Pictured from left to right are Bob Parker, past ASCS director, Larry Belshe, Mandi Bird, current FSA director, and Kirby Payne, past FSA director.
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This month, Larry Belshe is retiring from the Farm Service Agency County Committee after serving the producers of Daviess County for 24 years. Belshe began farming in 1971 after obtaining a degree from the University of Missouri in animal science and moving back to Gallatin.
In 1984, he was elected by local producers to serve on the Daviess County Committee under the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS). Over the next 35 years, he would serve a total of 24 years on the ASCS Committee including when it transitioned to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Committee in 1995.
County committees are made up of farmers and ranchers elected by other producers in their communities to guide the delivery of farm programs at the local level. Committee members play a critical role in the day-to-day operations of FSA. Committees meet to make important decisions on disaster and conservation programs, emergency programs, commodity price support loan programs, county office employment and other agricultural issues.
County Committee members are elected to three-year terms and can serve nine consecutive years before having to sit out for one term, and then if re-elected can serve another nine consecutive years and so on.
Larry served on the committee under three different county executive directors. When he was first elected in 1984, Bob Parker was the director. After Bob became the district director, Larry served a total of 16 years for past director, Kirby Payne. Larry finished his last term with Mandi Bird as the director beginning in 2017.
“On behalf of the Daviess County FSA staff and producers, we would like to thank Larry for his 24 years of service and dedication to agriculture and to this community,” said Mandi Bird.
Wesley Gay of Gallatin was elected to serve on the County Committee on Dec. 5 and will take Larry’s place on the committee effective Jan. 1, 2020.