|
 Elections are occurring in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA)
for these committee members who make important decisions about
how federal farm programs are administered locally. Producers
and landowners must return ballots to their local FSA county
office or have their ballotsbe postmarked by December 5, 2022,
in order for those ballots to be counted.
Producers must participate or cooperate in an FSA program to be
eligible to vote in the county committee election. A cooperating
producer is someone who has provided information about their
farming or ranching operation but may not have applied or
received FSA program benefits. Additionally, producers who are
not of legal voting age but supervise and conduct farming
operations for an entire farm are eligible to vote in these
elections.
Each committee has from three to five elected members who serve
three-year terms, and at least one seat representing an LAA is
up for election each year. Ballots must in the mail or delivered
in person by close of business December 5, 2022, to be counted.
Newly elected committee members will take office January 1,
2023.
Producers can find out if their LAA is up for election and if
they are eligible to vote by contacting their local FSA county
office. Eligible voters who do not receive a ballot in the mail
can request one from their local FSA county office.
Visit farmers.gov/service-locator to find your local USDA
Service Center and fsa.usda.gov/elections for more information.
Urban and Suburban County Committees
The 2018 Farm Bill directed USDA to establish county committees
specifically focused on urban agriculture.
Urban committee members are nominated and elected to serve by
local urban producers in the same jurisdiction. Urban county
committee members will provide outreach to ensure urban
producers understand USDA programs and serve as the voice of
other urban producers and assist in program implementation that
support the needs of the growing urban community.
[to top of second column] |
Urban and suburban county committees in the following
cities will hold elections this year: Phoenix, Atlanta, New
Orleans, Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis, Albuquerque, Cleveland,
Portland, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Richmond. These elections
will serve local urban producers in the same jurisdiction. A fact
sheet on the urban county committee election and a list of eligible
cities can be found at fsa.usda.gov/elections.
Over the summer, USDA announced six new urban county committees in
Chicago, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Los Angeles, New York City, and
Oakland. The nomination period for these locations began October 21
and will end on December 2, 2022. Elections will be held from
January 3 through January 31, 2023. Learn more at farmers.gov/urban.
More Information
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive
ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming
America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local
and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers,
ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all
communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers
and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices,
making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy
capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the
Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce
more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.
[ILLINOIS / USDA-FPAC]
 |
