The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a list of 259 offices to be closed nationwide, including 131 Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. Seven of those FSA offices are in Pennsylvania; one of them currently serves farmers in Monroe and Carbon counties and is located on Route 209 in Towamensing Township.
According to February 4 issue of Lancaster Farming, the closures are a result of the 2008 Farm Bill, which allows the USDA to close an FSA office if it is less than 20 miles away from another office and if it has no more than two employees. Other factors, such as the number of farms, the acreage currently in farming, or the value of agricultural products, aren’t considered.
A hearing on the closing of our local FSA office will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, at the Big Creek Grange. I’ll be there, but I don’t think I’ll have much luck keeping the office open. First of all, the USDA has already cut Pennsylvania’s allocation by $2 million. Secondly, the FSA office has already been closed in Lebanon County, and that county contains 1193 farms. Thirdly, as Linda keeps reminding me, with 2 pet goats, 23 chickens, and a half-acre truckpatch, I’m hardly a real farmer.
Nevertheless, every time I have used the local FSA office, I have found the staff to be courteous and helpful. I’d bet this has been the experience of all the real farmers in this county who use the office for all kinds of applications and programs.
I believe there is no chance for the office to remain.
ReplyDeleteIts already been decided.
Just another part of less government spending.