OXFORD – Laura Rand, Oxford County executive director for USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Oxford, announced that elections for FSA’s County Committees began Monday, Nov. 8.

“FSA County Committee members make important decisions on how federal farm programs fit the needs of Oxford county producers,” said Rand. “So it is vital that all eligible farmers and ranchers vote in this year’s election to ensure that these committees represent the interests of all producers in a community.”

Ballots must be returned to FSA offices or post-marked by Dec. 6. All ballots will be counted publicly by Dec. 13. The last day to appeal an election is Dec. 28. Newly elected committee members and alternates take office Jan. 1.

Voting ballots have been mailed to eligible producers. Producers who have not received ballots can obtain ballots at their local FSA offices. Eligible voters must be of legal voting age and have an interest in a farm or ranch as an owner, operator, tenant, or sharecropper, or they must participate or cooperate in FSA programs. A county or area served by the county committee is divided into local administrative areas. Each LAA is represented by one member on the County Committee. A person may vote in only one LAA in each county or area.

FSA County Committees make decisions on commodity price support loans and payments; establishments of allotments and yields; conservation programs; incentive, indemnity, and disaster payments for some commodities; and other farm disaster assistance. The FSA County Committee system, established in the 1930s, gives local farmers and ranchers a much-needed say in how farm programs are administered at the grass-roots level.