Farm Service Agency closes Culpeper office

For the past two years, local farmers have urged the state to keep county farm service agencies intact but the inevitable has now reached Culpeper.

The Culpeper County Farm Service Agency is closing today and all records will be transported to Orange County's office. It is one of nine FSA offices statewide to close and consolidate with other counties.

The office that served Culpeper and Rappahannock farmers will now be part of an office that also serves Orange, Madison and Greene counties.

Cynthia Bowman, director of the Orange County Office, said her current staff of two will grow to three after the Culpeper consolidation.

Bowman said the office acquired Greene County last year. She has not yet sent any information out to the Culpeper or Rappahannock farmers, but plans to do as much outreach as possible in the future.

Virginia Farm Service Agency Executive Director Jacquelin Easter said state budget cuts in rent and staffing forced the need for closures.

Last summer, the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors offered to pay the rent to keep the office in Culpeper but Easter said it did not resolve the staffing issues.

Easter added that no one has lost a job and Culpeper's staff has been dispersed to other offices.

Farmers did get the option to choose which office they would prefer to work with - besides Orange County's FSA, the closest office is in Warrenton.

While records are in transit, Easter said the FSA would work with area farmers if they still would like to move their records.
Bob Williamson, who was the director of both the Culpeper and Warrenton FSA offices, will now work in Warrenton full time.

He has said in previous articles that he worries the change might deter farmers from participating in state and federal programs.

Farmers use the local FSA office for programs such as farm loans, price support and drought assistance. While conducting business is available online, through fax or phone, Williamson worries eliminating the office will eliminate participation in the programs, which the government also benefits from by gaining access to crop and acreage reports, which are provided by participating farmers.

Tommy Clark, of Mystic Hill Farm, has been vocal throughout the process about the need to maintain Culpeper's office or establish a central office here.

He agrees the change will require some adjustment but said participation is important, especially with the current drought conditions.

"I am at the point where at some point you accept the direction things have taken," Clark said, adding that his suggestion of a central office didn't get much attention. "They make a lot of those decisions without a lot of input from people at this level."

Easter said most area farmers have resigned to the change.
"They all still would like to go to the day where we all had a county office in our home county," she said. "But they've worked with us and we've continued to strive to do the very best customer service."

Need FSA services-
Orange County
Farm Service Agency

325B Madison Road, Orange, Va., 22960

Phone: 540-672-1638
Fax: 540-672-2455

Executive Director:
Cynthia Bowman