FSA is Accepting Nominations to local FSA County Committees
The nomination period for local Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees began Sunday, June 15, 2014. To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, 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 local administrative area where the person is nominated. Farmers and ranchers may nominate themselves or others. Organizations representing minorities and women may also nominate candidates. To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign the nomination form, FSA-669A. The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. Nomination forms for the 2014 election must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by close of business on Aug. 1, 2014. Elections will take place this fall. For election purposes, counties are divided into local administrative areas, or LAAs. Each LAA contributes one producer to serve a three-year term on the Farm Service Agency County Committee. Most counties are divided into three LAAs. Combined counties may have three to five LAAs. Each year, an election is held in an LAA where a committee member's three-year term is expiring. In counties with three LAAs, one seat is up for election. In combined counties, two seats may be up for election. This varies among counties. This year an election will be held in LAA 3, which includes the communities of Barnett Crossroads, Stanley Crossroads, McCall, Moyeville, Foshee, Flomaton, Pollard, Brewton, East Brewton, Appleton, Bradley, and Damascus in Escambia County. While FSA county committees do not approve or deny farm ownership or operating loans, they make decisions on disaster and conservation programs, emergency programs, commodity price support loan programs and other agricultural issues. Members serve three-year terms. Nationwide, there are about 7,800 farmers and ranchers serving on FSA county committees. Committees consist of three to 11 members that are elected by eligible producers. FSA will mail ballots to eligible voters beginning Nov. 3, 2014. Ballots are due back to the local county office either via mail or in person by Dec. 1, 2014. Newly elected committee members and alternates take office on Jan. 1, 2015. Escambia County FSA Holds County Committee Election Informational Meeting USDA's Farm Service Agency, in Escambia County will conduct an informational meeting regarding the 2014 County Committee Election process on July 2 at 10:00 a.m. Producers, including minority, women, and beginning farmers, are encouraged to attend this meeting and participate in the FSA 2014 COC Election. Persons with disabilities who require accommodations to attend or participate in this meeting should contact Karin J Knowles at 251-867-3185 Ext. 2, or Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339, and Karin.knowles@al.usda.gov by July 1, 2014. Alabama's Escambia County FSA Announces Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) Sign-up The Escambia County Farm Service Agency (FSA) Office will accept applications under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) beginning June 23, 2014 through close of business July 25, 2014. This sign-up is for farmers and ranchers who received farmland damages due to recent tornadoes and flooding. Farms and ranches suffering severe damage may be eligible for assistance under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) administered by the Escambia Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Office if the damage: - will be so costly to rehabilitate that Federal assistance is or will be needed to return the land to productive agricultural use
- is unusual and is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area
- affects the productive capacity of the farmland
- will impair or endanger the land.
A producer qualifying for ECP assistance may receive cost-share levels not to exceed 75 percent of the eligible cost of restoration measures. No producer is eligible for more than $200,000 cost sharing per natural disaster occurrence. The following types of measures may be eligible: - removing debris from farmland
- grading, shaping, or releveling severely damaged farmland
- restoring permanent fences
- restoring conservation structures and other similar installations.
To be eligible for assistance, practices must not be started until all of the following are met: - an application for cost-share assistance has been filed
- the local FSA County Committee (COC) or its representative has conducted an onsite inspection of the damaged area
- the Agency responsible for technical assistance, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), has made a needs determination, which may include cubic yards of earthmoving, etc., required for rehabilitation.
For more information, contact Karin J. Knowles, County Executive Director, at 251-867-3185 Ext. 2 by phone and Karin.knowles@al.usda.gov by email Questions?
Please contact Karin J. Knowles, County Executive Director, at 251-867-3185, karin.knowles@al.usda.gov or for Farm Loans, please contact John Dorrill, Farm Loan Manager, at 334-984-5581, John.Dorrill@al.usda.gov . |
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