From now until August 3, the Farm Service Agency will be accepting nominations from producers in Pearl River County located south of Highway 26 for Local Administrative Area 2 committee members.
According to www.fsa.usda.gov, the FSA serves farmers, ranchers and agricultural partners through the delivery of effective agricultural programs for all Americans.
The website defines committee members as the local authorities who are responsible for resolving local issues while remaining directly accountable to the Secretary of Agriculture and local producers through the elective process. There are more than 2,000 state and county offices throughout the United States and one of those offices is located in Poplarville.
The Poplarville office serves producers in Pearl River, Hancock, Stone and Harrison Counties, Program Technician Linda Shaw said.
There are 2,433 agricultural producers in Pearl River County, Shaw said, who produce a variety of products including dairy, soybeans, peanut and timber for commercial purposes.
At the local office, producers can report their crop numbers and participate in timber, milk, disaster and conservation reserve programs, Shaw said. They can also apply for a farm loan with help from the loan team.
According to the FSA website, FSA loans can be used to purchase land, livestock, equipment, feed, seed, supplies, building materials and conduct farm improvements.
The County Committee meets once a month to discuss operations, Shaw said. These meetings are open to producers and the public.
Since Pearl River County is the largest county the local office oversees, two Local Administrative Area 2 representatives will be elected, Shaw said.
Local producers can either mail in their nominations or visit the office to fill out a nomination from, Shaw said. All nominations must be postmarked by August 3, she said.
On November 9, ballots will be mailed to farmers and must be postmarked no later than December 7, Shaw said.
The FSA office is located at 310 Hwy. 26 E. Ste. B, Poplarville.
Contact staff by phone at 601-795-4409.
Learn more about FSA by visiting the http://www.fsa.usda.gov/index.