The Farm Service Agency is looking for nominations for an election that sets local guidance on federal programs.

The nominations are open for the election for the county committees, which help administer the FSA programs.

“It’s one of the few locally elected bodies that still has oversight over federal programs, ” Hill County FSA Director Mike Zook said this morning.

In Hill County, the election is for the Local Administrative Area that runs from the Gildford High Grade to the Liberty County border. Dave Stevenson is finishing up a three-year term in that position, and is eligible for another term if nominated and he wants to run.

Zook said the U. S. Department of Agriculture prizes having diversified representation on the committees. While any qualified candidate is welcomed, the department especially likes to see people representing disadvantaged or minority groups, including women ag producers, on the committees.

The people nominated must be eligible land owners or ag producers operating on land in Hill County.

The nomination period opened June 15, and the petitions are due by Aug. 1.

The election will be held by a mail-in ballot.

The county commitee is charged with oversight of the local office, and also hears producer appeals on FSA decisions and collects input on how farm programs can be improved.