Ballots Should Arrive via Mail the Week of January 5 and are due to FSA by February 2, 2026
Due to the federal government shutdown last October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised the Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committee voting period, and eligible agricultural producers and private landowners across the country should receive ballots beginning the week of January 5. Ballots must be signed, postmarked, or delivered in person to the local FSA office by the close of business Feb. 2, 2026, to be counted. Newly elected committee members will take office on March 2, 2026. Producers can identify their Local Administrative Areas (LAAs) using a geographic information system (GIS) locator tool available at fsa.usda.gov/elections and can confirm their LAA and voter and nominee status by contacting their local FSA office. Eligible voters who do not receive a ballot in the mail can request one from their local FSA county office. Keeping your farm records and mailing address up to date, and confirming that you have been properly loaded into the COC election database, can help ensure you receive your ballot in a timely manner.
Revised Election Schedule
June 16, 2025
The nomination period begins.
August 1, 2025
Last day to file nomination forms at the local USDA Service Center.
January 5, 2026
Ballots mailed to eligible voters.
February 2, 2026
Last day to return voted ballots to the USDA Service Center.
March 2, 2026
Newly elected county committee members take office.
To be eligible to vote in the county committee elections, producers must participate in or cooperate with a USDA program (i.e., have a Farm Number) and be assigned to the LAA that is up for election. Each year, at least one LAA in each COC jurisdiction is up for election on a three-year rotation, and each producer is assigned to vote in a single LAA. A cooperating producer is defined as someone who has provided information about their farming or ranching operation to FSA, even if they have not applied for or received program benefits. To register for a farm number, farm owners or operators must submit an AD-2047 Customer Data Worksheet and proof of ownership or lease agreement to their local FSA office. More detailed instructions on how to get a farm number can be found on RAFI’s blog here or via the USDA here.
For purposes of FSA county committee elections, every member of an American Indian tribe is considered an agricultural landowner if the land on which the tribal member’s voting eligibility is based is tribally owned or held in trust by the U.S. for the tribe, even if the individual does not personally produce a commodity on that land. Tribal agricultural landowners 18 years and older can contact their local FSA county office to register to vote. Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated members of the agriculture community serve on FSA county committees. The committees are comprised of three to 11 members who serve three-year terms. Committee members play a key role in how FSA delivers disaster recovery, safety-net, conservation, commodity, and price support programs, as well as making decisions on county office employment and other agricultural issues. More details on FSA County Committees are available here.