[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3384-3385]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING NORTH DAKOTA FARM SERVICE AGENCY EMPLOYEES

 Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the 302 U.S. 
Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency--FSA--staff in North 
Dakota and thank them for their hard work and dedication to serving our 
State's farmers and ranchers.
  The farm bill is perhaps the most important piece of legislation we 
can pass

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for North Dakota, and I am proud to have been a part of writing and 
passing it. But the work doesn't end when the President signs the bill. 
In fact, that is when the real work begins for hundreds of FSA 
employees.
  Our farmers are faced with a big decision this month, when they will 
decide on both base acre reallocation and yield updates as well as 
elect which farm program they will participate in for the next 5 years.
  This is a big decision for farmers, and one that will have effects on 
their bottom lines for the next 5 years. It is also a complicated 
decision. The 2014 farm bill gave producers the opportunity to tailor 
farm programs to their specific operation by choosing between revenue 
protection--at the county or individual farm level--or price protection 
coverage, or a combination of the two.
  These important decisions are compounded for farmers with declining 
commodity prices and producers facing greater economic uncertainty than 
they have in recent years.
  And that is why the FSA staff are so important. They held 307 
informational sessions attended by 15,469 individuals across our State 
throughout the winter to update as many producers as possible on their 
options. And they have had long days with our farmers at the local 
level helping folks with base reallocation, yield updates, and program 
election. Producers recognize and appreciate their hard work and 
dedication, and I thank them for their service to our State. I have 
heard from farmers more than once that ``the ladies in the office know 
what they're doing and have been very helpful.''
  I would also like to thank the North Dakota State University 
Extension Service staff for the countless hours they have put into 
educating producers about their options and walking them through how 
each program and economic scenario could affect them for the next 5 
years.
  Farmers and ranchers are the backbone of my State and this country. 
It is important that we continue to provide them with the tools and 
certainty they need. I thank the dedicated men and women of the Farm 
Service Agency who work daily to make this a reality.

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