Urban and innovative agriculture producers will be able to more easily participate in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs as a result of acreage reporting improvements. These improvements, implemented by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, provide more flexibility for reporting acreage on a smaller scale and identifying innovative planting practices like multi-level planting or vertical farming practices.

  
An acreage report documents crops and where they are grown on a farm or ranch along with the intended use of the crop. Filing an accurate and timely acreage report for all crops and land uses, including failed acreage and prevented planted acreage, can prevent the loss of program benefits.

  
“Through USDA’s urban agriculture initiative and the opening of USDA offices within urban settings, our Farm Service Agency offices are more frequently engaging with urban and innovative producers,” said Zach Ducheneaux, FSA Administrator. “Filing an acreage report is an important requirement to receive many USDA program benefits, and our small-scale agricultural producers, including urban and innovative producers, will notice a simpler acreage reporting process that better reflects the scope of their unique operations.” 

Acreage Reporting Improvements 
FSA’s acreage reporting software previously allowed acreage to be reported down to .0001 acres, approximately a four-square foot area. Producers will now be able to report acreage-based crops at a minimum size of .000001 acre, approximately a 2.5-inch by 2.5-inch area.

    
Additional improvements will distinguish alternate growing methods such as crops grown within multiple levels of a building, or crops grown using multi-level or multi-layer growing structures such as panels or towers within a container system. This change allows the distinction of vertical farming practices. Urban and innovative producers will also have the option to report plant inventory along with their acreage-based report, allowing producers to better report the full scope of their operation.

  
Producers can contact FSA at their local USDA Service Center for acreage reporting deadlines that are specific to their county.       
USDA Urban Service Centers 
USDA is committed to working with farms of all sizes and in all locations, including those in urban areas. USDA works with agricultural producers through a network of more than 2,300 Service Centers nationwide. To better serve urban farmers, USDA is establishing 17 new Urban Service Centers.

    
The Urban Service Centers are staffed by FSA and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employees and offer farm loan, conservation, disaster assistance and risk management programs.

 
To find exact locations and contact information for these Urban Service Centers or to learn how to prepare for a USDA Service Center appointment, producers can visit farmers.gov/your-business/urban-growers/urban-service-centers.

    
For questions, producers should call their FSA county office. Urban operations that are not located near one of the Urban Service Centers can contact one of the more than 2,300 Service Centers across the country by visiting farmers.gov/service-locator.