FSA Urges Farmers to Vote for Representation

Farmers and ranchers who want local input on federal farm programs will have a little extra time to vote in the annual the USDA Farm Service Agency county committee elections.

As Washington Farm Service Agency Executive Director Judy Olson explains there was a printing error which caused a delay in all states' ballots being mailing out to farmers. So farmers will have more time to get their ballot in than the usual early December deadline. Olson says

Olson: "We are going passed December 2nd and we anticipate that the new ballots will be mailed out sometime in December with the new date of when they are actually due. So we are going past that. We caught this misprint and certainly we are apologizing for any inconvenience but it does gives me another opportunity to highlight how important participating in the county elections is."

To be eligible to vote, producers must participate or cooperate in any Farm Service Agency program and be of legal voting age.

Olson says this opportunity to provide direct feedback to how federal agencies operate is distinct.

Olson: "FSA is unique in the federal government that we have the ability for the producers to elect three to five person county committees to ensure fair and equable administration of our FSA programs."