Welcome to the Massachusetts Home Page

Massachusetts State Farm Service Agency
445 West Street
Amherst, MA 01002
413-253-4500

Massachusetts FSA is proud to continue its strong tradition of customer-based service to Massachusetts farmers and producers. The staff in our seven county offices is committed to securing the highest possible financial assistance from USDA programs through accurate, timely and efficient program delivery. This website can help you learn more about our programs and point you toward your local office so that you can speak directly with staff on how we can be of service.

FSA programs include:

• Commodity price supports
• Disaster and emergency relief
• Conservation and environmental programs
• Farm emergency, ownership, and operating loans – including our new Microloan program which aims to assist small famers, veterans, and disadvantaged producers

Massachusetts agriculture contributes over $492 million annually to the state’s economy, ranks 5th nationally in direct market sales, and first in the percentage of farms practicing Community Supported Agriculture. Noted for great diversity in both crops and in the nature of farming enterprises, our state has some of the best quality agricultural land in the country with 7,755 farms on over 523,000 total acres. 80% of our farms are family-owned, 95% qualify as "small farms" (under $250,000 in sales), and more new farms are beginning operations each year. Challenges for farmers include high input costs and contending with one of the highest farmland values in the U.S. at $10,600 per acre.

Staff

State Executive Director: Edward Davidian
District Director: Daniel Smiarowski
Executive Officer: Lori Carver
Farm Loan Chief: Julie Kolodji
Program Specialist: John Devine

Massachusetts State Committee:

Bradford Morse, Chair
Lisa Colby, Member
James Larkin, Member
Willard McKinstry, Member
Matthew Parsons, Member

Environmental Assessments for Public Review (None at Present)

Farm Service Agency County Committee Elections - Vote Today!

Elections are taking place now for USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees. Eligible voters started receiving ballots the week of Nov. 5, 2018.

Producers must participate or cooperate in an FSA program to be eligible to vote in the county committee election. Farmers and growers who supervise and conduct the farming operations of an entire farm, but are not of legal voting age, may also be eligible to vote.

County committees are unique to FSA and serve as a direct link between agricultural communities across the country and USDA. FSA has been interviewing current committee members to spotlight their involvement in their county. Read what they have to say.

Make your vote count!  All ballots must be returned to your local FSA office, or postmarked no later than, Dec. 3, 2018.

You can also call or visit for information about programs and loans. FSA can also help connect you with a SCORE mentor who can provide free consulting on busines planning, marketing, exploring new options, and more. 

Important Election Dates

December 3, 2018 - Last day to return voted ballots to the USDA Service Center

January 1, 2019 - Newly elected county committee members take office

For more information on FSA county committees, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/elections

In the News

USDA and SCORE Launch Innovative Mentorship Effort to Support New Farmers

SCORE matches business professionals and entrepreneurs with new business owners to mentor them through the process of starting-up and maintaining a new business. USDA and its partners across rural America are working with SCORE to support new farming operations, and identify and recruit mentors with a wealth of agricultural experience.

“SCORE’s mission to help people start and grow vibrant small businesses is boosted by this new partnership with USDA. America’s farmers, ranchers and agri-businesses will benefit from the business knowledge and expertise SCORE can offer,” said Records. “The partnership allows both SCORE and USDA to serve more people while providing America’s farmers added support to lead to more sound business operations, create profitable farms with sustainable growth and create new jobs. We are excited at the opportunity to extend SCORE’s impact to our farmers and the agriculture industry.”

SCORE mentors will partner with USDA and a wide array of groups already hard at work serving new and beginning farmers such as the FFA, 4-H, cooperative extension and land grant universities, nonprofits, legal aid groups, banks, technical and farm advisors. These partnerships will expand and integrate outreach and technical assistance between current and retired farmers and agri-business experts and new farmers.

This joint initiative leverages SCORE’s 10,000 existing volunteer mentors and USDA’s expertise and presence in agricultural communities to bring no-cost business mentoring to rural and agricultural entrepreneurs. This initiative will also be another tool to empower the work of many community-based organizations, cooperative extension and land grant universities working with beginning farmers in their communities. SCORE mentorship will also be available to current farmers.  Anyone interested in being a mentor can get more information and sign up on the USDA New Farmers’ website at https://newfarmers.usda.gov/mentorship.

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