CENTERVILLE —
Dear Editor,
On Jan. 10, the USDA announced the proposed closing of the Appanoose County Farm Service Agency. The criteria for the proposed closings were for offices with two employees or less to be consolidated. With the current workload of the Centerville office, they are to have 4.2 employees to do the work. They have been understaffed for two years. The Decatur County office, which has approximately the same workload as Appanoose County, has also been proposed to close. They had four employees retire in December. Are these offices being punished for their dedicated employees finally meeting their retirement milestones?
If the Centerville office were to close, think of the additional cost and time it would be to area farmers. They would have to travel additional miles and make an appointment at a neighboring county FSA office. For producers that work off the farm, there would be no more stopping in on your lunch break to complete paperwork, so vacation time will have to be taken. You will also be dealing with a new FSA staff that would not be as familiar with your operation in which to help make decisions when it comes to crop losses, conservation repairs, CRP programs or any other program that may benefit your farm. Do you think another county will have that knowledge to help you as well?
Let’s look at how the proposed closing would affect local businesses. If our area farmers had to go to another County FSA Office, instead of buying that loaf of bread, picking up a part for a vehicle or machinery or even having lunch in Centerville, they may do their purchasing in another town. As a business in Centerville, will you want that?
On Tuesday, Jan. 31, there will be a public meeting held at the Faith United Methodist Church, next to John Deere, here in Centerville from 1–3 p.m. This will be our one and only opportunity to voice our opposition to the proposed closing.
This is a perfect time for the members of our rural and urban communities to come together for a common cause and to support one another. So let’s fill the Faith United Methodist Church. If we don’t, our FSA office will never come back to Appanoose County and neither will the dollars spent.
In addition, a call, letter or email to your U.S. Senators or U.S. Representative expressing your concern regarding the loss of your local FSA office is needed.
Sincerely,
Danny J. Furlin, Jr.
Farmer and Appanoose County Farm Bureau President
Editorials
January 26, 2012
Keep Appanoose County FSA open
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