County FSA Offices Open Today?

With the partial Federal Government shutdown I assumed all local USDA Farm Service Agency offices would be closed. In the past county Farm Service Agency offices have been included in the shut own. However, over the weekend I read that Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said there was some money left in budgets and many Farm Service Agency offices would be open through December 28, 2018.

So, on Monday, Christmas Eve Day I called a couple county Farm Service Agency offices and there was no answer. Then I read that Monday Christmas Eve day was declared a National Holiday so all offices were closed. I will check again this morning after 8:00 to see if County offices are open and how many days they might be open before their funding runs out.

Other partial Federal Government shutdowns were only for a few days. Plus it seemed like it was not a big inconvenience. However, this year with the Market Facilitation Program payments we need to pay attention. If you signed up for the first payment the second one will be deposited in your checking account when the staff get to it. The point is it may be this year or January of 2019. So, it can have income tax consequences depending on when the payment hits your checking account.

This means if you wanted the income in 2018 and it does not show up maybe you will have to take some grain income in 2018 right at the end of the year. It the payment does show up and you did not want it this year you could quickly pay some seed or fertilizer to offset the income. The point is, have a plan ready to implement depending on how this all works out!