11/14/06 FSA county committee elections

Farmers, ranchers and rural landowners across the state should have received a ballot so they can vote for Farm Service Agency county committee members. Idaho FSA state director Wayne Hammon says eligible voters have until December 4th to return their ballot. HAMMON "In most counties only a third of the county committee is up for election. Every county is divided into what we call an LAA, that's a Local Administrative Area, so they are neighbors or areas of the county." Hammon says the FSA county committees are unique in government. The local people make the decisions about government programs such as disaster relief. HAMMON "The county committees are the ones who tell us what the conditions were in their county for that year. They also get to resolve a lot of the local issues. If somebody has a problem with the way the government is doing something they can meet with their committee and the committee helps reconcile those issues. So it's just tremendously important with the way we run our government aid programs." If you feel you should receive a ballot but you don't get one by Wednesday contact your local FSA county office. They also can answer any of your questions about the election itself. Newly elected committee members take office on January first. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott