Program Areas: Compliance, Burley Tobacco Program, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Digital Compliance Imagery, Measurement Services, Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), Crop Insurance Compliance Initiative, Livestock Assistance Program.

About Compliance: this program section responsible for ensuring that producers who choose to participate in USDA programs are meeting performance standards mandated by laws passed by our government, issued by the Secretary of Agriculture, and administered through the FSA county offices. Participants in FSA programs are subject to random inspections performed by county office personnel to ensure the integrity of FSA programs. This process is accomplished by completing field inspections via digital aerial photography that is taken each crop year as well as random ground visits.

Program Areas: Appeals, Defense Programs, Dairy Indemnity Programs, Conservation Reserve Program, Stewardship Incentive Program, Emergency Conservation Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program

About Conservation: The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the Federal Government's largest environmental improvement program and one of its most productive and cost-efficient. It is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) through the Farm Service Agency (FSA).

Established in 1985, the Conservation Reserve Program encourages farmers to voluntarily plant permanent areas of grass and trees on land that needs protection from erosion, to act as windbreaks, or in places where vegetation can improve water quality or provide food and habitat for wildlife. The farmers must enter into 10- to 15-year contracts with the Commodity Credit Corporation. In return, they receive annual rental payments, incentives payments for certain activities and cost-share assistance to establish the protective vegetation.

About Farm Loans: USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) makes and guarantees loans and provides credit counseling and supervision to farmers and ranchers who are temporarily unable to obtain private, commercial credit. These may be beginning farmers who can't qualify for conventional loans because of insufficient net worth, or established farmers who have suffered financial setbacks from natural disasters. These loans are tailored to a producer's needs and may be used to buy farmland and finance agricultural production.

Everyone needs financial help sometime. Perhaps FSA can help you with loan programs and services to meet your farming needs and help you to qualify for commercial credit.

Program Areas: Commodity Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments (LDP),Wool, Mohair and Pelt Program; Honey Loan Program; Graze-Out Payment Program; Trade Adjustments Assistance; and Farm Storage Facility Loan Program

About Price Support: The Farm Service Agency (FSA) makes commodity loans and Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) available to eligible producers who use stored crops as collateral. Producers must comply with annual program requirements, have beneficial interest in the eligible commodity, share in the risk of producing the commodity and meet some crop insurance requirements.

Eligible producers may be a landowner, landlord or water lord, tenant or sharecropper. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) makes loans for eligible commodities; corn, wheat, grain sorghum, barley, oats, soybeans, minor oilseeds, rice, peanuts, and cotton. Loans are issued as "nonrecourse" or "recourse" depending on the quality and/or moisture content of the commodity.

Using these loans allows producers to have income while still holding grain for later sale. Farmers may use the loan funds as they wish. Many use the money to repay other loans with a higher interest rate or for operating expenses.

Program Areas: Direct and Counter-cyclical Program, Reconstitution, Payment Limitation Provisions, Foreign Investment Disclosure, Common Management & Operating, Provision Assignments, Farm Tract and Crop Data, Subsidiary Files

About Production Flexibility: The Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment Program (DCP) provides payments to eligible producers on farms enrolled for the 2002 through 2007 crop years. There are two types of DCP payments-direct payments and counter-cyclical payments. Both are computed using the base acres and payment yields established for the farm. DCP was authorized by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill) and is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency.