USDA has declared that farmers and ranchers can now submit nominations to be elected to USDA councils on country farms. USDA photo.
Washington Local U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency county committees are currently accepting nominations for farmers and ranchers. Important decisions on the local administration of federal farm programs are made by these bodies.
By Friday, August 1, all nomination forms for the upcoming election must be received at the local FSA office or postmarked.
Being a member of an FSA county committee gives producers a special chance to influence choices about local farm programs and make sure FSA policies benefit producers at the county level. Administrator Bill Beam of the FSA said. Now that nominations are being accepted, you have the opportunity to help USDA fulfill its mission of putting Farmers First by effectively providing the financial assistance that farmers and ranchers in your community deserve and elevating their voices.
Some Local Administrative Areas will hold committee member elections. LAAs, which can be either urban or suburban in focus, are elective areas for FSA committees operating in a single county or a multi-county jurisdiction.
A geographic information system locator tool is available at fsa.usda.gov/elections for producers interested in sitting on the FSA county committee. Producers can also contact their local FSA office to find out if their LAA is up for election.
Candidates for the county committee may be agricultural producers if they:
- Participate or cooperate in a USDA program.
- Reside in the LAA that is up for election this year.
Even if they haven’t filed for or been awarded program benefits, a cooperating producer is someone who has given FSA information about their farming or ranching activity.
Nominees may be proposed by individuals, others, or by organizations that meet the requirements. All qualified producers are encouraged by USDA to run for office, cast a ballot, and be elected.
FSA county committees are made up of over 7,700 committed individuals of the agriculture community nationwide. Three to eleven people, each with a three-year tenure, make up the committees. In addition to making decisions about county office employment and other agricultural matters, committee members are crucial to FSA’s disaster recovery, conservation, commodity, and price support programs.
Urban, indoor, and other new agriculture production methods are promoted by FSA urban county committees. Local urban producers under the same jurisdiction nominate and elect members of the urban committee. Members of urban county committees help implement programs that meet the requirements of expanding urban communities, act as a voice for other urban producers, and conduct outreach to make sure urban producers are aware of USDA programs.
You may see a list of the 27 cities having urban county committees at fsa.usda.gov/electionsandfarmers.gov/urban.
To register and learn how to participate in their county’s election, including whether their LAA is up for election this year, producers should get in touch with their local FSA office right now. A producer must be registered and sign an FSA-669Anomination form in order to be taken into consideration. You may find this form and more details on FSA county committee elections at fsa.usda.gov/elections.
By the deadline of August 1, 2025, all nomination paperwork for the 2025 election must be received to the local USDA Service Center or postmarked. In November 2025, eligible voters will get ballots by mail.
