Nominations are now being accepted for farmers and ranchers to serve on local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees. These committees make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2025 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1, 2025.

Elections for committee members will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA). LAAs are elective areas for FSA committees in a single county or multi-county jurisdiction and may include LAAs that are focused on an urban or suburban area.

Producers interested in serving on the FSA county committee can locate their LAA through a geographic information system locator tool available at fsa.usda.gov/elections and determine if their LAA is up for election by contacting their local FSA office.

Agricultural producers may be nominated for candidacy for the county committee if they:

• Participate or cooperate in a USDA program.
• Reside in the LAA that is up for election this year.

A cooperating producer is someone who has provided information about their farming or ranching operation to FSA, even if they have not applied or received program benefits.

Individuals may nominate themselves or others and qualifying organizations may also nominate candidates. USDA encourages all eligible producers to nominate, vote and hold office.

Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated members of the agriculture community serve on FSA county committees. The committees are made up of three to 11 members who serve three-year terms. Committee members play a key role in how FSA delivers disaster recovery, conservation, commodity and price support programs, as well as making decisions on county office employment and other agricultural issues.

Urban and Suburban County Committees     

FSA urban county committees work to promote urban, indoor and other emerging agricultural production practices. Urban committee members are nominated and elected to serve by local urban producers in the same jurisdiction. Urban county committee members provide outreach to ensure urban producers understand USDA programs, serve as the voice of other urban producers and assist in program implementation that support the needs of growing urban communities.The 27 cities with urban county committees are listed at fsa.usda.gov/elections and farmers.gov/urban.

More Information     
Producers should contact their local FSA office today to register and find out how to get involved in their county’s election, including if their LAA is up for election this year. To be considered, a producer must be registered and sign an FSA-669A nomination form. This form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at fsa.usda.gov/elections.

All nomination forms for the 2025 election must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by the Aug.1, 2025, deadline. Election ballots will be mailed to eligible voters in November 2025.

County Committee Information

Important Election Dates

• June 16, 2025: The nomination period begins.
• Aug. 1, 2025: Last day to file nomination forms.
• Nov. 3, 2025: Ballots mailed to eligible voters.
• Dec. 1, 2025: Last day to return completed ballots to the USDA Service Center.
• Jan, 11, 2026: Newly elected county committee members take office.

Background on County Committees

• The Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees enable producers to make important decisions on how federal farm programs are administered locally to best serve local community needs, make determinations on hiring decisions, and assist with local education and outreach efforts.

• FSA county committee members are local agricultural producers who help ensure fair and equitable administration of FSA farm programs in their county or multi-county jurisdiction. They are under the general supervision of the State Committee and are the eyes and ears of the producers who elected them.

• Committees should share information about FSA opportunities within the community.
• Committees represent the priorities of producers and serve as their voices in the community.
• Committees ensure USDA’s farm programs continue to serve local agricultural producers and families.

• It is crucial that every eligible producer participates in these elections, as FSA county committees are an important link between the agricultural community and USDA.

• The election of eligible agricultural producers to FSA county committees is important to all farmers, ranchers, and foresters with large or small operations.

• Nearly 7,700 producers serve on more than 2,200 FSA County Committees nationwide.

• FSA county committees are comprised of three to 11 elected members from local administrative areas, each serving a three-year term.

• FSA County Committee members apply their judgment, experience, and knowledge when making local decisions that help deliver FSA programs and services such as:
• Helping to share information about FSA opportunities within the community
• Producer appeals
• Commodity price support
• Conservation programs
• Hiring County Executive Directors
• Disaster programs

Background on the COC Nomination Process

• To become an FSA COC nominee, eligible individuals must sign nomination form FSA-669-A. The form includes a statement that the nominee agrees to serve if elected. This form is available at USDA Service Centers and online at usda.gov/elections.
• The nomination period is June 16, 2025, through August 1, 2025.
• All nomination forms for the 2025 election must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by the August 1 deadline.

Eligibility

• To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must:

• • • participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA,
    • be eligible to vote in a county committee election, and
  • reside in the Local Administrative Area (LAA) up for election.

• A cooperating producer is someone who has provided information about their farming or ranching operation(s) but may not have applied or received FSA program benefits.

• Elections are occurring in certain LAAs. Producers can find out if their LAA is up for election and if they are eligible to vote by contacting their local FSA county office.

• On FSA’s County Committee Elections webpage, FSA customers can easily look up the Local Administrative Area in which they or their farming or ranching interests are located via an interactive map.

• The LAA interactive map allows customers to search by using an address, their current location or by using map tools to zoom to the area of interest.
• Being able to easily identify their Local Administrative Area makes it easier for producers to know if there is an opening in their LAA for this election cycle.

Tribal Agricultural Landowner Voting Eligibility

• For purposes of FSA county committee elections, every member of an American Indian tribe is considered an agricultural landowner if the land on which the tribal member’s voting eligibility is based is tribally owned or held in trust by the U.S. for the tribe, even if the individual does not personally produce a crop on that land. 

• Tribal agricultural landowners 18 years and older can contact their USDA Service Center to register.

• • After you provide FSA with your contact information, including a current mailing address, you will be updated as an eligible voter in the election database.

• For more information, visit COC Tribal Agricultural Landowner Voting Eligibility.