Gary J. Raymond

Gary Raymond, executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency in Oxford County, said the programs are Livestock Compensation, Livestock Indemnity and Crop Disaster.

PARIS - Gary Raymond, executive director of USDA's Farm Service Agency in Oxford County, announced that the 2007 FSA county committee elections start Nov. 2.The deadline for eligible voters to return ballots to FSA offices is Dec. 3.

"The FSA county committee system is unique among government agencies, because it allows producers to make important decisions concerning the local administration of federal farm programs," Raymond said.

"The crop itself is just excellent," said Gary Raymond, executive director of the USDA Franklin County Farm Service Agency."It's really a bumper crop."

Farmers in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties are in different stages of haying.

Though showers have slowed down the haying process some, causing farmers to have to tedder the crop more than once to dry, they're hitting it hard this week.

...
If the hay gets wet, it gets spoiled, Raymond said.

"It's been hard to get it in," he said."Hopefully the end of the week's predicted good weather will help. (Farmers) really have to go at it."

Bussie York of the Sandy River Farm in Farmington is straight out piling in the square bales of hay, Raymond said.

"I'd say 70 percent of the first cut's in and a couple of farms have started their second cut in Franklin County," Raymond said.

Last year's hay crop wasn't too good, Raymond said, because of the Army worms and some areas of the state hit by drought, but so far Army worms aren't a problem this year.

Blynn Thurston of Norway, who has about 100 head of cattle, mostly milking cows, hays about 130 acres.

"It's a real good crop," Thurston said Wednesday."Everything's going good."

Though the showers have slowed things some, he said, he chops most of his to put in a silo.

"The crop itself is just excellent," said Gary Raymond, executive director of the USDA Franklin County Farm Service Agency."It's really a bumper crop."

FARMINGTON - Gary J. Raymond, county executive director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency in Franklin County, announces that Russell Black of Wilton and Randall Hall of East Dixfield are running to serve as a member of the county committee.