

Click here to obtain more information on other Farm Service Agency programs that are currently available including Farm Loans. For more information about the 2018 Farm Bill visit Farmers.gov.

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.

Click here to view the DMC Decision Tool.

Farming Success Stories

Visit the Farm Service Agency Fencepost Blog to view all stories.

To read success stories published for Rhode Island click here.

If you are interesting in submitting a success story, please contact the Rhode Island State Office at 401-828-3120 Option 1.

Sign up for Level 2 eAuthentication Access

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.

ASK USDA

Ask USDA is an online resource that helps you easily find information and answers to your USDA questions in one place. Ask USDA has information about all USDA programs, including USDA loans, farm and conservation programs.

Through Ask USDA you can:

• Access our knowledge base 24/7
• Ask questions through phone, email or online chat
• Receive a timely response from USDA experts

USDA’s self-service assistance anytime, anywhere!

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.

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