Farm Service Agency plans to host County Committee Election meeting

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency will host an informational meeting regarding the 2018 County Committee Election process on July 25 at 9 a.m. at the Caldwell-Hays-Comal County FSA office located at 1403A Blackjack St. in Lockhart. Producers, including minority, women and new farmers, are encouraged to attend.

The county committee nomination period began on June 15. Nomination forms must be postmarked or received by close of business Aug. 1.

For election purposes, counties are divided into local administrative areas (LAA). Each LAA nominates and elects one producer to serve a three-year term on the FSA county committee.

Each year, an election is held in an LAA where a committee member’s three-year term is expiring. For 2018, an election will be held in LAA 1, which includes Lockhart, Maxwell, Martindale and Niederwald, and in LAA 5, which includes all of Comal County.

“Farmers and ranchers in LAA 1 & 5 are urged to participate in this year’s county committee elections by nominating candidates by the Aug. 1 deadline,” Kraatz said. “County committees are unique to FSA and allow producers to have a voice on federal farm program implementation at the local level.”

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 LAA in which the person is a candidate.

Farmers and ranchers may nominate themselves or others. Organizations representing minorities and women also may nominate candidates. To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign an FSA-669A nomination form.

The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available on the FSA website.