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The largest used equipment inventory in the Mid-Atlantic is only a click away. Visit our website by clicking here or visit us at one of our 11 locations throughout MD, DE, VA and PA.
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Make a difference: Nominate and vote!
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The largest used equipment inventory in the Mid-Atlantic is only a click away. Visit our website by clicking here or visit us at one of our 11 locations throughout MD, DE, VA and PA.
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By Paul Hlubik
New Jersey Farm Service Agency
State Executive Director
7.01.2007
August 1 marks the deadline to submit your nomination forms for the 2008 local Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committee Elections.
This is in preparation for the casting of votes that will take place in November to fill any seats available on your county committee for 2008.
What does your county committee do, and why should you take part in voting?
A little history lesson: FSA county committees were first created in the 1930s as a way for federally operated programs to be overseen and implemented at the local county level.
Congress understood farms, farming practices and program needs in New Jersey differed from those in Oklahoma and the rest of the country, so they implemented a committee of local farmers, ranchers and landowners to oversee the operations of each county office and to hear the concerns and needs of their neighbor farmers.
Your county committee has more of an influence in FSA-administered programs than you might realize.
They are a direct link between your farm community and the Farm Service Agency, providing local input where needed.
Approximately once a month, your committee meets and makes decisions that directly affect and serve you as a participant in FSA programs.
Farmers who serve on committees help decide the kind of programs their counties will offer.
They make decisions on commodity price support loans and payments; they help establish crop yields and planting periods, based on local averages; they determine the approval of conservation programs; and they make informed executive determinations on incentive, indemnity and disaster payments for some commodities, and other farm disaster assistance.
Most importantly, they hear your opinions, they see you at the seed store or at the produce auction, and they know the weather patterns and market prices that concern you.
Their personal experiences and knowledge of your specific needs greatly influence the decisions they make for the committee; just as Congress envisioned it years ago.
The county committee also handles administrative functions within the county offices to ensure the accountability and integrity of your tax dollars. They hire and supervise the county executive director. They review general work and operation plans and evaluate office budgets.
They also hear your requests for reconsiderations or appeals of county-made decisions, and have the privilege of making educated recommendations to the state committee.
Anyone (producers, land owners) eligible to participate in local FSA programs, and of a legal voting age, may be a candidate for the county committee.
It is important that each local committee represent all of the farmers within the area that it serves.
A committee comprised of entirely grain farmers will not have knowledge of what a good pepper yield should be, and will therefore find it difficult to relate to vegetable-oriented programs in New Jersey, such as the Non-insurable Crop Disaster Program.
A diverse committee helps to ensure that everyone has a voice.
Minorities and women are strongly encouraged to participate in order to maintain a diverse perspective.
The election of responsible agricultural producers to FSA County Committees is important to all farmers and ranchers with large or small operations.
It is crucial that every eligible producer take part in this election because county committees are the direct link between the farm community and USDA’s Farm Service Agency.
It’s up to you, the voters, to nominate and elect committee members that will be your voice.
I strongly suggest that you visit your local county office to find out more about the county committee in your area, and to see if your area is up for re-election this year.
You can learn more about elections on www.fsa.usda.gov, and then click “News and Events,” and finally “County Committee Elections” on the right side of the page.
Nominate yourself or others in your area by Aug. 1, and look for your ballots in the mail after Nov. 2.
So get your nominations in ... then make sure you vote!