WASHINGTON, D.C. - Nominations are now being accepted for farmers and ranchers to serve on local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees. These committees make important decisions about how federal farm programs are adminis - tered locally. "Local voices matter, and agricultural produc - ers play an important role in shaping how federal farm programs serve their communities," said FSA Administrator Bill Beam. "With nominations now open for FSA county com -
mittees, producers have an opportunity to put Farm ers First by ensuring local farmers and ranchers have a voice in program delivery." Elections for commit -
tee members will occur in certain Local Administra -
tive Areas (LAA). LAAs are FSA committee elective
areas in a single county or multi-county jurisdic - tion and may include LAAs that are focused on an urban or suburban area. Agricultural producers may be nominated for can - didacy for the county com -
mittee if they participate or cooperate in a USDA pro - gram or reside in the LAA that is up for election this year. A cooperating producer is someone who has provid -
ed information about their farming or ranching oper - ation to FSA, even if they have not applied or received program benefits. Individuals may nom -
inate themselves or others and qualifying organiza -
tions may also nominate candidates. USDA encour - ages all eligible producers to nominate, vote and hold office. Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated members of the agriculture commu -
nity serve on FSA county committees. The commit - tees are made up of three to 11 members who serve three-year terms. Commit - tee members play a key role in how FSA delivers disaster recovery, conser - vation, commodity and price support programs, as well as making decisions on county office employ - ment and other agricultural issues. Producers should con - tact their local FSA office today to learn more about their county's election. To be considered, a producer must sign an FSA-669A nomina - tion form. Information about FSA county committee elec - tions are available at fsa. usda.gov/coc. All nomination forms for the 2026 election must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by the Aug. 3 deadline. Elec - tion ballots will be mailed to eligible voters in November 2026.
