We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Submitted by Tracy Harshman
Tracy Harshman, County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director, reminds farmers and landowners that FSA soliciting nominating petitions from Blaine County Ag producers interested in serving on the FSA County Committee.
The county committee nomination period began on June 15, 2016. Nomination forms must be postmarked or received in the Blaine County FSA Office by close of business on Aug. 1, 2016.
For election purposes, counties are divided into local administrative areas (LAA). Each LAA nominates and elects one producer to serve a three-year term on the FSA County Committee. The LAA election this year is for Blaine County producers whose farm is north of the Milk River LAA #2).
“Farmers and ranchers in LAA # 2 are urged to participate in this year’s county committee elections by nominating candidates by the August 1, 2016 deadline,” said Harshman. “County Committees are unique to FSA and allow producers to have a voice on federal farm program implementation at the local level.”
To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election, reside in the county and have an agricultural operation in the local administrative area (LAA) in which the person is a candidate.
Farmers and ranchers may nominate themselves or others. Organizations representing minorities and women also may nominate candidates. To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign an FSA-669A nomination form. The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. Nomination forms must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by close of business on Aug. 1, 2016.
Nationwide, there are approximately 7,800 farmers and ranchers serving on FSA county committees. These individuals make decisions on disaster and conservation programs, emergency programs, commodity price support loan programs and other agricultural issues. Committees consist of three to 11 members that are elected by eligible producers.
Persons with disabilities who require accommodations to attend or participate in this meeting should contact Tracy Harshman at 406-357-2320 ext. 2, or Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
