VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE

Farmers

What is the Election Timeline?

PA-1774 Revised May 2005

June: FSA offices begin accepting nominations.

August: Final date to return or postmark 

nomination forms.

November: Ballots are mailed to eligible voters.

December: Committee elections are conducted.

January: Committee members and alternates take 

office.

 

FSA shares this information with local or State 

groups that are interested in increasing minority 

access to FSA programs. For more information, 

visit your local USDA Service Center or online at 

www.fsa.usda.gov. 

Vote Breakdown

Farmers

Vote for Your Local FSA

County Committee Members

Serving

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its 

programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, 

disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental 

status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, 

reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any 

public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of 

program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact 

USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a 

complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call 

1-800-795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider and employer.

More than

8,000 County

Committee

members serve in

more than 2,300

offices nationwide.

Roughly one-third

of these seats are

up for election

each year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm 

Service Agency (FSA) urges eligible farmers and 

ranchers to participate and vote in their local County 

Committee elections. Farmers and ranchers of legal 

voting age may vote and run for office if they are 

participating or cooperating in an FSA program. 

A strong response to the entire committee election 

process gives landowners, farmers, and ranchers a 

better chance of having their opinions and ideas 

expressed in the community, throughout FSA, and 

throughout the Nation. 

County Committees

A plurality (most votes) not a majority 

(50 percent plus one vote) determines 

who is elected. Election to a County 

Committee position is determined as 

follows:

• Most Votes: Three-year term on the

 County Committee;

• Second Most Votes: Three-year

 term as first alternate to a committee 

 member; and

• Third Most Votes: Three-year term

 as second alternate to a committee

 member.
Beginning each June, nominations will be accepted

at USDA Service Centers. Individuals may 

nominate candidates for the County Committee

from a list of voters maintained at their local FSA 

office who are eligible to serve in the LAA holding

an election.

• Names for candidacy (nominations) are 

 submitted using an official FSA nomination 

 form. Nomination forms are available at local 

 USDA FSA offices and on the FSA Web site: 

 www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/elections 

• Candidates may nominate themselves or be 

 nominated by others;

• Nomination forms must be submitted to the 

 county office or be postmarked on or before the 

 closing date of the nomination period; and

• Nomination forms must be signed by the 

 nominee (whether self-nominated or nominated 

 by someone else).

What Are County Committees? What Kinds of Decisions Do Members

Help With?

When and Where Is Sign-up for

County Committee Nominations?

More than 8,000 elected members serve on 

County Committees that meet in more than 

2,300 USDA Service Centers nationwide. 

Committee members, consisting of farmers 

and ranchers, help deliver FSA programs in 

their local farming communities. Members 

meet approximately once a month, 

depending on the tasks at hand. The 

committee may call a special meeting to 

respond to an unexpected situation such as 

a natural disaster.

A County Committee is composed of three

to five elected members from local 

administrative areas (LAA), each member 

serving a 3-year term. One-third of these 

seats are up for election each year. County 

Committees may also have one or more 

appointed advisors to further represent the 

local interests of socially disadvantaged 

farmers and ranchers. 

USDA is committed to increasing the 

participation of all farmers and ranchers on 

the FSA County Committees, with an 

emphasis on socially disadvantaged farmers

and ranchers, a group including African 

Americans, Native Americans, Alaska 

Natives, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders,

other minorities, and women. 

FSA County Committees operate within official 

regulations that are designed to carry out Federal 

farm programs. Committee members apply their 

judgment, experience, and knowledge when 

making local decisions and are involved with FSA 

decisions on:

• Producer appeals;

• Commodity price support loans and payments;

• Yields;

• Conservation programs; 

• Incentive, indemnity, and disaster payments for 

 commodities; and 

• Other farm disaster assistance.

Who Can Be a Candidate?

Producers elect producers to County Committees. 

The following are some of the requirements for 

being a candidate to serve on a County Committee:

• Be of legal voting age; 

• Live in the LAA holding an election; and

• Participate or cooperate in a program 

 administered by FSA.

For a complete list of the eligibility requirements, 

see the FSA fact sheet titled “FSA County 

Committee Election - Eligibility to Vote and Hold 

Office as a County Committee Member” available 

online at www.fsa.usda.gov or at your USDA 

Service Center.

Who Can Vote?

Agricultural producers of legal voting age can vote

if they participate or cooperate in any FSA program. 

Check with your USDA Service Center or on the 

FSA Web site for more information on voting

requirements. Voting eligibility is not limited by the

size of operation or type of production.

What Is the Voting Process?

In early November, ballots are mailed to all eligible 

voters. Eligible voters can also pick up ballots at 

their local FSA office. The deadline for voting is the 

end of the day of the first Monday in December. The 

ballots are counted within 7 calendar days after the 

voting deadline. The public is given a 

10-calendar-day advance notice of the ballot 

counting, which is open to the public. 

Why Run for Office?

Committee members are local 

agricultural producers responsible for 

the fair and equitable administration of FSA farm 

programs in their counties and are accountable to 

the Secretary of Agriculture. By being elected, you 

become part of local decisionmaking that may help 

national decisionmaking.