Your guide to understanding who makes decisions at your FSA office—and how you can get involved.
FSA County Committees are groups of farmers and ranchers who help the USDA make decisions about how FSA programs are implemented locally. These committees do things like:
All of these duties have the goal of ensuring programs are fair, consistent, and grounded in local realities.
We'll get into some more detailed activities and responsibilities below!
Members are local producers—meaning active farmers or ranchers participating with FSA—who are elected by their peers. Each committee represents several Local Administrative Areas (LAAs).
Every county or multi-county jurisdiction has 3 or more LAAs, with at least one LAA up for election each year on a rotating basis.
Elections take place every year, for one LAA in each county. The typical election timeline looks like this:
Submit Form FSA-669A to nominate yourself or another farmer. No endorsements needed.
Return your completed ballot to ensure your voice is counted.
Ballots are mailed to eligible farmers and ranchers in each Local Administrative Area (LAA).
Newly elected members begin their three-year terms serving your community.
Here are some key activities that COC's take part in, which can directly impact farm and ranch operations:
Many farmers don’t think about County Committees until their support is needed. A program violation, a natural disaster, a mistake on a program application— that’s when your County Committee makes a difference.
Voting for someone who understands your operation and represents your interests means that you’re not alone when policy gets complicated.
These committees are a key component in FSA program administration, providing real influence on local priorities.
You don’t need to be nominated by someone else—self-nominations are allowed and encouraged. Just make sure you have an FSA Farm Number and are an active producer in an LAA that is up for an election.
If your LAA is up for election this year, you’ll receive a mail-in ballot in November.
Not sure what LAA you’re in? Or if it’s up for election? Your local FSA office can help.
Find your local USDA Service Center for assistance with COC-related questions.
Find your Local Administrative Area to stay up-to-date with your local election cycles!
Use this nomination form to nominate yourself or someone else in your local LAA.
