Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
The Hill County Farm Service Agency Office is scheduling a series of meetings to discuss changes in the new Farm Bill and to help agricultural producers make decisions about how to plan their operations. “There are so many changes in the Farm Bill, it can’t be covered in merely a few hours,” said Mike Zook, executive director of the Hill County FSA office. “It’s better if we break it up into smaller parts so people can digest it and see how it may affect their individual practices.” A meeting to discuss the changes in livestock programs, as well as the county committee election, will be held at the Stone Child College Conference Room at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18. Meetings to discuss the Average Crop Revenue Election program and changes in the direct counter-cyclical payment program are scheduled in Havre at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, in the Holiday Village Mall Community Room and at noon in Rudyard in the North Star Schools gymnasium. Zook said next week’s meetings will be the first in a series of discussions. He said he expects a meeting will be held in the next month or two to discuss the Farm Bill’s permanent disaster program provisions and requirements, and that classes may be held on Farm Bill changes during the Cabin Fever program at Montana State University- Northern in early next year. Zook said the staff of the Hill County FSA Office has spent six days in the last two weeks receiving training on the Farm Bill programs. “Trying to cram it down in two hours is virtually impossible,” he said. “We will try to break it down into as simple pieces as we can so people can make some decisions.”
