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1. Ag & Conservation Partners Expo - Patrick Henry High School Cafeteria
Local agriculture and conservation agencies will be hosting an Ag & Conservation Partners Expo on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at the Patrick Henry High School cafeteria, 31437 Hillman Hwy, Glade Spring, VA from 6 to 9 pm.
Come and enjoy a FREE meal, network with other farmers, and connect with your local agriculture and conservation partners. Professionals from Holston River Soil and Water Conservation Distirct (HRSWCD), USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and others will be sharing information, including:
- Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)
- Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL)
- Farm Loan Programs
- NRCS Conservation Programs & Earth Team
- HRSWCD Highlights, Programs, and Producer Spotlights
- Options for Beginning, Socially Disadvantaged, and Limited Resource Farmers
For more information and to register, contact Mandy Fletcher at afletcher@vsu.edu or 804-892-0108 or Ethan Keene at ethan.keene@vaswcd.org or 276-525-6677. Register by May 17!
2. Good Growth Outreach Event - Spence Brothers Farm
Local agriculture and conservation agencies will be hosting a 2nd Annual Good Growth: Outreach Event on Tuesday, June 4, 2023 at Spence Brothers Farm, 1345 Cedar Branch Road, Saltville, VA from 5:30 to 8:30 pm.
Come and enjoy a FREE meal, network with other farmers, and connect with your local agriculture and conservation partners. Professionals from Evergreen Soil and Water Conservation Distirct (ESWCD), USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), US Fish and Wildlife Service, and others will be sharing information, including:
- FSA Programs including Beginning, Socially Disadvantaged, and Limited Resource Farmer Options
- NRCS Programs and Earth Team
- ESWCD Growth Highlights, Programs, and Awards
For more information and to register, contact Jeana Waddle at jeana.waddle@evergreenswcd.com or 276-706-3064. Register by May 22!
The Farm Service Agency’s Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program provides low-interest financing to help you build or upgrade storage facilities and to purchase portable (new or used) structures, equipment and storage and handling trucks.
Eligible commodities include corn, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats, peanuts, wheat, barley, minor oilseeds harvested as whole grain, pulse crops, hay, honey, renewable biomass, fruits, nuts and vegetables for cold storage facilities, floriculture, hops, maple sap, rye, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, meat and poultry (unprocessed), eggs, and aquaculture. Qualified facilities include grain bins, hay barns and cold storage facilities for eligible commodities.
Loans up to $50,000 can be secured by a promissory note/security agreement. Loans between $50,000 and $100,000 may require additional security, and loans exceeding $100,000 require additional security.
You do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial credit availability to apply. The loans are designed to assist a diverse range of farming operations, including small and mid-sized businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local food and farmers markets, non-traditional farm products, and underserved producers.
For more information, contact your Washington/Smyth County USDA Service Center at 276-628-8186 or visit fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport.
Did you ever wish you – or your group – were in position to receive advance notices on new program offerings and advances in agricultural technology announced by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and other state and federal agencies in Virginia? The answer might be membership in NRCS’ State Technical Committee, which is open to individual producers and ag professionals, agribusiness associations and nonprofits with a focus on agriculture, food production and/or forestry. On the Tech Committee, these users of conservation programs can have a seat at the table with representatives from NRCS and other federal and state conservation agencies, including five departments of state government – Agriculture and Consumer Services, Conservation and Recreation, Environmental Quality, Forestry and Wildlife Resources.
Two or three Tech Committee meetings are scheduled by Dr. Edwin Martinez Martinez, NRCS’ state conservationist for Virginia, during every calendar year. Most are conducted in a hybrid setting (in-person and online) to allow an opportunity for everyone around the state to join.
The Tech Committee offers an avenue to discuss our delivery of Farm Bill Programs while also providing a statewide partnership where local, state and federal partners can gather as a unit. Martinez, who assumed his current position in 2020, is committed to expanding the size and scope of the Tech Committee, which has increased its membership by 20 percent over the past three years. Prospective applicants should make inquiries to Kathleen Anderson, who can be contacted by e-mail at Kathleen.Anderson@usda.gov or by phone at 804-287-1638.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces that most farm loan borrowers will be able to make payments to their direct loans online through the Pay My Loan feature on farmers.gov. Pay My Loan is part of a broader effort by USDA’s Farm Service Agency to streamline its processes, especially for producers who may have limited time during the planting or harvest seasons to visit a local FSA office; modernize and improve customer service; provide additional customer self-service tools; and expand credit access to assist more producers.
On average, local USDA Service Centers process more than 225,000 farm loan payments each year. Pay My Loan gives most borrowers an online repayment option and relieves them from needing to call, mail, or visit a Service Center to pay their loan installment. Farm loan payments can now be made at the borrower’s convenience, on their schedule and outside of FSA office hours.
Pay My Loan also provides time savings for FSA’s farm loan employees by minimizing manual payment processing activities. This new service for producers means that farm loan employees will have more time to focus on reviewing and processing new loans or servicing requests.
The Pay My Loan feature can be accessed at farmers.gov/loans. To use the payment feature, producers must establish a USDA customer account and a USDA Level 2 eAuthentication (“eAuth”) account or a Login.gov account. This initial release only allows individuals with loans to make online payments. For now, borrowers with jointly payable checks will need to continue to make loan payments through their local office.
Accessibility Statement
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is committed to making its electronic and information technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities by meeting or exceeding the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended in 1998. Section 508 is a federal law that requires agencies to provide individuals with disabilities equal access to electronic information and data comparable to those who do not have disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. The Section 508 standards are the technical requirements and criteria that are used to measure conformance within this law. More information on Section 508 and the technical standards can be found at www.section508.gov.
Non-Discrimination Statement
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender
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