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Reduced Kansas FSA office closings are announcedBy Larry Dreiling Three Kansas offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency, scheduled for closure in February, will remain open. FSA offices in Morton County (Elkhart), Gove County (Gove) and Barber County (Medicine Lodge) will remain open under a final proposal to consolidate FSA county offices released April 24 by Bill Fuller, Kansas FSA director. Meanwhile, five Kansas FSA offices submitted for closure and consolidation on the initial proposal that remain on the final proposal are: --Chase County (Cottonwood Falls) will be consolidated with Lyon County (Emporia). --Johnson County (Olathe) will be consolidated with Miami County (Paola). --Geary County (Junction City) will be consolidated with Riley County (Manhattan). --Woodson County (Yates Center) will be consolidated with Wilson County (Fredonia). --Wabaunsee County (Alma) will be consolidated with Pottawatomie County (the office in Westmoreland will be relocated to Wamego). Four of the Kansas FSA office combinations outlined in the initial proposal have been modified in the final proposal: --Leavenworth/Wyandotte County (Leavenworth) will be consolidated with Jefferson County (Oskaloosa). Atchison County (Effingham) will be converted from shared management to a stand-alone county office. --Comanche County (Coldwater) will be consolidated with Barber County (Medicine Lodge). Clark County will remain a stand-alone county office. --Elk/Chautauqua County (Howard) will be de-combined. Chautauqua County will be combined with Montgomery County (Independence) and Elk County will be consolidated with Greenwood County (Eureka). The reason two of the three offices that remained open were under review in the first place was due to questions about the condition of the buildings where the FSA offices were located. Not "at this time" Brian Packard, Gove County FSA Committee chair, for example, said he was happy with the decision not to close his local office and continued to take issue with Fuller's assessment of the building. "There always had been comments that it had been an older building," Packard said. "It has been redone so it's pretty nice, but I saw where he mentioned that if producers were still happy with the building, that's fine, but he said it wasn't handicapped accessible. It's been accessible for years. I don't quite understand what he's talking about." In addition to building being considered substandard, Fuller's report said the Gove County office is not located in a town that is a significant agriculture trade center--no machinery dealership, farm supply store, financial institution, grain elevator. "Since FSA customers do not seem to be concerned about the condition and lack of handicap accessibility of the building, agricultural trade center issue, or possible future staff reductions, Gove County is removed from the county office consolidation list at this time," Fuller's report said. The words "at this time" concerns Packard. "I'm guessing this (issue) may come up again. I've asked what it would take to get off the list. The report said the building was in bad shape, but I think many of the state committee members who came out here saw something different," Packard said. "One of them said he thought he'd been misled about some of the stuff that had been written about the building, in that he saw problems had been taken care of." Fuller has submitted the final proposed restructuring plan to the FSA national office. After approval, there will be a 120-day waiting period where no offices can be closed. During those 120 days, producers in affected counties will be sent a letter asking where they wish to conduct FSA business; they may choose their administrative headquarters from any contiguous county office. In addition, the current county committees will determine whether the new combined county committee will have three or five members, and establish new local administrative area boundaries for the new multi-county area. "The goal of reviewing Kansas counties was to identify an optimum network of FSA facilities, staffing, training, and technology within existing budgetary resources and staffing ceilings," said Fuller. Opposed to closings An announcement will be issued when the FSA national office approves the final proposal, but not before first going to members of the state's congressional delegation. Among them, Rep. Jerry Moran. "I continue to oppose the closing of any local FSA office in Kansas. However, I appreciate that FSA listened to the voices of local residents and modified its final plan to better reflect the needs of Kansas farmers and ranchers. I am pleased for the farmers and ranchers of Barber, Gove, and Morton counties," Moran said in a statement following the announcement. Moran also applauded local communities for their efforts to bring about substantive changes in the original FSA proposal. "Credit should be given to the community members in the affected counties who came forward with their concerns and shared ideas to improve the original restructuring plan," Moran said. "I believe much of the change in the final FSA plan can be attributed to their efforts." "I will continue to work with Kansans to convince USDA officials in Washington, D.C., to pursue additional changes to the restructuring plan. From the very beginning I have asked that no closings occur until completion of the new farm bill." Fuller's report said the goal of the review was to identify an optimum network of FSA facilities, staffing, training, and technology within existing budgetary resources and staffing ceilings. "We certainly appreciate those in the communities that provided alternatives and recommendations. This input was very helpful as we modified the initial plan in ways that would improve convenience and better serve our farm and ranch customers," Fuller said in a statement. Larry Dreiling can be reached by phone at 785-628-1117 or by e-mail at ldreiling@aol.com. B 9 4/30/07 1 Star WK Date: 4/26/07
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