USDA has extended the deadline for farmers seeking loan documents to support their applications for Discrimination Financial Assistance Program payments from Wednesday, Sept. 6 to Friday, Sept. 29. See more detailed article on program.

The Agriculture Department said the DFAP application process was designed so that Farm Service Agency records “are not required, though relevant records may be attached to an application as additional evidence if they are available.

“Due to the amount of time that may have passed, USDA recognizes that some records may no longer be in FSA’s possession. FSA follows government record retention schedules that indicate which farm records should be kept after a designated period of time,” it said in its Weekly Update newsletter on its 22007apply.gov website.

Program assistance

Where possible, the Department said, FSA has provided digital records to the program administrators to assist them as they conduct the program, which is outlined in Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

“If you still wish to request records from FSA, the agency will search for records and provide copies of any relevant documents located in the search,” the newsletter said. “Even if no records are available, you can provide other evidence to show you were a farmer or intended to farm and experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending.:

Records requests must be submitted in writing. This can be done my emailing [email protected] no later than Friday, Sept. 29. If you do not have an email address you can go to your local FSA office or call 1-800-721-0970 to receive information about where and how you can submit a request in writing.

Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act provides $2.2 billion for assistance to farmers who experienced discrimination in USDA’s farm lending process prior to Jan. 1, 2021. Applications will be received through Oct. 31. The Act required USDA to hire third party organizations to review the applications. It hopes to begin making payments early in 2024.

Details on information that should accompany the application can be found at https://22007apply.gov/resources.html#application-faq.