Time is running out in the 2012 Farm Service Agency county committee elections.  
Completed ballots must be returned by mail or in person to local USDA Service Centers by this Monday, Dec. 3. Those who did not receive a ballot may pick one up at their local county office.
County committee members provide a link between the agricultural community and USDA by helping to deliver FSA programs at the local level. Newly elected members and alternates will take office Jan. 1, 2013.
County committee members are an important component of the operations of FSA and provide a link between the agricultural community and USDA. Farmers and ranchers elected to county committees help deliver FSA programs at the local level, applying their knowledge and judgment to make decisions on commodity price support programs, conservation programs, incentive indemnity and disaster programs for some commodities, emergency programs and eligibility. FSA committees operate within official regulations designed to carry out federal laws.
To be an eligible voter, farmers and ranchers must participate or cooperate in an FSA program. A person who is not of legal voting age, but supervises and conducts the farming operations of an entire farm may also be eligible to vote. Agricultural producers in each county submitted candidate nominations during the nomination period, which ended Aug. 1.
Close to 7,700 FSA county committee members serve in 2,244 FSA offices nationwide. Each committee consists of three to 11 members who serve three-year terms. Approximately one-third of county committee seats are up for election each year. More information on county committees, such as the new 2011 fact sheet and brochures, can be found on the FSA website at  www.fsa.usda.gov/elections, or at a local USDA Service Center.
Today, net farm income is at record levels while debt has been cut in half since the 1980s. Overall, American agriculture supports 1-in-12 jobs in the United States and provides American consumers with 86 percent of the food we consume, while maintaining affordability and choice.
The Obama Administration has aggressively worked to expand export opportunities and reduce barriers to trade, helping to push agricultural exports to record levels in 2011 and beyond. Strong agricultural exports are a positive contribution to the U.S. trade balance, support nearly 1 million American jobs and boost economic growth.