Comment from Interested Citizen

As an interested citizen of the state of MS, I am quite concerned about fair and equal representation on the county committees. The process of nominating & electing a coc member should definitely be publicized more frequently to obtain a greater participation from ALL farmers in local administrative areas. I believe more emphasis should be placed on OUTREACH in this area. The COC Advisor is appointed but has no voting rights. Will Secretary Vilsack appoint the current COC Advisor as the voting member or will there be a COC Advisor with no voting rights and a socially disadvantaged appointed member with voting rights? I feel this is long over-due and that each member of the county committee should have voting rights and make decisions coherently. Afterall, the SED is not elected, but appointed and makes decisions that affect employees statewide. Secretary Vilsack, I applaud your suggestion to appoint a voting member from the socially disadvantaged group to serve on the FSA county committee and wish you much success in your endeavour.