FSA accepting committee nominations

Nomination of farmer and rancher candidates for Farm Service Agency county committees continues through Aug. 1, with elections slated for the fall.

"I encourage all producers to participate in the county committee election process by nominating candidates by the Aug. 1 deadline," said Mark Tays, executive director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Lampasas/Burnet County FSA office.

"We are counting on as much participation as possible, because county committees are an important link between the agriculture community and the U.S. Department of Agriculture," Tays added. "We have seen a trend in recent years of increased nominations of minority and women producers, and we hope that trend will continue."

The number of minority and women farmers and ranchers nominated nationwide as county committee candidates increased 35 percent between 2003 and 2006. In addition, the number of African- American producers nominated tripled during the same period.

FSA county committees -- which consist of three to five members elected by eligible producers -- make decisions about disaster, conservation, emergency amd commodity price support loan programs and address other agricultural issues.

More than 7,800 farmers and ranchers in the United States serve on FSA county committees.

To be eligible to serve, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the administrative area in which the person is a candidate.

Producers may nominate themselves, and organizations representing minorities and women can nominate candidates. To become a nominee, individuals must sign form FSA-669A.

Forms and other information about county committee elections are available at fsa.usda.gov.

On the Web site, visitors can click on "News & Events" then "County Committee Elections."

Nomination forms for the 2008 election must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by the close of business Aug. 1.

FSA will mail ballots to producers beginning Nov. 3. Ballots are due to the local office either via mail or in person by Dec. 1.

Newly elected committee members and alternates take office Jan. 1, 2009.

For more information on FSA county committee nominations, contact the Lampasas/Burnet County office at 556-5572, ext. 2.