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For those agricultural producers being impacted by the drought that have not worked with the USDA FSA office before, consider making an appointment as the initial meeting with FSA and understand that this will take longer than a typical appointment with FSA. That’s because FSA will need to establish a customer record and a farm record. FSA must also determine program eligibility. 

Before your visit:

Make an appointment by calling FSA and check on their schedule.  An appointment will help to ensure prompt service as FSA offices can get busy, especially at times around program sign-up and reporting deadlines.  Tell us about your operation and if you are experiencing a loss due to the drought.  If you are interested in specific programs, let FSA know so they can have the correct staff member assist you. Here is contact information for each Ohio county FSA office.

Prepare:

Ask FSA staff what information you should bring to help make the most of your appointment. Examples could include lease agreements or property deeds, an official tax ID (such as social security number or employer ID), or legal entity paperwork, livestock inventory records.

Keep in touch with your local FSA office.

Let FSA know if your business changes, if you experience additional disaster or hardships, or if you have any questions about USDA programs and services.  Ask FSA to sign you up to receive free electronic newsletter updates from the service center and the Ohio FSA state office.  This provides you with information if new program signups are created by Congress and helps to provide producers with information regarding FSA services, loans, and programs sign-ups and deadline announcements. 

Additionally, we wanted to share with the organizations FSA’s online tools that producers can use to help them identify what FSA programs they may be eligible for.

Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool

Learn about USDA disaster assistance programs that might be right for you by completing five simple steps.

FSA Livestock Forage Disaster (LFP) Program Eligibility Tool

If you grow forage for livestock and have recently gone through drought, this website can help you find out whether you qualify for assistance. Qualifying for assistance is based on the U.S. Drought Monitor and on your county’s designated grazing periods. To use this tool, you will need to know your county’s grazing period, and for Ohio, the 2024 LFP Grazing period ends Oct. 31, 2024. If you are not sure what it is, please consult your FSA county office.