As we roll through the harvest and think about what is coming for next year, we know that we will have a lot of contact with our local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. While we know we can depend on those local offices, a little further up the chain there is a leadership gap. Forty-four of our fifty states still do not have permanent state FSA Directors. This position is appointed by the President, and rural lawmakers say that President Biden is dragging his feet on these appointments. This is being added to a list of offices still needing to be filled.
There is a temporary patch in place as with any transition in Administration. State FSA offices are headed up by a temporary or ?Acting State Director.? This way business can be handled. However, it would make things run a little more smoothly if the position was filled permanently.
Washington Representative Dan Newhouse heads the Western Caucus of House Republicans. He says that after ten months of the new administration, we can?t afford for these positions to not be permanently filled.
Newhouse added that vital business hangs in limbo while the administration ?drags its feet.?
Only six states have permanent State FSA Directors: Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, and New Mexico.
