FSA Committee System Said Threatened
Jerry Harris, chairman of the state Farm Service Agency committee, told a group of FSA people in Garden City Aug. 1 that the county committee system as we know it is in jeopardy. He said powers in Washington want to go to a system in which county committee members are appointed, rather than elected. Appointments would presumably be made at the state or national level.
Harris said the primary reason given for wanting to change the system is that too few agriculture producers are involved in committee elections, as evidenced by too few candidates on ballots and too few producers voting. He said for the elected committee system to survive, more people must get involved now.
He encouraged local FSA offices and county committee members to do whatever they can to encourage people to put their names on the ballots, and to be sure that they vote, returning ballots correctly signed and in a timely fashion.
Nationally, only 15 percent of eligible voters return ballots in county committee elections. County executive directors say that non-resident landlords are the group that votes the least. According to Glasscock County Executive Director John Kinnibrugh, local voting percentages are significantly higher than 15 percent. He said that in the last three elections, the percentage of eligible voters who actually voted ranged from 25 to 48 percent. Percentages vary from one LAA to another, and from election to election.
Harris, who was here at a meeting of FSA county committee persons and executive directors from District 9 at which U.S. Congressman Mike Conaway spoke. Conaway also said that large turnouts are very important in county elections.