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Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Wednesday, April 02, 2025
USDA's Farm Service Agency said Monday it is accepting nominees for upcoming elections to fill county committees, which help determine local administration of federal farm programs.
USDA's Equity Commission issued a final report Thursday that includes a recommendation for reforms to commodity programs to address “historical inequities and discrimination” in the way farm subsidies are distributed.
Farmers and ranchers looking to serve their community next year can now be nominated for the Farm Service Agency’s county committees. This year, the Department of Agriculture is streamlining the process with the addition of a GIS tool for producers to make nominations and vote.
Agriculture Department leaders didn’t officially receive a slate of interim recommendations from an Equity Commission convened last year until Tuesday, but the department says many of the suggestions are already in the works.
USDA’s Equity Commission has taken a major step toward issuing a set of recommendations it says would address racial discrimination and make the implementation of USDA programs equitable across the department.
USDA’s Equity Commission unanimously approved nearly three dozen recommendations Thursday addressing a swath of issues including the diversity of county committees, funding for minority-serving institutions, and the way USDA handles civil rights complaints.
Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux told lawmakers Thursday that he would give "due consideration" to an Equity Commission recommendation to study replacing FSA's county committee system, but he said the local panels are “integral” to the agency’s delivery of programs.
