The Beaufort County Farm Service Agency is looking for people to serve as liaisons between the local agricultural community and the USDA.

Nominations to the county committee, made up of five members from local administrative areas scattered across the county, are now being accepted. This year, nominations and elections will be held for the Local Administrative Area 1 position, which covers the farming areas of Bath, Belhaven and Pantego. Local residents who participate in FSA programs are eligible to be nominated.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be a producer, but it’s normally someone who’s involved with one of our programs. We want to pick someone who has the knowledge to represent the local farmers,” Leigh Anna Hester, county executive director of the FSA said.

Hester said those on the county committee bridge the gap between local farmers or producers and the USDA.

“The members are the backbone, really. They have so much input in the community, and they bring that input to the FSA. And they take knowledge back to the community, too. They are the producers’ direct link,” Hester said.

Part of members’ job description includes approving farm program contracts, looking at appeals from different producers, sometimes making adverse decisions, among other tasks, according to Hester. They work closely FSA programs such as Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Coverage programs, which provide coverage for revenue loss. The committee’s most important role is acting as a representative for the local farmers.

“They are a voice for their peers. They’re connected to the agriculture of the county. They are going to be the ones who know what the farmers need and what they need to do,” Hester said.

Nominations began on June 15 and will be accepted until Aug. 1, according to Hester. To be nominated, eligible residents must complete a nomination form FSA-669A. For more information, call the FSA at 252-946-1076.