Nomination petitions are being accepted through Aug. 1 for the Farm Service Agency County Committee. Interested persons should contact FSA to request a nominating petition.

Butler, Beaver and Allegheny counties are served by a five member county committee. The three county region has been divided into five different Local Administrative Area's.

This year, the election will be in area 1 and area 5.

Area 1 includes the following Butler County townships: Mercer, Slippery Rock, Marion, Venango, Allegheny, Parker, Washington, Brady, Worth, Cherry, Clay, Concord and Fairview.

Area 5 includes the following Beaver County Townships: Greene, Potter, Raccoon, Center, Hanover, Independence, and Hopewell along with all of Allegheny County.

Elected county committee members serve a 3-year term and should not take their position lightly. County committee members play an important role in the local implementation of FSA programs. The department wants to help ensure they represent America's agricultural mosaic.

That is why USDA is trying to emphasize the election and reach out to all producers, especially minority and socially disadvantaged producers, to encourage them to participate in local county committee elections.

Members are a critical component of the day-to-day operations of FSA because they help deliver farm programs at the local level.

Farmers who serve help decide the kind of programs their counties will offer and make sure FSA agricultural programs serve the needs of local producers.

Committees make decisions on commodity price support loans and payments, establishment of allotments and yields, conservation programs and other issues.

Almost anyone is eligible to take part in a local FSA program and be a candidate.

The following persons also are eligible to participate in the election process:

An owner, operator, tenant, or sharecropper

A spouse listed on the property deed

The spouse of an eligible voter in a community property state

A partner in a general partnership or member of a joint venture that has an interest in a farm as an owner, operator, tenant, or sharecropper

Someone who is not of legal voting age, but who supervises and conducts the farming operations on an entire farm.

Individuals may nominate themselves or others as a candidate. In addition, candidates can be nominated by organizations representing socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.

Nominations and elections are open to all eligible candidates and voters without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status or disability.

The COC system was first established in 1936. Today, there are more than 8,000 committee members serving three-year terms in 2,300-plus county offices nationwide, with 44 here in Pennsylvania. Every year, elections are held for approximately one-third of these seats.

Nomination forms (FSA-669A) can be obtained from local FSA offices or USDA Service Centers or online at

www.forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/eforms/mainservlet.

Details on elections can be found in a fact sheet located at

www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/facts/html/elec05.htm.