Ballots

I was shocked by the low voter turnout in the mid term elections. I see all these bumper stickers that say if you don't vote, then don't complain. How true that is. The same thing is true if you are a farmer or rancher. By now you have received your County committee elections ballots and you have until December 1 to vote and return the ballots to your County FSA office. Here is Judy Olson, State Executive Director for USDA's Farm Service Agency to remind you how important this is. "This is a really important opportunity for farmers and ranchers around the country. Serving as an FS a County committee member provides an important link between local producers and USDA. Farmers and ranchers who are elected to the county committees help us deliver our FSA programs at the local level. This means that they can use their knowledge and judgments to make decisions on commodity support programs, conservation programs, insurance and crop disaster type programs and emergency programs and eligibility. The other big role that County committees play is that it is the only area in the federal government where appeals can be heard from farmers and ranchers if they believe that they have not been treated correctly or perhaps that they were in eligible because of a late signature and those kinds of things.