Hello friends,
It’s an important time of year for the Farm Service Agency. Ballots for this year’s county committee election were mailed to eligible voters Nov. 5. Voters must complete their ballots and return them to the Farm Service Agency county office by the close of business on Dec. 6. If mailed, ballots must be postmarked by midnight Dec. 6.
The election of agricultural producers to Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees is important to ALL farmers, whether beginning or long-established, with large or small operations.
It is crucial that every eligible producer participate in these elections because FSA county committees are a link between the agricultural community and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
County committee members are a critical component of the operations of FSA. They help deliver FSA farm programs at the local level. Farmers who serve on county committees help with the decisions necessary to administer the programs in their counties. They work to make FSA agricultural programs serve the needs of local producers.
FSA county committees operate within official regulations designed to carry out federal laws. County committee members apply their judgment and knowledge to make local decisions.
Who can vote?
Eligible voters must:
Be of legal voting age and have an interest in a farm or ranch as either of the following: an owner, operator, tenant or sharecropper, or a partner in a general partnership or member of a joint venture that has an interest in a farm as an owner, operator, tenant or sharecropper; or
Not of legal voting age, but supervises and conducts the farming operations on an entire farm; and
Eligible to participate in any FSA program that is provided by law, regardless of the status of funding.
Do your part, support your local FSA county committee by completing the election ballot and returning it to your local office by Dec. 6.
