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Farm Service Agency offices could close in Arkansas Thursday, Sep 22, 2005 By Alison Vekshin Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- The Agriculture Department is shaping a proposal that could close some of the 62 Farm Service Agency offices in Arkansas as part of a nationwide plan to trim costs and modernize services, an agency official said Wednesday. The agency's state executive directors, including Dotson Collins of Arkansas, will gather in Washington on Friday when agency officials plan to unveil the details. The executive directors will be tasked with identifying offices for closure, said Mike Yost, associate administrator at the Farm Service Agency. Collins declined to say what changes he had in mind. "I wouldn't want to speculate until I see what information they give me in Washington," Collins said. The Farm Service Agency, which has 2,351 offices nationwide, provides credit to new or disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, helps farmers recover from disaster and stabilizes farm income. In Arkansas, the agency employs 275 full-time employees to service about 40,000 farmers, Collins said. "I certainly don't want to see the number reduced beyond what we need to manage the offices," Collins said. Yost said the purpose of the reorganization plan is to modernize technology, improve employee skills, upgrade equipment and contain costs. "We are operating under a Depression-era structure," Yost said. "Agriculture is changing dramatically." The agency has 1,603 offices located within 30 miles of another office, he noted. It has a budget of $1.3 billion in fiscal 2005, Yost said. "We're looking to have less bricks and mortar, less administration and more program implementation," Yost said. "We know we're entering the era of diminishing resources. We're being proactive." Yost declined to reveal details of the proposal, saying he would prefer to provide them to the executive directors first. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, opposed closing the state's offices. "Arkansas is a big agriculture state. A lot of people make their living off the land," he said. "Our farmers need to have readily accessible access to the Farm Service Agency offices." Stanley Reed, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the plan. "We're looking at either cutting farm-program benefits to farmers or else trying to be more efficient in those programs," he said. "This is an attempt to be more efficient and keep the benefits consistent." Meanwhile, the Senate late Tuesday approved an amendment that would bar the Agriculture Department from implementing its plan until it conducted an analysis to ensure the closures would be cost effective and improve services for farmers. "Especially in light of Hurricane Katrina, it's a mistake to close these Farm Service Agency offices around the country and around the state," said Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark. Pryor and Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., introduced the amendment to an annual spending bill that funds the Agriculture Department. "We plan to go through a very thorough process in analyzing this to make sure it's cost effective," Yost said. "At the end of the day, this agency would be better positioned to provide services to farmers and ranchers across the country." -- 30 -- |
