For Immediate Release                                                                                                                Contact: Dennis Kuhlengel (618) 243-5963

NAFEC Lists Recommendations to Obama Transition Team and Incoming 111th Congress

FSA Farmer Committee Organization Announces Priorities for 2009

WASHINGTON (RuralWire), Jan. 5, 2009 – Dennis Kuhlengel, President of the National Association of Farmer Elected Committees (NAFEC) announced his organization’s 2009 priorities for the Barack Obama Presidential Transition Team and the new 111th Congress being sworn in this week.

In a document sent to the PTT last month (see attached), NAFEC listed four major priorities for the coming year, including;

·        A continued moratorium on the closure of Farm Service Agency County offices,

·        A reversal of the continuing erosion of FSA County Committee authority,

·        Expansion of County Office Committee membership including proper minority representation, and

·        Consideration of a pending Farm Service Agency organizational study.

“NAFEC identified several priorities for the coming year including ensuring minority representation on FSA county committees, making certain that no critical county FSA county offices are unnecessarily closed and our offer to contribute advice on a pending organizational study underway at FSA,” stated Kuhlengel.  “We look forward to working with President Obama, Secretary Vilsack and the new Congress.”

The National Association of Farmer Elected Committees (NAFEC), an organization composed of and led by farmers, nominated and elected by farmers, and serving all farmers in each of their county USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices

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Policy Recommendations to the

Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team

On behalf of the

The National Association of Farmer Elected Committees

December 2008

Farm Service Agency County Offices

Since farm programs continue to become more bureaucratic and complicated with each new farm bill, there should be no more closings of county Farm Service Agency offices, no reductions in FSA staff and no reductions in FSA staff compensation until such time that farm programs are greatly simplified. FSA’s ageing and antiquated computer and communications systems should be replaced and updated to meet the current challenges faced by FSA staff in the delivery of farm, conservation, credit and disaster programs.

Erosion of FSA County Committee Authority

The legacy and history of the Farm Service Agency is that it is one of the most democratic agencies in the federal government.  This fact is due in no small part to the system established by the Franklin Roosevelt Administration which to this day requires farmers in most counties to nominate and elect actual farmers to serve on the FSA County Office Committee (COC). These farmer nominated and elected committees have, for over seven decades, selected and hired COC staff and made critical decisions on farm programs, conservation, farm credit and disaster programs.

Over the past decade, FSA COCs have experienced an accelerated erosion of their authority to facilitate FSA programs from the grassroots’ level.  There has been a continual shift from the COC to the FSA District Directors and the FSA State offices, including;

·        Approval of FSA County Executive Director (CED) appraisals,

·        Approval of FSA COC staff time and attendance,

·        Supervision of FSA COC staff,

·        Centralization of farm program, farm loan and administrative payments,

·        Leasing authority, which has now been transferred to the National Office.

Any and all of these issues have slowed and complicated all county FSA processes dramatically and further complicated the process of program delivery.  These sorts of centralization of procedures have been tried in the past and have always been found to be much less efficient.

NAFEC respectfully requests that FSA County Committee authorities be reestablished in order to ensure local supervision and administration of FSA COC employees and FSA programs.

Expansion of County Office Committee Membership

NAFEC has reviewed the proposed changes to 15-AO for Increased COC Members in Consolidated Counties and bestow our full endorsement of the proposed change.  Allowing increased membership of farmer elected committees of consolidated counties should result in better representation of all stakeholders within the committee’s jurisdiction. The proposed changes will also expand the available talent pool, focusing local expertise on the implementation of critical FSA programs. 

Farm Service Agency Organizational Study

NAFEC has reviewed the KnowledgeBank, Inc. final report and offers assistance to help advance some of the recommendations.

Contained on page 32 of the executive summary, KnowledgeBank, Inc. makes a preliminary recommendation to “formalize the relationship between District Directors and county Executive Directors.”  NAFEC has some long-held and serious reservations when it comes to circumventing farmer elected County Committee  But, KnowledgeBank reports that the collecting of information and data from the County Office Structure was “out of their scope” and that they recommend further data collection and interviews. authority over County Executive Directors or any of the county office employees.

NAFEC reaffirms our support of this endeavor and again offers our assistance in obtaining said information.