Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that many Farm Service Agency offices will reopen temporarily over the next few days to perform limited services for farmers and ranchers. The USDA recalled about 2,500 FSA employees to open offices on Thursday, January 17th and Friday, January 18th, in addition to Tuesday, January 22nd, during normal business hours. The offices will be closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, January 21st. In almost half the Farm Service Agency locations, FSA staff will be available to assist agricultural producers with existing farm loans and to ensure the agency provides the 1099 tax documents to borrowers by the Internal Revenue Service’s deadline. “Until Congress sends President Trump an appropriations bill he will sign, we are doing our best to minimize the impact of the partial federal funding lapse on America’s agricultural producers,” says Perdue. “We’re bringing back part of our FSA team to help producers with existing farm loans. Meanwhile, we continue to examine our legal authorities to ensure we are providing services to our customers to the greatest possible extent during the shutdown.” Information on which FSA offices will be open during the three-day window can be found on the USDA website, the USDA Facebook page, and on the USDA Twitter account.