NFU Speaks Out on Proposed FSA Office Closings
For Immediate Release: March 19, 2007
Contact: Liz Friedlander, 202-314-3191WASHINGTON (March 19, 2007) – National Farmers Union Vice President Alan Bergman told a Kansas panel today Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices provide invaluable services and it is in rural America’s best interests for these offices to remain open.
Bergman spoke at a public meeting in Chase County, Kan. The Chase County FSA office is one of 11 Kansas FSA county offices targeted for closure.
NFU members from across the country passed a special policy position earlier this month in support of county FSA offices and rebuffing USDA’s latest efforts to close and/or consolidate FSA county offices.
“County FSA offices are the primary contact for administrative delivery of every major farm assistance program,” Bergman said. “Additionally, Congress is soon to begin consideration of the 2007 Farm Bill, which will require the expertise and accessibility of county personnel to assist producers sign up to new and continued programs.”
Disaster assistance is expected to be passed in Congress in the coming weeks and FSA offices will be vital to ensuring this aid is distributed to farmers and ranchers in a efficient and timely manner.
Bergman said that eliminating FSA offices is not the answer to the country’s federal budget problem, as total federal spending on agriculture is less than one percent and the 2002 Farm Bill has actually saved more than $13 billion. “If every sector in the federal budget were as responsible as agriculture, we wouldn’t have the sea of red ink,” he said.
