FSA Farm Number Transfer After Death — Keeping USDA Program Eligibility

Every Federal Dollar Flows Through the Farm Number

The FSA farm number is the key that unlocks commodity payments, disaster assistance, conservation program contracts, and federal farm loans. If the estate does not properly notify the Farm Service Agency and complete the right paperwork, those payments stop — and some programs impose refund penalties for non-compliance.

Immediate Steps After the Operator Dies

Notify the local FSA county office as soon as practicable. This is the USDA Service Center in the county where the farm is located. Bring a certified copy of the death certificate.

File Form AD-2047 (Customer Data Worksheet) to update the FSA customer record. Ask the county office how the estate representative should be listed and what updates are needed for the farm number. Until the record is updated, the estate may miss program notifications or lose administrative access.

File Form FSA-325 (Application for Payment of Amounts Due Persons Who Have Died). This claims any outstanding program payments that were earned by the deceased before death — commodity payments, disaster assistance, conservation rental payments. These do not transfer automatically. If FSA-325 is not filed before the final distribution of payments for the crop year, the estate forfeits the money.

Program-Specific Requirements

ARC/PLC eligibility. The estate retains automatic eligibility for Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage payments for two program years after the operator's death. After that, the FSA county committee reviews whether the estate is still "actively engaged in farming." The estate must prove it is contributing physical capital, land, or equipment, while the personal representative or heirs contribute active labor or management. Updated CCC-901 and CCC-902 forms must be filed.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). If the farm has an active CRP contract, submit the CRP-1 Revision for successor-in-interest status. Under 7 CFR § 1410.51, the new owner or operator must become a successor within 60 days after transfer of an interest in, or right to occupy, the contracted land (or another period set by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)). If not, the contract terminates for the affected acreage, and the original participant must repay prior CRP payments plus interest and liquidated damages, unless CCC agrees otherwise. On a long-running CRP contract, this can amount to tens of thousands of dollars.

FSA farm loans. Notify the FSA Farm Loan Team promptly. If a successor wants to assume a direct FSA loan, ask about transfer-and-assumption servicing; Form FSA-2001 (Request for Direct Loan Assistance) includes that request. Keep scheduled payments current while the servicing office reviews the account.

Crop insurance. Federal crop insurance is administered by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), not FSA, but the two are linked through conservation compliance (Form AD-1026). The estate and any new operator must both have a valid AD-1026 on file to receive the federal premium subsidy, which covers 38–75% of the premium cost.

Getting a Farm Number for Inherited Land

If the deceased farmer's land passes to heirs who have never had their own FSA farm number, those heirs need to establish one to access any USDA programs.

For heirs with clear title (proper deeds, probate complete), the process is straightforward: visit the local FSA county office with the deed and apply for a farm number.

For heirs' property — land that passed intestate to multiple descendants without proper probate — the 2018 Farm Bill created alternative pathways. The FSA now accepts:

• Tax returns from the previous 5 years showing an undivided farming interest
• A tenancy-in-common agreement signed by a majority of co-owners
• A self-certification of general control of the land
• In UPHPA states, a court order verifying heirs' property status or a certification from the local recorder of deeds

The USDA also administers the Heirs' Property Relending Program, which provides loans through intermediary lenders to help families consolidate fractionated titles and resolve ownership and succession issues.

The Two-Year Clock

An active estate can receive FSA payments for up to two program years after the operator's death. After that, the county committee must determine annually that the estate is genuinely engaged in farming — not being kept open primarily to bypass payment limits or eligibility restrictions.

If the heirs plan to continue farming, the transition from "estate" to individual operator or entity should be completed within this window. If they plan to sell, the two-year period gives time to do so without losing interim program payments.

The Farm & Agricultural Estate Settlement Guide includes an FSA transition tracker with form-by-form deadlines and an agency communication log template.