FSA County Committee Nominations Open

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting nominations for county committee members and encourages all farmers, ranchers, and FSA program participants to take part in the New River Valley County Committee nomination process. County committee members make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2026 election must be postmarked or received in the New River Valley FSA office by Aug. 3, 2026.

“By serving on their FSA county committee, producers have a say in local farm program decisions that impact agricultural operations in their community,” said FSA County Executive Director Derek Pruitt.

Elections for committee members occur in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA). LAAs are elective areas for FSA committees in a single county or multi-county jurisdiction.  For the New River Valley, elections will take place in LAA #1 and #4, which consists of Floyd (1) and Pulaski (4) counties.   Customers can identify the LAA in which they or their farming or ranching operations are located by using our tool available at fsa.usda.gov/coc.

Agricultural producers who participate or cooperate in a USDA program and reside in the LAA that is up for election this year, can be nominated for candidacy for the county committee. 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 can nominate themselves or others and qualifying organizations can also nominate candidates. USDA encourages all eligible producers to nominate, vote and hold office.

Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated members of the agricultural community serve on FSA county committees. The committees are made up of three to 11 members who serve three-year terms. Committee members are vital to how FSA carries out disaster, conservation, commodity and price support programs, county office employment and other agricultural issues.

For more information on FSA county committee elections, including fact sheets, nomination forms and FAQs, visit fsa.usda.gov/coc or contact the New River Valley FSA at 540-585-3651.