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Agency History

The Farm Service Agency traces its beginnings to 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression. A wave of discontent triggered by mounting unemployment and farm failures had assisted elect President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who assured Americans a "New Deal."

One result was the establishment in 1935 of a Department of Agriculture company with familiar initials: FSA, which represented Farm Security Administration. Originally called the Resettlement Administration, and renamed in 1937, its original objective was to transfer whole farm neighborhoods to areas in which it was hoped farming could be carried out more beneficially. But resettlement was controversial and costly, and its outcomes ambiguous. Other roles quickly became more vital, consisting of the Standard Rural Rehabilitation Loan Program, which supplied credit, farm and home management planning and technical supervision. This was the leader of the farm loan programs of the Farmers Home Administration.

Another related program was Debt Adjustment and Tenure Improvement. FSA county supervisors, often with the aid of volunteer committees of regional farmers, would work with farmers and their debtors to attempt to arbitrate contracts and avoid foreclosure. The idea was to reach an offer by which the bank might recuperate as much or more than it would through foreclosure by allowing the farmer to remain in service.

FSA likewise promoted co-ops and even offered treatment to bad rural families. Although the scope of its programs was limited, poor farm households who took part benefited greatly. One study estimates that families who took part in FSA programs saw their incomes increase by 69 percent in between 1937 and 1941! Annual per capita meat usage increased from 85 pounds to 447 pounds in the very same duration. Milk intake increased by more than half.

In 1946 the Farmers Home Administration Act combined the Farm Security Administration with the Emergency Crop and Feed Loan Division of the Farm Credit Administration - a quasi-governmental agency that still exists today. This Act included authorities to the new Farmers Home Administration that consisted of guaranteeing loans made by other loan providers. Later legislation recognized loaning for rural housing, rural business enterprises, and rural water and garbage disposal agencies.

Meanwhile, the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 had established the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, or AAA. The "Triple A's" purpose was to support farm rates at a level at which farmers could endure. The law established state and county committees of farmers called "Triple A committees." These committees supervise the first federal farm program offering price support loans to farmers to cause crop decrease.

The old Triple A was built on two major program divisions: the Division of Production and the Division of Processing and Marketing. These were accountable for the work of product sections consisting of dairy, rice, tobacco, sugar, wheat, cotton, corn and hogs.

With the passage of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 and a basic reorganization of the Department of Agriculture that October came brand-new, complicated modifications in preservation, crop support and marketing legislation. Programs such as product marketing controls, and the policy of the Congress to assist farmers in obtaining parity prices and parity income, made the federal government the decision-maker for the nation's farmers.

After Pearl Harbor, the War Food Administration (WFA) was arranged to satisfy the increased needs of a country at war. This reorganization organized production, supply and marketing authorities under a main company which collaborated the circulation of basic products.

Following World War II, the authority of the WFA was terminated. In its place came the Production and Marketing Administration, which, aside from other obligations, preserved a field services branch to aid in program oversight.

The post-war period of modification to peace-time production levels was almost as hard as gearing up for war. New concerns needed to be established, and at the same time, over-production of particular products threatened drops in farm income levels. The increased needs of war-ravaged countries assisted absorb surplus production, however surpluses stayed a bothersome issue for farmers and policymakers.

In 1953, a reorganization of USDA once again made modifications in the powers and tasks of its rate assistance and supply management company. With the modifications came a new name - Commodity Stabilization Service - and an increased focus on the preservation of farm income. Conserving programs such as the Soil Bank were presented to bring production in line with need by taking land out of production for durations of time ranging up to 10 years. Community, county and state committees were officially determined for the very first time as Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation committees.

The Commodity Stabilization Service became the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) in 1961, and the brand-new name reflected the firm's stabilization and resource conservation objectives. Field activities in connection with farm programs continue to be performed through a comprehensive network of state and county field offices.

In 1994, a reorganization of USDA resulted in the Consolidated Farm Service Agency, renamed Farm Service Agency in November 1995. The brand-new FSA encompassed the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) and the farm credit portion of the Farmers Home Administration. In May 1996 FCIC became the Risk Management Agency.

Today, FSA's duties are arranged into 5 areas: Farm Programs, Farm Loans, Commodity Operations, Management and State Operations. The agency continues to offer America's farmers with a strong safeguard through the administration of farm commodity programs. FSA likewise carries out ad hoc disaster programs. FSA's long-standing custom of saving the nation's natural resources continues through the Conservation Reserve Program. The company provides credit to agricultural producers who are not able to get private, commercial credit. FSA locations unique focus on offering loans to starting, minority and ladies farmers and ranchers. Its Commodity Operations division purchases and provides products for usage in humanitarian programs at home and abroad. FSA programs help feed America's school children and hungry people around the world. Additionally, the agency supports the country's handicapped people by buying products made by these persons.