The election for the FSA county committee member to represent producers in Local Administrative Area No. 3 was held on Dec. 8 with the following results.

Elected for a three-year term as committee member was Harold Foertsch of Jefferson Township, Edward Thiele also of Jefferson Township as first alternate and Larry Baumgartel of Adams Township as second alternate. Alternates are called upon for committee meetings and other assignments when the regular member is unable to attend. LAA No. 3 is comprised of the following Butler County townships: Cranberry, Jackson, Adams, Forward, Middlesex, Penn, Clinton, Jefferson, Buffalo and Winfield.

Next year an election will take place in LAA No. 2 And LAA No. 4, comprising of townships in Butler and Beaver counties as follows:

LAA No. 2 in Butler County is made up of Lancaster, Muddy Creek, Center, Franklin, Donegal, Oakland, Butler, Connoquenessing, Clearfield, and Summit.

LAA No. 4 in Beaver County includes Darlington, North Sewickley, Marion, Franklin, South Beaver, Chippewa, Daugherty, Rochester, New Sewickley and Brighton.

Committee members are paid for their time and mileage expenses. FSA committee members are responsible for administering FSA programs in Butler, Beaver and Allegheny counties. A locally elected FSA committee serves each agricultural county in the nation. Meetings are open to the public and are held at least monthly sometimes more often depending upon program demand. The Butler-Beaver-Allegheny FSA office is staffed by four employees that conduct day to day operations for the committee.

National Animal Identification SystemRecently some livestock producers have contacted FSA inquiring on animal IDs. FSA currently does not have any role in USDA's National Animal ID System (NAIS) Program. The following information was taken from the USDA Web site (www.usda.gov) where more specific information is available.Premises registration is fundamental to containing animal diseases. Voluntary participation means that you will be notified quickly when a disease outbreak might put your animals at risk. Animal owners can choose to participate by registering their premises with their state animal health authority online, by fax, or by mail. Your premises will be assigned a unique Premises Identification Number (PIN) that corresponds to the contact information you provide.Some important points to consider when making your decision are:• Premises registration is free.• The registration process is quick — simply fill out a short form with your contact information.• Choosing to register your premises does not require you to participate in the other two NAIS components (Animal Identification and Animal Tracing).• USDA maintains limited premises information and will protect individuals' private information from disclosure.Animal identification is the second component of the voluntary NAIS plan. This provides you with a uniform numbering system for animals to help manage them more closely.The animal identification number (AIN) is unique and stays with the animal for its lifetime. The number links the animal to its premises of origin and when combined with animal tracing, the AIN links the animal to each premise that has been reported for it.Animal identification provides producers and owners whose animals enter commercial production or move to locations where they come into contact with animals from multiple/other premises. In these situations, there is an increased potential for the animals to be exposed to or impact the spread of disease.Animal tracing is under development by the states and private sector. Once the component is completed, animal tracing will offer an additional option to improve animal management and better protect animal health.Producers will be able to choose an animal tracking database owned and operated by private industry groups or States and report certain animal movements that might pose a significant risk of disease transmission. When there is a disease event, the animal tracking databases provide timely, accurate records that show where your animals have been and what other animals have come into contact with them.