Some farmers and ranchers aren’t aware that there’s a way to appeal a negative decision from many USDA agencies.
The National Appeals Division (NAD) of the USDA wants farmers and ranchers to know that there are options for growers who receive an adverse decision from the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Risk Management Agency (RMA) and the three rural development agencies. Director Steve Silverman says it’s important for producers to know that their division is impartial to the situation.
Silverman says it’s really pretty easy to file an appeal and it can be done without having to talk to anyone. He added that there are some time restraints on an appeal however and producers need to act relatively quickly.
More about the NAD
From the NAD website: The National Appeals Division reports directly to the Secretary of Agriculture and is independent of other parts of USDA. Its sole mission is to provide fair and timely hearings and appeals to USDA program participants.
Any person who receives an adverse program decision from USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or the three USDA Rural Development agencies may file an appeal with NAD.
NAD employs a two-stage appeal process. A participant has a right to a hearing in his or her state of residence before a NAD hearing officer. Thereafter, either the appellant or the agency may ask the NAD Director to reverse the hearing officer’s determination. Read more from NAD.