Mayo — It was standing room only as Lafayette County farmers, ranchers, county officials and concerned residents met with USDA officials at the courthouse Thursday, Feb. 2 to oppose the closure of the USDA office that also serves neighboring Taylor County. USDA State Executive Director Tim Manning, FSA Communications Coordinator Mark Cotrell, Agricultural Program Specialist Debbie Hendrix, and FSA District Director Michael Allbritton listened to more than a dozen citizens voice objections to proposed consolidation efforts that would move FSA services to Suwannee County, more than 20 miles away. The proposed consolidation plan would centralize Lafayette, Hamilton and Suwannee county FSA services at the Live Oak office.

USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced Jan. 9 that 259 domestic offices, facilities and labs across the country would be closing in order to streamline and modernize the department. Offices targeted for closure are non-staffed offices, offices with two or fewer full time employees, and offices within 20 miles (using a straight measure “as the crow flies”) of neighboring USDA offices.

Manning acknowledged that FSA Executive Director Duane Crawson runs a tight shop in Lafayette County and he said he was sympathetic to the needs of the farmers and ranchers.

“It is important to note that employees who are located in this office (Lafayette) will have the option to be reassigned to another office,” stated Manning. “We value our employees and will provide job security for all those who are affected by this action.”

Commissioner Curtis “Donnie” Hamlin asked Manning if these town meetings across the state were simply dog and pony shows or if Lafayette County actually had a chance to be heard. Manning replied that all feedback would be reviewed by the USDA prior to making final decisions on proposed closures.

Alongside local farmers and ranchers in attendance were Lafayette County Commissioners Gail Garrard, Lance Lamb, Hamlin, Earnest Jones and T. Jack Byrd; County Clerk Ricky Lyons; County Attorney Leenette McMillan-Fredriksson; Lynn Bannister representing U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL); Kevin Kelley representing U.S. Representative Steve Southerland (R-Panama City); W.C Hart; Sheriff Brian Lamb; local Farm Bureau Insurance reps; Chris Vann and Jana Hart from the county extension office.

FFA member Cecilia Koon spoke on behalf of Lafayette County farmers and ranchers.

“We are deeply rooted in agriculture and we are deeply rooted in each other,” she said. “We are immensely proud of what we do for our world, for our community, for our people, and we have an immense amount of pride in our industry.”

Koon explained that even though Lafayette County has a small population, it is comprised primarily of agriculturists who rely upon each other to accomplish their tasks.

“It would be impossible for us to be a successful industry and play our role in the agricultural industry and be that piece of the puzzle without the Farm Service Agency,” said Koon.

She implored the management team to consider the impact on the farmers and ranchers in Lafayette County if the local office was closed down.

McMillan-Fredriksson read a county resolution that opposed the closure, which Manning placed into evidence. Issues noted in the resolution included irreparable injuries to farmers, families and communities in Lafayette County by adding costly travel, loss of time tending to farms, lack of personal attention and lack of critical assistance.

Resident Candy Harris stated there was more space available in Lafayette County than in the Live Oak office. Costs for office space in Lafayette, Harris said, is $10 per square foot versus $20 per square foot in Suwannee. She said a larger office and more parking space would be needed if all three counties were centralized in Live Oak.

“With that said, are you saving money by moving us to Suwannee or are you spending more money?” she asked.

T. Jack Byrd, a county commissioner for 22 years is also a farmer. He said the FSA office and the board have worked well together over the years and he didn't want to see that relationship dissolved.

“This office up here, if we let it be closed, that's forever,” he angrily stated.

Byrd, as well as others addressed the travel issue and asked how the USDA measured it because his odometer showed it to be a 25 mile drive.

Dairy farmer Rod Land said, “Leave it to government to come up with a weak enough plan to say 20 miles as the crow flies. One thing that I would like a promise on, is whoever it is in Washington that can fly like a crow, that they will come here and demonstrate it to us because none of us can,” he added.

Land said he measured the distance from his house to the Live Oak office and it was 24.8 miles, and that he was one of the closest farmers to that office.

“We're talking about something that is going to have a detrimental effect on us,” said Land.

Also, since the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office is located in the same building as the FSA, Land said it would increase their workload, as well, because the two offices work hand-in-hand.

When Land asked the team how much money would be saved by closing the Lafayette County office, Manning said those figures had not yet been worked out. That's when Land suggested closing some state offices and combining them to save money, rather than penalizing the local tax-paying farmers. He then recited a letter on behalf of 865 Lafayette County Farm Bureau members who pleaded that the office not be closed, which Manning took into evidence.

Land said he knew there were ways to circumvent the policies and rules of the USDA.

“You can tell the secretary that a redneck farmer from Lafayette County said that, because I don't work for him,” he told Manning.

Others, like Land, continued to question whether or not funding is being cut from the top down before resorting to cutting county staff. Manning replied that the USDA is currently over the staff ceiling due to the 12.5 percent reduction that was mandated by the USDA, and that some positions have already been cut due to attrition. He said they have specific ceilings as to how many staff can be hired in each county.

One resident countered, “The county ceiling is gonna get so low you can't walk under it.”

Ray Hodge from Southeast Milk said it looked as if the budget balancing was being placed at the local level, rather than at the top first and then working its way down. He said he was at the USDA office in Washington and walked around aimlessly trying to get someone to talk to him.

“You gotta go through four people just to find out where you're going in that agency,” he said.

Hodge, like others at the meeting, said he would like to see budget cuts focus more on the federal level, rather than the county level where folks continue to struggle in tough economic times.

Manning said those offices were looked at first and at Hodges request, he said he would try to include figures of all agency-wide budget cuts in the final packets the FSA offices will receive at the end of the consolidation review process.

Jared Mosely asked if the management team was on Lafayette County's side in making their case to stay open.

“I fight for all the counties in the state of Florida,” Manning said. “But the decision will be made way over my head.”

McMillan-Fredriksson stated she would like to see specific cost-saving numbers by the closure of the Lafayette office, so she could compare it to the revenue that would be lost in the county. Manning made a note of it.

Manning stated 1 in 8 FSA employees will not have a job after all the budget cuts, mostly due to early retirement, and that overall, the USDA has 50 percent of employees who could possibly leave the agency through attrition. Forty-three percent of Florida's USDA staff, he said, could potentially be lost through attrition, which would be a big disruption to farmers in the state, and it would entail hiring and training younger college students as vacancies arose.

When Manning hinted that Taylor County could possibly be reassigned to Madison County, an audience member stated that Taylor County had already been reassigned three times.

“Please don't take the Service out of Farm Service Agency,” a Farm Bureau rep pleaded, which was met with loud applause from the audience.