FSA and USDA Loan Programs

Colorado FSA’s 37 Service Centers and 9 Farm Loan Teams: How to Find Yours

Knowing which office serves your county is the first step in any federal farm loan. The headline counts the service centers and loan teams, so we show you how to verify them and find yours.

Service centers and farm loan teams: the difference

A service center is the local office where producers sign up for programs, report acres and get day-to-day help. Farm loan staff may work from a service center or serve several counties from a hub, which is the idea behind loan teams. The numbers in the headline are as reported, and the current directory at the Farm Service Agency is the place to confirm them.

Do not assume your nearest town has the loan staff. A rancher on the Eastern Plains may find the loan officer covers several counties and visits on set days. Ask when staff are in your office, and book a time.

If your operation spans more than one county, ask whether you work with one office or two. Records for acreage reporting and loan files may sit in different places, and knowing that early avoids duplicate paperwork and missed messages.

How to find your office

Use the office locator on Farmers.gov or the FSA site. Enter your county, and note the address, phone number and hours. Then call before you drive. Winter weather and staff schedules can change who is in the office, and a call can save a long trip over a mountain pass.

Write down the name of your farm loan contact, if one is listed, and a backup. If you live near a county line, ask which office covers your land, since service areas can follow county boundaries in ways that surprise people.

A quick tip for remote ranchers: ask whether staff can accept documents by secure email or scan, and how they want them labeled. Small habits like that can save weeks on a file, and they cost nothing to adopt.

• County name and parcel location
• Office address and hours
• Farm loan staff contact
• Backup phone number

What to bring to a first visit

First visits go better with paperwork. Bring photo ID, your entity papers if you operate through an LLC or partnership, a list of land you own or lease, recent tax returns, a current balance sheet and a summary of your production. You may not need all of it, but staff can tell you what applies.

Bring questions too. Ask which loan products fit your goal and what the timeline looks like. The FSA farm loan information pages explain direct and guaranteed options in general terms, and a quick read first makes your visit more productive.

Bring a short written story of your operation too: what you raise, how long you have done it, what you want to finance and why. One page is plenty. A loan officer who reads it before the meeting can spend the meeting on your questions.

Direct loans, guaranteed loans and your lender

FSA offers loans directly and also guarantees loans made by commercial lenders. In the guaranteed case, you apply with a bank or credit union, and the lender works with FSA. Ask your local bank whether it participates, and compare offers. This farm money guide defines common terms.

Cooperative lenders in the Farm Credit system are another option to compare. Sit down with at least two sources before choosing, and have each give you a written estimate of costs.

Ask about timelines for each route. A guaranteed loan runs through the bank first, so the bank's timeline matters, while a direct loan runs through the agency queue. Neither is automatically faster, and seasonal demand changes both.

Making the most of local relationships

Staff at small county offices often know every operation in the area. Be courteous, be prepared, and respond quickly when asked for documents. A rancher who returns paperwork promptly is easier to help.

If the office is far, ask about phone or email options, and check whether appointments can be arranged. Other help sits close by: CSU Extension has county agents, and the Colorado Department of Agriculture lists state contacts. See also rural life resources for broader community help.

Over at farm.FM, the agribusiness section covers the money side of agriculture.

Verify, then plan

Offices move, merge and change hours. Confirm everything on the official site before you travel. This site is independent, not affiliated with USDA, and not a lender, and nothing here is financial advice.

For a lighter look at county office life, see a farm.FM story about the county office. And when you want economics context, ranching stories at farm.FM covers it. Once you have your office and contact, mark your calendar and begin gathering records.

Sources and further reading

• USDA Farm Service Agency: FSA farm programs and loans
• Farmers.gov: USDA one-stop site for producers
• FSA Farm Loans: FSA direct, guaranteed, microloan and emergency loan information
• Farm Credit: cooperative agricultural lending network
• CSU Extension: Colorado State extension
• Colorado Department of Agriculture: state agriculture agency

Ask locally: Call your county FSA service center to confirm which loan staff cover your land and when they are in the office.

General education only, not financial, legal or tax advice, and Colorado Rancher Loan Guide is not a lender. Rates, terms and deadlines change, so confirm current details with the lender or agency.