12/02/05 County Committee election deadline

U.S.D.A. Farm Service Agency officials, even U.S.D.A. Secretary Mike Johanns himself, offered reminders earlier this week that eligible voters for local F.S.A. County Committee elections had until Monday, December 5th to have their ballots mailed and postmarked. So why is there such a push to get eligible voters to cast their ballots? One reason according to Marjorie Crooker of Oregon's F.S.A. state office is producers need a little reminder, as even the month of November can be a busy time for many growers and ranchers. CROOKER: We sent out an awful lot of ballots during County Committee election time, and sometimes it's a little discouraging because we don't get them all back. I know I have a lot of friends who are farmers who use the dashboard of their pick-up. And so sometimes the old ballot gets kind of hidden. F.S.A. County Committee elections are set up so eligible producers have about a month to cast ballots for candidates nominated to serve a three year term. Elections occur annually with about one third of Committee positions up for election each year. Eligible candidates are producers in the county they would serve, and have either participated in an F.S.A. related program or activity. But the question asked by some, especially those not familiar with the way F.S.A. works, is how exactly does a County Committee function? CROOKER: The main job of the County Committee sort of speak is to meet at the Farm Service Agency office once a month or once every other month and the County Executive Director or office manager goes over any office issues. Then they review any applicants for say a C.R.P. project or a C.R.E.P.P. project and there's certain programs that the County Committee approves and or they disapprove if the funds are not there. Another reason for the big push by both state F.S.A. and U.S.D.A. officials on this year's round of elections is a deliberate campaign to encourage more women and minorities to run for County Committee positions, and, according to national F.S.A. Executive Director Theresa Lassiter, participate actively in the F.S.A. process. LASSITER: And we want them to participate in their programs. They bring insight that won't be at the table if they're not there. So by them voting they have an opportunity to elect representation that serves them. Crooker says in her state, and others, the push for more women and minority candidates appears to be successful.