Farm Service Agency
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is the USDA agency into which were merged several predecessor agencies, including the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS). The ASCS was, as the FSA is now, primarily tasked with the implementation of farm conservation and regulation laws around the country. The Administrator of FSA reports to the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. The current administrator is Jonathan Coppess, who was appointed in 2009.[1] The FSA (ASCS) of each state is led by a politically appointed State Executive Director (SED).
FSA was set up when the department was reorganized in 1994,[2] incorporating programs from several agencies, including the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (now a separate Risk Management Agency), and the Farmers Home Administration. Although its name has changed over the years, the agency's relationship with farmers goes back to the 1930s. Earlier USDA agencies that evolved into FSA include the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, War Food Administration, Production and Marketing Administration, and Commodity Stabilization Service as well as ASCS.[3]
At that time, Congress set up a unique system under which federal farm programs are administered locally. Farmers who are eligible to participate in these programs elect a three- to five-person county committee, which reviews county office operations and makes decisions on how to apply the programs. This grassroots approach gives farmers a much-needed say in how federal actions affect their communities and their individual operations. After more than 60 years, it remains a cornerstone of FSA's efforts to preserve and promote American agriculture.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ See page 5 of the 2008 OPM Plum Book
- ^ Title 7, Chapter 98, Section 6932 of the United States Code
- ^ See the full administrative history of FSA on the National Archives and Records Administration website.[1]
[edit] External links
- "Farm Service Agency". http://www.fsa.usda.gov. Retrieved October 10, 2005.
- Farm Service Agency Meeting Notices and Rule Changes from The Federal Register RSS Feed
- Proposed and finalized federal regulations from the Farm Service Agency
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