IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

• 2023 LIVESTOCK FORAGE PROGRAM or LFP – Kiowa County eligible – deadline to apply January 30, 2024. 
• COUNTY COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS -  DEADLINE August 1, 2023
• DEADLINE TO REQUEST RECONSTITUTION – August 1, 2023

Disclaimer:  Information in this UPDATE is pertinent to Kiowa County FSA only. Producers reading this and that do not have FSA interest in Kiowa County are advised to contact their local FSA Office. 

THE USDA SERVICE CENTER HAS A DROP BOX AVAILABLE ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE BUILDING. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

CRP GRASSLAND SIGNUP #205 RESULTS ANNOUNCED

FSA Offices were notified late last week of the accepted/rejected offers for CRP Grassland signup #205.  Kiowa County letters went out by mail or email on Friday to the contact producer on the offer.  Producers with accepted offers have 15 days from the date on the letter to notify the office of their intention to move forward with the offer or withdraw the offer.  Producers who determine to move forward; the information regarding the accepted offer will be forwarded to the NRCS office in order for them to complete a conservation plan.  Producers with rejected offers have been given appeal rights.

CRP GENERAL SIGNUP #60 NRCS CONSERVATION PLANS

The NRCS Office has the conservation plans for CRP General Signup #60 ready for signatures.  If NRCS staff has contacted you by phone, email or mail please complete the required signatures ASAP.  The staff will need to begin working on the conservation plans for the accepted Grassland offers. 

FSA COUNTY COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS BEING ACCEPTED 

Kiowa County is now accepting nominations for county committee members for elections that will occur later this year; for LAA or Local Administrative Area #1, which is located at County Rd 55 east to the Colorado/Kansas State line.  Current County Committee member, Sean Harkness is termed out and cannot seek another term.  Interested producers who reside in this area and are interested in serving on the County Committee are urged to contact the FSA Office. 

Additionally, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is unveiling a new GIS tool to make it easier for producers to participate in the nomination and election processes for county committee members, who make important decisions on how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2023 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1, 2023.

Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA) for members. LAAs are elective areas for FSA committees in a single county or multi-county jurisdiction and they may include LAAs that are focused on an urban or suburban area. Customers can locate their LAA through a new GIS locator tool available at fsa.usda.gov/elections.

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

• Participate or cooperate in a USDA program; and
• 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 minority producers, women and beginning farmers or ranchers 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 programs, as well as conservation, commodity and price support programs, county office employment and other agricultural issues.

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. 

Nomination forms and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at fsa.usda.gov/elections. Election ballots will be mailed to eligible voters beginning November 6, 2023.

KIOWA COUNTY FARM SERVICE AGENCY COUNTY COMMITTEE

• Sean Harkness – LAA 1 – East area – Committee Chairperson
• Destiny Haase - LAA 2 – Central area – Committee Vice-Chairperson
• Michael Zimmerman – LAA 3 – West area – Committee Regular Member

USDA SERVICE CENTER CONTACT INFORMATION

409 E Lowell Ave.

PO Box 188 – Eads, CO  81036

Telephone 719-438-5851 FSA (Ext 2), NRCS (Ext 3). FSA Fax number: fax2mail 844-332-7501

FSA - Farm Service Agency  

• Dawna Weirich – CED dawna.weirich@usda.gov
• Charla Ferris – PT  charla.ferris@usda.gov
• Brandi Nevius – PT brandi.nevius@usda.gov
• Teri Ellis – PT teri.ellis@usda.gov

NRCS – Natural Resource Conservation Service

• Scott Smith – Resource Team Leader 719-767-5648 ext. 3 scott.smith3@usda.gov - Cheyenne Wells
• Steve Schmidt – steven.schmidt2@usda.gov  Eads Office
• Marty Miller - marlin.miller@usda.gov Eads Office

KIOWA COUNTY FARM LOAN CONTACT INFO – CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT

Telephone 719-336-3437 (ext. 2) 

• Mary Rhoades, mary.rhoades@usda.gov,
• Nicole Lubbers, nicole.lubbers@usda.gov

SERVICE CENTER OFFICE HOURS:  

Monday through Friday - 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

RECEIVE USDA INFORMATION

Visit website www.Farmers.gov  for up-to-date information for FSA/NRCS programs.

Receive text messages - Text COKiowa to FSANow (372-669) to subscribe.

 Not currently available in Colorado. 

Subscribe to GovDelivery emails:  Visit www.fsa.usda.gov/subscribe  or contact your local FSA Office. 

For information on programs visit our website located at www.fsa.usda.gov or like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. USDA is an equal opportunity employer.