USDA implements new online scheduling tool at county FSA offices

Michigan ag leaders commend, but raise concerns

The Department of Agriculture this month rolled out a new online scheduling tool at Farm Service Agency offices across the country. 

With the tool, farmers can schedule appointments for routine matters and loan applications remotely, versus solely visiting their local county office. 

The USDA called its introduction part of “a commitment to putting farmers first.” State leaders at the Farm Bureau and Farmers Union, though supportive of the new option the tool gives, question the extent it can substitute in-person assistance. 

Industry analysts say the tool’s effectiveness will be tested by its ability to reduce delays and backlogs at local offices. 

“Farmers and ranchers work around the clock and should be able to schedule with their local offices at their convenience,” FSA Administrator Bill Beam said in a news release announcing the tool’s launch.

Farmers connect with FSA county staff for required acreage reporting, crop loss, to seek loans, or for general inquiries. Three such offices are located in Lapeer, Sandusky, and near Wadhams. 

The new tool comes shortly after widespread USDA staffing changes. A report the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and Prospects LLC released June 2026 found that 650 county FSA employees left in 2025, marking an 8% cut in front-line staff. 

Twenty six of those employees had been staffed at one of Michigan’s county FSA offices, including one in St. Clair County. That county’s staff member exit represented a 14.3% cut to the office’s workforce. 

Two offices in the state’s north lost all of their staff, including in areas where the office was the only county with one for miles. For some counties, like Shiawassee and Kent, two person reductions in staff represented reductions of more than 40% of their workforce.

These cuts are part of the administration’s federal workforce downsizing efforts. Local organizations are not critical about the new option, with some caveats, but offered concerns or connected it to these cuts. 

“The administration is taking on the lofty goal of modernizing USDA’s computer systems, and this change is a great investment in overall efficiency,” said Jacob Smith, National Legislative Counsel at the Michigan Farm Bureau Association. “But there is no tool that can ever replace the hands-on customer service experience that county FSA employees provide.”

Farmers may still visit their local office for scheduling, which matters especially in communities with limited broadband access or those who prefer face-to-face interaction.

“Clearly the opportunity to have the online structure is an attempt to take pressure off from the staff at local offices,” said Bob Thompson, President of Michigan Farmers Union. “What misses the mark is the fact that these programs are typically more and more complicated and they require more explanation…”

Other industry analysts, including Jim Wiesemeyer, former Washington Bureau Chief of Pro Farmer, say farm programs have become more complex in recent years. Combined with the fact that fewer staff are responsible for increasingly broader programs, Thompson says there are apparent issues. 

“Most of the time, the programs are complex enough that farmers using it can inadvertently make a bad choice, to hurt them or put them in a penalty situation,” said Thompson. “That’s where the face over the counter can stop a lot of problems.”

— Are you open to share about your experience with FSA, or about your farm and business? I want to hear from you. Reach me at max@yaleexpositor.com, or call 810-387-2300. Max Kappel is a reporter covering local government and agriculture for The Yale Expositor and is a Report for America corps member. Report for America recruits, places and supports talented journalists in local newsrooms across the United States. Make a tax-deductible donation to support his work and Report for America will match it dollar for dollar. Go to: tinyurl.com/2s372ebu. Reach him at max@yaleexpositor.com.