Gillibrand urges USDA not to close 250 offices, including some in New York

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) today urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) not to close 250 offices nationwide, including up to 10 offices in New York.

Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, contends the USDA needs the offices to “successfully”implement the new farm bill and help farmers navigate the system and sign up for existing and new programs.

President Barack Obama signed the farm bill (officially known as the Agriculture Act of 2014) into law last month.  

Requiring farmers to drive four hours round trip to their local USDA office is “absurd,” Gillibrand said in the news release.

“These offices serve farmers [in times] when they need it most, [including] after natural disasters, to access credit through FSA [Farm Service Agency] loans, and to participate in insurance programs. Without accessible USDA field offices, our farmers won’t have the information they need to make critical choices that will impact the sustainability of their farms. We cannot abandon these communities … keeping these offices open must be a priority,” Gillibrand said.

The Farm Service Agency is part of the USDA, according to the USDA website.

The law includes many new programs which require in-depth explanation, according to Gillibrand’s office.

For example, the farm bill includes a brand new dairy program, which provides an “essential” safety net for dairy farmers when the price of milk drops.

This “complex” program requires dairy farmers to purchase margin insurance for the first time, which could mean “lengthy” consultation and education to ensure an effective program, her office said.

Dairy farmers will also face “difficult” choices on how much margin insurance to buy, based on the specifics of their farm and the given year.

The New York Farm Bureau supports Gillibrand’s effort, believing it would provide farm families with the assistance they will need, Dean Norton, the bureau’s president, said in the Gillibrand news release.

“Now is not the time to be shutting more doors at county Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. Farmers will be depending on these offices to help navigate big changes to dairy and specialty-crop programs coming down the pike in the coming months courtesy of the 2014 Farm Bill. It is an especially critical juncture since New York suffered similar FSA closures just two years ago,” Norton said.

FSA offices are often the only point of contact between farmers and USDA’s programs, according to Gillibrand’s office.

They provide in-person technical and financial support after natural disasters. In addition, a farmer must visit an FSA loan officer in person to apply for financial assistance when he or she plans to expand their operation or acquire new land.

FSA offices are also “instrumental” in collecting data for crop insurance policies, as well as reporting losses after a natural disaster, Gillibrand’s office added.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com