FSA election results announced

The election for positions on the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Committee in Bourbon County has now been completed. The election was accomplished with a ballot listing this year's candidates being mailed to all eligible voters shortly after Nov. 1.

Dec. 3 was the deadline for returning completed ballots. Ballots were then counted by the sitting committee members on Dec. 6.

The Bourbon County position included the northeastern townships of Timberhill, Freedom, Osage, Mill Creek, and Scott north of U.S. Highway 54. Beth Snyder was elected to the three-year regular committee position. Elected to the alternate positions, also three-year terms, were Donnie Brown and Brian Snyder.

Congratulations to all these candidates for their willingness to participate in this election, and to serve their farmer/rancher friends and neighbors through the FSA Committee.

FSA committees are a critical component of the day-to-day operations of the Farm Service Agency. They help to administer USDA farm programs at the local level. Farmers who serve on committees provide input concerning the kinds of programs their counties will have available and how they will operate. They endeavor to make FSA agricultural programs fit the needs of local producers.

Statistics show that, over the last five years, a total of nearly 1,200 different Bourbon County farm producers have received benefits through at least one USDA program.

Committees make decisions on 1) commodity price support loans and loan deficiency payments; 2) establishment of farm program allotments, yields, and marketing quotas as needed; 3) monitoring compliance with all USDA programs including crop insurance; 4) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and other conservation efforts as needed; 5) incentive, indemnity, and disaster programs for livestock and other crops; and 6) other farm disaster assistance as applicable.

This coming year the added challenge of either no farm bill or a very belatedly enacted farm bill will be launched out to local offices for action eventually. So, 2013 is shaping up to be a year like no other for FSA Committees.

FSA committees operate within official regulations designed to implement federal laws. Members strive to relate their judgment and knowledge of local situations in applying these federal regulations.

Anyone with an interest in a farm or ranch as operator, tenant, sharecropper, or landowner can be eligible to participate in USDA programs, and can also be eligible to serve on the FSA committee. Committee members are currently involved in the challenging process of completing the provisions of the last farm bill, finishing disaster program activity from 2011 and 2012. Good luck FSA committee members ... and thanks for your efforts.

No person shall be denied the right to either vote in an FSA Committee election or participate in USDA programs because of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.

Editor's Note: Doug Niemeir is the county executive director for the USDA/Farm Service Agency. He may be reached by emailing him at Douglas.Niemeir@ks.usda.gov.