DAVIS, Calif., September 21, 2020 – An update to farmers.gov now provides access to farmers and ranchers who are members of an entity, as well as individuals and entities with powers of attorney to conduct online business with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Additionally, online services once available through NRCS’s Conservation Client Gateway (CCG) will be moved to farmers.gov in the coming weeks.
“Here at NRCS, we are committed to providing excellent customer service, whether it’s through our network of USDA Service Centers across the country or online at farmers.gov where we have new self-service features related to our conservation programs,” said Carlos Suarez, State Conservationist in California. “We’re proud to announce that both farmers and ranchers acting as entities as well as those acting on a farmer’s behalf have access to self-service options online,” he continued.
Self-service features were added to farmers.gov in June, and this latest update expands the scope to include farmers and ranchers who are members of an entity, as well as people with a power of attorney form (FSA-211) on file with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Now on farmers.gov, producers, entities and those acting on their behalf can securely interact with NRCS, sign and download documents, and view conservation contract information. Once entity or power of attorney information is filed with FSA, farmers.gov automatically gives customers access to their profile and any other profiles they have the authority to represent in the customer’s farmers.gov account. This is an upgrade from the legacy system, CCG, that required producers to request access as an entity or power of attorney and provide documentation.
Producers can access these conservation features by desktop computer, tablet, or phone.
The features being announced today add to existing features on site, including:
· View, download, and e-sign documents;
· Request conservation assistance;
· Reference technical terms and submit questions;
· Access information on current and past conservation practices; and
· View detailed information on all previous and ongoing contracts, including the amount of planned and received cost-share assistance.
The features include the most popular aspects of CCG while providing enhanced functionality and an improved user experience. Managing Conservation Online To access their information, producers will need a USDA eAuth account to login into farmers.gov. After obtaining an eAuth account, producers should visit farmers.gov and sign into the site’s authenticated portal via the “Sign In / Sign Up” link at the top right of the website.
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge are the recommended browsers to access the feature.
Transition from CCG to Farmers.gov
CCG’s functionalities are being moved to farmers.gov to give producers one place to do business with NRCS, FSA, and other USDA agencies.
Current CCG users can use their existing login and password to access the conservation features on farmers.gov. CCG will be actively maintained and supported until all core components are moved to farmers.gov later this year.
More Information
USDA is building farmers.gov for farmers, by farmers. Future self-service features available through the farmers.gov portal include the ability to report practice completion and request practice certification, request financial assistance, including submitting a program application, view and request application details, and upload and access their important conservation practice and contract documents.
