FSA County Committee nominations begin Monday

Farmer and rancher candidate nominations will begin Monday for local Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees. The nomination period continues through Aug. 3, with elections taking place in the fall. The election for Florence County will be in Local Administrative Area 2.

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 in which he or she is a candidate.

Producers may nominate themselves or others, and 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 valuable information about FSA county committee elections are available online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. Nomination forms for the 2009 election must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by close of business on Aug. 3.

FSA will mail ballots to eligible voters beginning Nov. 6. The voted ballots are due back to the local county office either via mail or in person by Dec. 7. Newly elected committee members and alternates take office Jan. 1.