The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency urges eligible farmers and ranchers to participate and vote in their local County Committee elections. Farmers and ranchers of legal voting age may vote and run for office if they are participating or cooperating in an FSA program.
A strong response to the entire committee election process gives landowners, farmers, and ranchers a better chance of having their opinions and ideas expressed in the community, throughout the FSA, and throughout USDA policy processes.
The local Carter/Love/Marshall County Farm Service Agency is currently accepting nominations for the LAA 1 area of Carter County (western Carter County). Nominations will be accepted through 5 p.m., Aug. 1, 2008. Nomination forms for County FSA Committee are available at the Carter County OSU Extension office or at the Carter/Love/Marshall County FSA Office in Marietta.
Committee members, consisting of farmers and ranchers, help deliver FSA programs in the local farming communities. Members meet approximately once per month, depending on the tasks at hand. The committee may call special meetings occasionally to respond to an unexpected situation such as a natural disaster.
The County FSA Committee is composed of three to five elected members from the local administrative area (LAA), each member serving a 3-year term. Duties include:
* Administering farm program activities conducted by the County FSA office
* Informing farmers of the purpose and provisions of the FSA programs
* Keeping the State FSA Committee informed of LAA conditions
* Monitoring changes in farm programs
* Participating in county meetings as necessary
* Performing other duties as assigned by the State FSA Committee
FSA County Committees operate under official regulations for Federal farm programs. Committee members apply their judgment, experience, and knowledge when making local decisions regarding:
* Producer appeals
* Commodity price support loans and payments
* Conservation programs
* Employing county executive directors
* Incentive, indemnity, and disaster payments for commodities
* Other farm disaster assistance
If you would like to nominate someone, or yourself, that you think is qualified, please do so before the Aug. 1 deadline.
If you would like more information, contact the Carter/Love/Marshall County FSA Office (276-2528) or the Carter County OSU Extension Office (223-6570).
Fly tag resistance
One of the problems with using ear tags for fly control on cattle is the potential of building insecticide resistance in the fly populations. Historically, this has been observed more often after the use of pyrethroid tags.
To avoid this problem of developing resistance, it is suggested that cattleman should not use the same ear tag (nor the same class of insecticide) two years in a row – but rotate each year with different tags. A good example of a tag rotation would be:
* Year 1 – a chlorinated hydrocarbon tag
* Year 2 – an organophosphate tag
* Year 3 – a pyrethroid, permthrin, or cypermethrin tag
Most all ear tag products recommend two tags per animal for sufficient insecticide coverage. If control fails after two months from initial tagging, cut the tags out and use a different treatment such as dust bags, sprays, or go to another tag with a different chemical class (see above).
“Man is a complex being; he makes deserts bloom and lakes die.” Gil Stern
