The Chairperson of the Botetourt/Craig/Roanoke Farm Service Agency County Committee, Will H. Stinnett (left) presented Carson L. King, county committee member, Roanoke County (right), a certificate for his 30 years of service to the ASCS/FSA county committee at the committee’s January meeting. Mr. King has produced fruits, vegetables, wheat, corn and mixed hay for the past 45 years in Bent Mountain. He is also a director on the Blue Ridge Soil and Water Conservation District for Roanoke County.
Beginning in 1975, Mr. King served on the Roanoke County Committee for a number of years and has served on the combined Botetourt/Craig/Roanoke County Committee beginning in 1997. After a term limit break-in-service, he was re-elected to the County Committee in the 2008 election. Throughout his many years of service, he has served as chairperson or vice chairperson on numerous occasions for the agency.
The agency was first called Triple A (AAA) in the 1930’s. Triple A (AAA) was a result of legislation written after the 1929 Great Depression to provide assistance to the farming community. Conservation programs were enacted after the “dust bowl” catastrophe in the Midwest plains states. After Triple A, the name was changed to PMA, later ASC, and then ASCS. Mr. King has seen many changes to the agency during his committee tenure. During his committee service, the agency began as the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS), then the Consolidated Farm Service Agency (CFSA), and now today, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) a division of the United States Department of Agriculture. Each county in the nation is served by a USDA Farm Service Agency Office with a locally elected committee serving the specialized needs of the local farmers and the local farm community.
The Farm Service Agency county committee system is an elected committee where farmers are voted into office by their peers in the agricultural community. Congratulations are extended to Mr. King on his many years of elected service with ASCS/FSA. The FSA County Committee and the FSA county office appreciate his willingness to serve his community, FSA, and the farmers of Roanoke County.
