Farm Service Agency

FSA Job Openings

Hartford/Tolland County FSA Hiring for Two Temporary Program Technician Positions

The Hartford/Tolland County Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Windsor, CT is hiring two full time, Temporary Program Technicians (PTs). The deadline to apply is May 27, 2022.

Duties include general office activities supporting FSA programs administered at the field level. These positions will support other offices in Connecticut and local travel will be required. Mileage reimbursement will be provided for use of a personal vehicle but government vehicles may be available for use. The positions may be required to perform field visits for the purpose of measuring fields. Successful applicants must be reliable, have a professional attitude and enjoy working with the public.

If you are interested or know of someone who might be interested, please share this information with them. To apply please submit a copy of your resume to Jule Dybdahl at Jule.Dybdahl@usda.gov.

Contact Jule Dybdahl at 860.871.4097 if you have specific questions regarding the position.

USDA Ready to Help Connecticut Farmers and Ranchers Recover from Extreme Weather

USDA Ready to Help Connecticut Farmers and Ranchers Recover from Extreme Weather

TOLLAND, Connecticut, November 15, 2021 — Recent extreme weather conditions have impacted farmers in Connecticut. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), has disaster assistance programs available to help agricultural producers recover after natural disasters, including flooding and wind events.

FSA offers a variety of disaster assistance programs to support farmers through times of adversity.  Many disaster programs have a 30-day window to report losses, so once producers are able to evaluate their losses, it is important to contact the local FSA office to report all damages and losses and learn more about how we can assist.

FSA offers many programs to help producers recover from losses, including the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP)Emergency Forest Restoration Program and the Tree Assistance Program. Producers located in counties receiving a primary or contiguous disaster designation are eligible for low-interest emergency loans to help them recover from production and physical losses.

To participate in LIP, producers must submit a notice of loss to their local FSA office within 30 calendar days of when the loss of livestock is apparent. In addition, livestock producers should bring supporting evidence, including documentation of the number and kind of livestock that died, photographs or video records to document the loss, purchase records, veterinarian records, production records, and other similar documents. Owners who sold injured livestock for a reduced price because the livestock was injured due to an adverse weather event, must provide verifiable evidence of the reduced sale of the livestock.

To participate in ELAP, producers must submit a notice of loss to their local FSA office within 30 calendar days of when the loss is apparent. Producers should also maintain records and receipts documenting that livestock were removed from the grazing pasture due to adverse weather, costs of transporting livestock feed to eligible livestock, receipts for equipment rental fees for hay lifts, and feed purchase receipts.

The FSA Emergency Conservation Program provides funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters.

Compensation is also available to producers who purchased coverage through FSA’s  Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, which protects non-insurable crops against natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses or prevented planting. Eligible producers must have purchased NAP coverage for 2021 crops and file a notice of loss and application for payment on qualifying crops

Please contact your local FSA office for more information about our disaster assistance programs or resources are available online at farmers.gov, where we offer a Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool and a disaster-at-a-glance brochure.

Natural Disaster Designation for Connecticut Counties

Auer farmThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a natural disaster designation for counties in Connecticut. At the request of Governor Lamont, farm operators who experienced damage and losses caused by Tropical Storm Isaias from August 4-5, 2020 are eligible for assistance from the Farm Service Agency (FSA).

Click here to read the full designation letter.

More info on the USDA’s disaster assistance program can be found at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.