Steve Peterson
Associate Administrator
Farm Service Agency
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Steven J. Peterson currently serves as the Associate Administrator for the Farm Service Agency. In this position he provides leadership for FSA and its mission to support agricultural production across America through a network of over 2,100 county and 51 state offices. Peterson began his Federal government career in Pennsylvania where he served as a county operations trainee. He later worked for FSA in Maryland as a county executive director and program specialist. For the past 25 years he has worked in the FSA National Office in Washington, D.C., serving as a program specialist, branch chief, and division director, where he developed multiple disaster programs and implemented numerous farm bills. Steve’s current role, Associate Administrator for FSA, provides leadership to over 10,000 FSA headquarter and field office employees. Peterson, oversees the implementation and deployment of all farm programs, which provided over $31 billion in fiscal year 2021, alone. In addition to the farm program delivery, Mr. Peterson oversees a farm loan portfolio of over $32 billion.A native of Maryland, Peterson farmed with his father his entire life, but has taken a hiatus since 2016. Peterson has three adult daughters; he and his wife live in Maryland.