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By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
Tribune Staff Writer
KEYSER – Mineral County farmers gathered Thursday afternoon to protest a proposed consolidation that would shutter the Keyser office of the Farm Service Agency, forcing them to travel to Romney to meet with officials from the agency.
More than 30 “producers,” as the farmers are known in the agency, attended the 1 p.m. meeting at the Mineral County Health Department, which drew senior staff from the West Virginia office of the FSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Under a cost-savings plan advanced by the agency's national leadership, 131 FSA offices nationwide are targeted for closure, with the Keyser office one of five in West Virginia slated to be consolidated into other offices. More than 2,100 offices would remain open if all of the targeted offices are closed.
FSA officials used a dual criteria for determining which offices might close, identifying those that were within 20 miles of another FSA office and had two or fewer employees. Keyser met both the criteria.
Thursday's hearing was held to gather input from the farmers, and the time and expense of traveling to Romney was concern number-one.
“It's going to be a hardship on us farmers ... ,” said Steve Rexrode. “On everybody in agriculture.”
Rexrode noted that farmers who call on the FSA for assistance with crop plans or other activities often have to work as well with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which also maintains a Keyser office. If the Keyser FSA closes, Rexrode said, farmers could be shuttling back and forth between Keyser and Romney to meet with officials from the two agencies.
He also noted that area youth who belong to the FFA and 4-H, and often take advantage of assistance offered by the FSA, would likely lose out on such help because they can't get to Romney.
“It seems like when there's a cut, agriculture is the first one government wants to pick on,” Rexrode said.
Donna Alt, the second of four people to speak at the hearing, noted that one Mineral County farmer in attendance at the meeting lives 53 miles from Romney, well outside the 20-mile range that put Keyser on the closure list. She also questioned the level of savings that would be realized from the consolidation, noting that FSA officials reported that no staff will be cut as a result of consolidation – only transferred to other locations.
Alt noted as well that, with the Keyser office closed, FSA would find it more difficult to obtain crop reports and other information from county farmers.
David Davis, noting that his pickup gets only 12 miles a gallon, calculated that a trip to Romney would cost him $28. As a result, he said, “I won't be making too many trips to Romney.”
Currently, Davis said, he will travel to Keyser three or four times a month for personal or farm-related business, and will stop in the FSA office at least once a month to get the latest information from the agency. If the local office closes, he said, he will not be making similar trips to Romney.
Davis also lamented the overall effect on farming in Mineral County if the Keyser office closes.
“FSA has provided a strong leadership presence in the county...,” he said. “It hurts the community (if the office closes).”
Paul Homan, the final farmer to speak at the hearing, noted that the Environmental Protection Agency has in recent years expanded its presence in Mineral County, in part to help with programs to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. If the FSA pulls out of Keyser, he said, it will make it more difficult for farmers to coordinate their efforts with various state and federal agencies.
“Someone needs to take a hard look at this,” he said.
FSA representatives at the meeting, including the State Executive Director for West Virginia, Alfred Lewis, said that comments received at Thursday's hearing will be forwarded to FSA officials in Washington as part of the consolidation process. The final decision is expected in about three months. If the Keyser office is approved for closure, Lewis said, the doors would likely remain open at least until July.
In addition to Thursday's hearing, farmers and others who wish to comment on the consolidation proposal can do so in writing by Feb. 12. For more information on where to send letters or emails, contact the local FSA office at 304-284-4803.
By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
Tribune Staff Writer
KEYSER – Mineral County farmers gathered Thursday afternoon to protest a proposed consolidation that would shutter the Keyser office of the Farm Service Agency, forcing them to travel to Romney to meet with officials from the agency.
More than 30 “producers,” as the farmers are known in the agency, attended the 1 p.m. meeting at the Mineral County Health Department, which drew senior staff from the West Virginia office of the FSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Under a cost-savings plan advanced by the agency's national leadership, 131 FSA offices nationwide are targeted for closure, with the Keyser office one of five in West Virginia slated to be consolidated into other offices. More than 2,100 offices would remain open if all of the targeted offices are closed.
FSA officials used a dual criteria for determining which offices might close, identifying those that were within 20 miles of another FSA office and had two or fewer employees. Keyser met both the criteria.
Thursday's hearing was held to gather input from the farmers, and the time and expense of traveling to Romney was concern number-one.
“It's going to be a hardship on us farmers ... ,” said Steve Rexrode. “On everybody in agriculture.”
Rexrode noted that farmers who call on the FSA for assistance with crop plans or other activities often have to work as well with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which also maintains a Keyser office. If the Keyser FSA closes, Rexrode said, farmers could be shuttling back and forth between Keyser and Romney to meet with officials from the two agencies.
He also noted that area youth who belong to the FFA and 4-H, and often take advantage of assistance offered by the FSA, would likely lose out on such help because they can't get to Romney.
“It seems like when there's a cut, agriculture is the first one government wants to pick on,” Rexrode said.
Donna Alt, the second of four people to speak at the hearing, noted that one Mineral County farmer in attendance at the meeting lives 53 miles from Romney, well outside the 20-mile range that put Keyser on the closure list. She also questioned the level of savings that would be realized from the consolidation, noting that FSA officials reported that no staff will be cut as a result of consolidation – only transferred to other locations.
Alt noted as well that, with the Keyser office closed, FSA would find it more difficult to obtain crop reports and other information from county farmers.
David Davis, noting that his pickup gets only 12 miles a gallon, calculated that a trip to Romney would cost him $28. As a result, he said, “I won't be making too many trips to Romney.”
Currently, Davis said, he will travel to Keyser three or four times a month for personal or farm-related business, and will stop in the FSA office at least once a month to get the latest information from the agency. If the local office closes, he said, he will not be making similar trips to Romney.
Davis also lamented the overall effect on farming in Mineral County if the Keyser office closes.
“FSA has provided a strong leadership presence in the county...,” he said. “It hurts the community (if the office closes).”
Paul Homan, the final farmer to speak at the hearing, noted that the Environmental Protection Agency has in recent years expanded its presence in Mineral County, in part to help with programs to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. If the FSA pulls out of Keyser, he said, it will make it more difficult for farmers to coordinate their efforts with various state and federal agencies.
“Someone needs to take a hard look at this,” he said.
FSA representatives at the meeting, including the State Executive Director for West Virginia, Alfred Lewis, said that comments received at Thursday's hearing will be forwarded to FSA officials in Washington as part of the consolidation process. The final decision is expected in about three months. If the Keyser office is approved for closure, Lewis said, the doors would likely remain open at least until July.
In addition to Thursday's hearing, farmers and others who wish to comment on the consolidation proposal can do so in writing by Feb. 12. For more information on where to send letters or emails, contact the local FSA office at 304-284-4803.
In remarks prior to the public comment period, Lewis said the consolidation plan was designed in part to help alleviate challenges created by staffing reductions imposed in recent years. In 2008, the state's 28 FSA offices employed 115 people. Today staffing is at 90.
“It's come to the point that we can't maintain every county office, and still provide the best possible service,” Lewis said.
Regardless of the outcome of the proposed consolidation, Lewis assured the assembled Mineral County farmers that FSA remains committed to delivering “excellent services” to the agricultural community.
“FSA will find a way to go to a producer, if that producer can't come to us,” he said.
