| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Ron Zellar |
| September 28, 2007 | (406) 444-3144 |
Ag Director Opposes FSA Office Closures
HELENA, Mont. — Director Ron de Yong of the Montana Department of Agriculture will attend Farm Service Agency meetings next week in Plains, Helena and White Sulphur Springs to oppose plans by the federal agency to shutter six of its county offices in Montana.
Deputy Director Joel A. Clairmont will attend FSA meetings in Clyde Park, Big Timber and Hysham.
"Grassroots county FSA offices are very efficient and well run. Farmers have experienced this efficiency first-hand, and I have experienced it both as a farmer and as a former director on the State FSA Committee," de Yong said.
"As farmers, we depend upon face-to-face contact with program administrators to make sure we do the paperwork correctly," he said. "Attempting to fill out the necessary forms on the Internet will lead to inadvertent errors that ultimately will take more of the farmer's and administrator's time to correct."
Cost savings projected from county office closures in Montana and other states would be small in comparison with the total U.S. Department of Agriculture budget, de Yong said, and likely would be exceeded by the cost to farmers of lost time, increased travel, and paperwork mistakes made in attempting to conduct FSA business on line.
Despite pleas from Governor Schweitzer, Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester and Congressman Denny Rehberg that the agency delay or cancel the consolidations, the FSA state office announced on Sept. 7, 2007, that it would move ahead with plans to close county offices in Lewis and Clark, Meagher, Park, Sanders, Sweet Grass and Treasure counties. A decision on a seventh FSA office in Ravalli County was delayed for additional study on whether it or the Missoula County office should be closed, according to an FSA news release.
Both the 2007 Farm Bill under consideration in Congress and negotiations at the World Trade Organization could result in program changes and the need for additional communication between producers and FSA personnel, de Yong noted, giving additional weight to the argument that this is a poor time for office closures.
"I am proud to join local farmers and ranchers, and Montana's governor and congressional delegation, in the fight to keep county offices open," de Yong said.
The schedule for public meetings in the six affected counties is:
* Sanders County - Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. at the Grange Hall at 205 W. Lynch in
Plains.
* Lewis and Clark County - Oct. 2 at 9 a.m. at the Forest Service office
at 2880 Skyway Drive in Helena.
* Meagher County - Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Senior Citizen Center at 101
First Ave. SE in White Sulphur Springs.
* Park County - Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. at the Clyde Park Community Center in Clyde
Park.
* Sweet Grass County - Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. at the Fairgrounds Ag Pavilion in
Big Timber.
* Treasure County - Oct. 4 at 10 a.m. at the Community Center, 306 Rapelje
in Hysham.
