farmers.gov

Farmers.gov offers two kinds of disaster help: seasonal preparedness guidance (such as its hurricane-season emergency planning notice) and recovery resources covering drought, flood, hurricane, severe storms, wildfire, and winter storms. If you want to know which USDA assistance might fit your situation, the site's Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool walks you through five steps to identify possible programs. For hands-on help, you can contact or book an appointment with your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office through the site.

Prepare Before the Storm

The site's hurricane-season guidance asks you to have an emergency plan and prepare your operation for potential impacts before a storm arrives. The page does not publish a detailed checklist, so treat the notice as a prompt to act rather than a step-by-step guide. Practical preparation tasks — securing equipment, documenting inventory and livestock, and keeping records where they can survive damage — are general practices you can pair with the site's recovery resources.

Find Recovery Resources by Disaster Type

Farmers.gov groups USDA disaster recovery resources by hazard:

The site also flags current items, such as a news item on reporting suspected screwworm cases and information on the Regenerative Pilot Program. These change over time, so check the page rather than relying on a saved copy.

Use the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool

The Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool is designed to show you USDA disaster assistance that might be right for you by completing five steps. The page describes the tool's purpose and step count but does not list the individual questions, so expect to answer basic questions about your operation and the disaster you experienced. The output is a set of programs that might apply — not a determination of eligibility. Confirm details with your local office before applying.

Contact Your Local Office for Recovery Support

USDA Service Centers are locations where you can meet with Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or Rural Development staff about your business needs. On Farmers.gov you can:

• Find your local service center by selecting your state and county.
• Find your FSA county office to contact or book an appointment with a Farm Program or Farm Loan office.
• Use the FSA Office Locator to book an appointment or reach your local FSA Farm Loan or Farm Program office.
• Find an NRCS Conservation District Partners location, or visit the Risk Management Agency website to locate a regional or compliance office or an insurance agent near you.

The site also notes Urban Service Centers for those who need them.

Related Tools Worth Knowing

Two other Farmers.gov tools can support recovery planning:

• Farm Loan Assistance Tool — learn about farm loans that might be right for you, check eligibility, and get help with application forms.
• Apply for an FSA Loan — a secure online portal to complete and submit a farm loan application.

A Farmers.gov account provides secure self-service business tools such as managing loans, viewing farm records, and e-signing documents. The site mentions subscribing for updates but does not publish pricing or access terms on the page, so check the account creation flow for current requirements.

A Practical Sequence

1. Before storm season, review the hurricane preparedness notice and put an emergency plan in place.
2. After an event, open the disaster recovery resources for your hazard type.
3. Run the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool to shortlist possible programs.
4. Book an appointment with your local FSA or service center office to confirm what applies to your operation.

A Farmers.gov account gives you secure self-service access to three core business tools: managing loans, viewing farm records, and e-signing documents. You can create a new account directly from the Farmers.gov Tools section. If you are not ready for an account, Farmers.gov also offers separate tools to explore loan options, check eligibility, and apply for an FSA loan online.

What You Can Do With a Farmers.gov Account

According to the Farmers.gov Tools section, your account provides "secure self-service business tools" for:

• Managing loans — handle loan-related business through the portal
• Viewing farm records — access your farm records online
• E-signing documents — sign documents electronically instead of in person

The first step is to create a new account using the "Create a New Account" option listed under Farmers.gov Tools.

Loan Tools That Don't Require Starting With an Account

Farmers.gov separates loan exploration from the account itself, which helps if you are still deciding whether to apply.

Farm Loan Assistance Tool

This tool helps you learn about the farm loans that might be right for you, check your eligibility, and get instructional help with the application forms. The expected outcome is a shortlist of loan options plus a clearer picture of whether you qualify before you commit to applying.

Apply for an FSA Loan

When you are ready, the "Apply for a Farm Loan" portal lets you complete your application and submit it for processing in a secure online environment.

Related Self-Service Resources

• Your Local Dashboard — view your state or county's agriculture data and USDA resources.
• Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool — complete five steps to learn about USDA disaster assistance that might fit your situation.
• Find Your Local FSA Office — contact or book an appointment with your local Farm Program or Farm Loan office if you need hands-on help.

Common Stops and How to Get Past Them

• Not sure which loan fits: start with the Farm Loan Assistance Tool before creating an account or applying.
• Need to speak with someone: use the FSA Office Locator to book an appointment with your local office.
• Recovering from a disaster: run the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool first, then check the disaster recovery resources for drought, flood, hurricane, severe storms, wildfire, and winter storms.

Account creation and the loan portal are described as secure online services; the available site information does not state costs or login requirements beyond account creation, so confirm details with your local service center if fees or access rules matter to your decision.

The Important Dates section on the Farmers.gov homepage is the place to check. It lists program cutoffs and enrollment windows, and each entry links to more detail. The homepage currently shows three entries: state conservation program application cutoff dates (date varies by state), 2026 crop year Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) at Dec 11, 2026, and Dairy Margin Coverage enrollment at Dec 18, 2026. A View All link opens the full list.

What the Important Dates Section Shows

The section is built as a short list of dated items, so you can scan it quickly:

Two things to keep in mind:

• "Date varies by state" is not a placeholder. For conservation programs, the deadline depends on where your operation is, so the national page cannot give you a single date. You need to confirm your state's cutoff separately.
• The dates shown are the ones published on the page at the time you look. Deadlines get extended or added, so treat the page as the current source rather than a fixed calendar.

How to Check Your Dates

1. Go to farmers.gov and find the Important Dates section on the homepage.
2. Scan the entries for programs relevant to your operation (for example, ARC/PLC if you grow covered commodities, or Dairy Margin Coverage if you milk cows).
3. Select View All to see the complete list beyond the three featured entries.
4. If your item says the date varies by state, use the Find Your Local Service Center tool: choose your state and county to reach your local Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), or Rural Development office. Those staff can confirm your state's cutoff.
5. For FSA program or loan questions specifically, the FSA Office Locator lets you contact or book an appointment with your county office.

Expected result: you leave with either a confirmed date from the list or the name and contact details of the office that can confirm a state-specific one.

Common Sticking Points

• Looking only at the homepage list. The three featured items are a sample; View All is where the rest live.
• Assuming a national date applies to you. Conservation program cutoffs are set by state, so a neighboring state's date tells you nothing about yours.
• Waiting until the listed date to start. Enrollment often requires forms, eligibility checks, or a decision between coverage options. The Farm Loan Assistance Tool and the loan application portal show the same pattern: preparation happens before the deadline, not on it.
• Missing disaster-related timing. Disaster programs have their own notice periods and application windows. The Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool walks through five steps to identify assistance that may fit your situation, and the disaster recovery resources cover drought, flood, hurricane, severe storms, wildfire, and winter storms.

Related Places to Watch

Deadlines also surface outside the Important Dates list:

• Your Farmers.gov account — secure self-service tools for managing loans, viewing farm records, and e-signing documents, which is where some actions tied to deadlines get completed.
• Your Local Dashboard — state and county agriculture data and USDA resources for your area.
• The Farmers.gov Blog — announcements such as the current hurricane-season preparedness guidance and news items like reported screwworm cases, which can carry their own reporting or response timelines.

If you tell me your state and the program you're tracking, I can point you to the right office-finder path to confirm the date.

To find your local USDA Service Center, use the Find Your Local Service Center tool on Farmers.gov: select your state and county, and the site returns the Service Center and agency offices serving that area. Service Centers are where you can meet Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), or Rural Development staff in person. If you specifically need an FSA farm program or farm loan office, use the separate FSA Office Locator instead, which also lets you contact the office or book an appointment.

Find a USDA Service Center by State and County

1. Go to the Find Your Local Service Center section on Farmers.gov.
2. Choose your state from the dropdown (for example, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and so on; the list also includes territories such as American Samoa, Guam, and the Federated States of Micronesia).
3. Select your county.
4. Review the results, which show your local Service Center and the agency offices connected to it.

Expected result: a location where you can handle business with FSA, NRCS, or Rural Development staff. The page notes that Service Centers are "locations where you can connect with Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or Rural Development employees for your business needs."

Common snag: picking only a state without a county. The tool asks for both, so choose the county where your operation is located to get the right office.

Use the FSA Office Locator for Farm Programs and Loans

If your question is about an FSA farm program or a farm loan, the Service Center search may point you to a broader location than you need. The FSA Office Locator is the more direct route:

• Use it to contact your local FSA Farm Loan or Farm Program office.
• Use it to book an appointment rather than showing up unannounced.

This is the better choice when you already know you need FSA-specific help, such as loan application questions or program sign-up.

Other Locators on the Same Page

The Service Center section also links to related locators for different needs:

Before You Go: Tools That Save a Trip

Some tasks can be started online before or instead of an office visit, which can make your in-person appointment more productive:

• Farmers.gov Account: access secure self-service business tools such as managing loans, viewing farm records, and e-signing documents. You can create a new account from the Farmers.gov Tools section.
• Farm Loan Assistance Tool: learn which farm loans might fit your situation, check eligibility, and get help with application forms before applying.
• Apply for an FSA Loan: a secure online portal for completing and submitting a farm loan application.
• Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool: a five-step tool that shows USDA disaster assistance that might apply to you.

Quick Answer

For general in-person help, select your state and county in the Find Your Local Service Center tool. For FSA programs, loans, or appointments, go straight to the FSA Office Locator. For conservation district partners or crop insurance contacts, use the NRCS and Risk Management Agency locators linked on the same page.

Farmers.gov is the official USDA website for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers. It is a starting point for exploring USDA programs and resources to help you start, grow, and protect your operation, and it links you to the agency offices and online tools that handle applications and records. Use it when you need to find a program, check whether a loan or disaster assistance might fit your situation, or locate the USDA Service Center that serves your state and county.

What the site is for

The homepage describes Farmers.gov as a place to "explore USDA programs and resources to help you start, grow, and protect your operation." In practice, that means the site works as a front door rather than a single agency portal: it points you to Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Rural Development services, and to tools that let you act on them.

The site also carries time-sensitive notices. The current homepage highlights hurricane season preparation, a news item on suspected screwworm cases, the Regenerative Pilot Program, and disaster recovery resources organized by drought, flood, hurricane, severe storms, wildfire, and winter storms. It lists important dates as well, such as conservation program state application cutoff dates (which vary by state), the 2026 crop year Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) date of Dec 11, 2026, and Dairy Margin Coverage enrollment on Dec 18, 2026.

Tools you can use on Farmers.gov

The "Farmers.gov Tools" section groups the main self-service functions:

A practical sequence for a new borrower, for example, is to run the Farm Loan Assistance Tool first to see which loan types might apply and whether you appear eligible, then move to the FSA loan application portal once you are ready to apply. The account tools are separate and are where you would manage an existing loan, view farm records, or sign documents electronically.

Finding your local service center

USDA Service Centers are locations where you can meet Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or Rural Development staff for your business needs. The site's locator asks you to select your state and county to find your local service center and agency offices; the state list runs from Alabama through the states and territories shown, including American Samoa, Guam, and the Federated States of Micronesia.

If the service center locator is not what you need, the site points to other finders:

• The FSA Office Locator, to book an appointment or contact a local FSA farm loan or farm program office
• Information on Urban Service Centers
• An NRCS Conservation District Partners location finder
• The Risk Management Agency website, to find a regional or compliance office or an insurance agent near you

When Farmers.gov is the right place to start

Start here if your question is "which USDA program or office applies to me?" The site is built to route you: disaster help goes through the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool and the disaster recovery resource pages, loan questions go through the loan assistance tool and FSA portal, and local contact questions go through the service center and office locators.

Go directly to an agency instead if you already know your program and office. The site itself directs specific needs elsewhere—for example, crop insurance questions to the Risk Management Agency, and conservation district partner locations to the NRCS finder.

One limit to keep in mind: the homepage mentions subscribing, but the available site information does not state prices, login requirements, or whether any service is free. Treat account creation and applications as steps you complete on the official USDA systems the site links to, and confirm details with your local service center.