A new feature on the farmers.gov website allows farmers and ranchers to access their loan information online.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently launched the new loan management feature called My Financial Information. The portal allows farmers with Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans to easily access their information without having to contact an FSA office.
“This offers them an opportunity to be able to access their information every minute of every day,” Bill Northey, USDA undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, said. “So, they can access their information on their loan, previous payment information, as well as future payments, what their balances are, and it really offers some flexibility for producers.”
Northey noted the secure information is available online for farmers and ranchers who have electronic authentication.
“Electronic authentication allows a producer to be able to go online, make sure that they can access their own information and that their information is protected, and so not available to others,” Northey said.
Farmers.gov also provides access to many other USDA programs, including a disaster assistance discovery tool and an H-2A visa checklist tool.
“We certainly have asked folks to try out farmers.gov whether they have an e-authentication or not. But, as time goes on, authentication will allow them to access their own records online, and we’re going to offer more features,” Northey said. “So, it will be a place where farmers can access many of the programs, as well as be able to replace some visits to the office if they would like to be able to do that.”