Farm Agency urges farmers, ranchers to vote
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News from the USDA Montana Farm Service Agency
WASHINGTON, D.C. — USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Juan M. Garcia announced that the FSA County Committee Elections began Dec. 20, with the mailing of ballots to eligible voters. The deadline to return the ballots to local FSA offices is Jan. 17.
Producers have been instructed to destroy the FSA County Committee Election ballots (FSA-669’s) mailed on Nov. 4, 2013. The new ballots mailed to producers will have the word “corrected” printed on the outside of the mailing, the ballot itself, and the return envelope. Producers must complete and return the corrected FSA-669 to have their vote counted.
Eligible voters who do not receive a ballot in the coming week can obtain one from their local USDA Service Center. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than Jan. 17. Newly elected committee members and their alternates will take office Feb. 18.
Farmers and ranchers elected to county committees help deliver FSA programs at the local level, decide on commodity price support programs; conservation programs; incentive indemnity and disaster programs for some commodities; emergency programs and eligibility.
To be an eligible voter, farmers and ranchers must participate or cooperate in an FSA program. A person who is not of legal voting age, but supervises and conducts the farming operations of an entire farm may also be eligible to vote. Agricultural producers in each county submitted candidate nominations during the nomination period, which ended on Aug. 1, 2013.
More information on county committees, such as the 2013 fact sheet and brochures, can be found on the FSA website at: www.fsa.usda.gov/elections or at a local USDA Service Center.
