Farmers in Johnson and Logan counties are waiting to see how they will be affected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plans to consolidate their Farm Service Agency service center offices with one in Franklin County.
“I don’t really know what the impact is going to be, but it’s going to be quite something,” said Steve Stephan, president of the Johnson County Farm Bureau Board.
The service center offices in Johnson and Logan counties are among 10 offices in the state being reviewed for consolidation as part of the USDA’s“Blueprint for Stronger Service,” which was introduced Monday by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
The agency will consider closing 259 offices across the country for a projected yearly savings of $150 million. The potential savings make up a small portion of the $3 billion, equaling about 12 percent, that Congress cut from the agency’s operation budget over the past two years.
The consolidation would mean farmers must drive farther to sign up for aid programs administered by the office, said Stephan, who raises poultry, cattle and hogs on his farm in Johnson County. The agency helps farmers seek financial assistance to make up for fluctuations in commodity prices or losses due to natural disasters, he said.
The tornado that swept through Johnson County last May tore a path through Stephan’s farm. He said he lost poultry houses and fences to the storm and is planning to apply for disaster assistance when the program begins.
Assistance for farmers typically starts a year after a disaster, said Blair Griffin, Johnson County Extension agent for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
The biggest impact of the consolidation will be farmers’ longer drives to the office, said James Isaac, who raises cattle and chickens in Logan County.
“It’ll be quite a bit of extra driving distance for farmers who have to go to the office, but I think it will be minimal impact,” Isaac said.
Isaac, who was recently elected to the Farm Service Agency County Committee for Logan County, said the consolidation will likely have a greater impact on farmers of row crops, who are affected by commodity prices.
Kenny Schluterman saidhe doesn’t like the idea of having to drive 20 miles to get to the office but understands the USDA is trying to cut costs. He doubts public input will change anything.
“It doesn’t matter what we think. It’s what the government is going to do,” said Schluterman, who grows wheat, corn, soybeans, Bermuda grass and runs about 300 head of cattle in Logan County.
Several USDA programs have regulations that require taking several trips to the service center office to keep track of applications, Schluterman said. The consolidations are just one more increased cost to doing business for farmers, he said.
“It’s getting close to where we can’t afford much more of this help,” he said.
Schluterman said he expects the government to continue looking at ways to cut costs at the expense of farmers, but he can’t imagine anything will keep him from farming.
“I love what I’m doing. I love my job. I love working with my dad and brother so I guess I’m going to keep doing it long as I can,” he said.
If the consolidation occurs, it will affect 15 employees in 10 offices, said Linda Newkirk, state executive director for the Farm Service Agency.
All 15 employees will keep their jobs at offices to which they are reassigned, and no programs are expected to be affected, Newkirk said.There are four employees that the consolidation would move from Johnson and Logan counties’ offices to the Franklin County office, she said.
The three counties have had the same executive director the past five months, Newkirk said. Stephen Atkinson was already responsible for Johnson and Logan counties, which were combined in about 1995, and took over Franklin County when the former executive director retired, she said.
Newkirk said she is scheduling public hearings in Clarksville and Paris regarding the consolidation. Comments will be forwarded to Vilsack, who will make the decision on consolidations, which would occur 90 days later, she said.
“Neither Vilsack nor I really want to consolidate these county offices,” Newkirk said. “We just don’t have the staff to manage them with budget reductions.”
It will be important for the agency to make sure farmers are kept informed of assistance programs, but the change won’t be as significant because Atkinson is staying on, Griffin said.
Atkinson has a good working relationship with farmers, Griffin said.
“If they were closing his office and he was losing his job, and [the farmers] would have to be dealing with someone they didn’t know, it probably would be a bigger job,” he said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 01/13/2012