Farmers and ranchers can now be nominated for the Farm Service Agency’s county committees, which assist the agency in managing commodity and conservation programs.
“Producers serving on FSA county committees play a critical role in the day-to-day operations of the agency, and they serve as the eyes and ears for the producers who elected them,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux.
County FSA committees are composed of 11 members who serve three-year terms. More than 7,700 ag producers are on committees across the country.
County committee duties include hiring the county executive director and adjudicating farmer appeals of FSA and Natural Resources Conservation Service technical determinations.
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Elections are held in local administrative areas (LAA) – county or multi-county jurisdictions that may focus on an urban or suburban area. A new GIS locator can assist producers in finding their LAA.
Qualifying nominations will include agriculture producers who participate in a USDA program and reside in an LAA that’s up for election.
Urban county committees were created after the 2018 farm bill. Dedicated to the agricultural needs of their areas, the new committees promote urban and indoor agriculture production in addition to doing work in the areas of food access, community compost, and food waste reduction.
Among the cities with urban county committees: Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Oakland, and Portland, Oregon.
Nominations for 2023 county committees elections must be submitted by Aug. 1. Ballots will be sent to eligible voters after Nov. 6.
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