The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it is proceeding with Farm Service Agency county office consolidations as part of the department’s Blueprint for Stronger Service. The Blueprint will help modernize and accelerate service delivery while improving the customer experience through the use of innovative technologies and business solutions. Included in the plan is the closure and consolidation of 259 domestic offices including FSA county offices, additional facilities, labs and seven foreign offices. FSA will consolidate a total of 125 of the 131 office originally proposed. Review the list of consolidated offices or learn more. 

Producers have until Friday, June 1 to apply for assistance for the 2010 crop losses under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program. SURE provides disaster assistance to eligible producers on farms that have incurred crop production or quality losses. Visit a local FSA county office for more information or read more about SURE. 

More than 120,000 Thrift Savings Plan participants had their personal information compromised last month after a cyber attack on a TSP third party service provider computer. According to a Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board press release, the names, addresses and social security numbers of 43,587 individuals were accessed and 79,614 individuals had their social security numbers and some TSP information taken. All those affected have been notified by the board and alerts have been placed on their accounts. Read the press release.

As President Lincoln said in his last annual address to Congress, the Department of Agriculture “is precisely the people’s Department, in which they feel more directly concerned that in any other.” Many don’t realize it, but USDA plays a unique role in the daily lives of every single American, ranging from the programs available that assist rural small businesses to providing the support system that makes it possible for our farmers and ranchers to produce the most affordable and abundant food supply of any country in the world. Earlier this month, I was proud to recognize the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln signing legislation establishing the United States Department of Agriculture on May 15, 1862. Read more (Rapid City Journal).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will accept 3.9 million acres offered under the 43rd Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up. During the five-week sign-up period, the department received nearly 48,000 offers from landowners to become a part of the 25-year-old program designed to conserve land, improve soil, water, and air quality, and create wildlife habitats. “Lands in CRP have helped to support strong incomes for our farmers and ranchers and produce good middle-class jobs throughout the country related to outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. USDA has enrolled 12 million acres in CRP since 2009 and has a total of 29.6 million acres in the entire program. Learn more. 

Only one week remains for producers to enroll in the 2012 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payment (DCP) program. DCP provides payments to eligible producers on farms enrolled for the 2008-2012 crop years. Both direct payments and counter-cyclical payments are calculated using base acres and payment yields established for the farm. Those interested must apply at their local FSA county office by the June 1 deadline.Learn more.