Farm Service Agency

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 Director of FSA reports to United States Secretary of Agriculture. The FSA (ASCS) of each state is led by a State Executive Director (SED).

FSA was set up when the Department was reorganized in 1994, 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.

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.

NPS - National Park Service 
FWS - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
BIA - Bureau of Indian Affairs 
BLM - Bureau of Land Management
MMS - Minerals Management Service
OSM - Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement
USGS - U.S. Geological Survey
BR - Bureau of Reclamation
OIA - Office of Insular Affairs

Extension Service of the USDA
FSA - Farm Service Agency 
FAS - Foreign Agricultural Service 
RMA - Risk Management Agency 
FSIS - Food Safety Inspection Service 
FS - Forest Service 
NRCS - Natural Resources Conservation Service 
RBS - Rural Business-Cooperative Service 
OCD - Office of Community Development 
RHS - Rural Housing Service 
RUS - Rural Utilities Service 
FNS - Food and Nutrition Service 
CNPP - Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion 
AMS - Agricultural Marketing Service 
APHIS - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
GIPSA - Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration 
ARS - Agricultural Research Service 
CSREES - Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 
ERS - Economic Research Service 
NASS - National Agricultural Statistics Service 
ASCS - Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service 

NWS - National Weather Service 
NOS - National Ocean Service 
NGS - National Geodetic Survey 
NESDIS - National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service 
NMFS - National Marine Fisheries Service 
OAR - Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 

EERE - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
EIA - Energy Information Administration
FERC - Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
BER - Biological and Environmental Research
EM - Office of Environmental Management

[edit] External links

• Farm Service Agency. Retrieved on October 10, 2005.