Karl Guenther column: "Stop the nonsense before it can't be recalled"

KALAMAZOO (WKZO) -- The lead line on the news release from U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announces “blueprint for stronger service to increase efficiency in USDA operations.”  That’s his specific language.  If you read the whole thing, there’s not much in the way of specifics.  The one that is of interest to us here in Kalamazoo County is in the bullet point which reads: Farm Service Agency:  Consolidate 131 county offices in 32 states.

In a matter of days - - from the Vilsack announcement on January 10th, came the determination that of all those offices in all those states, only the Kalamazoo County FSA office would get the acte.  To be fair, it hasn’t actually happened yet, but two weeks later, January 26th, State Executive Director for FSA in Michigan Christine White was conducting the obligatory public hearing (at the Oshtemo Township Hall) for consideration of the designation of the Kalamazoo County FSA office as the single FSA office in Michigan to be shut down, and its many functions to be distributed among neighboring county offices.

This whole consolidation/elimination concept we are told is a means to slim down; to do as much, or more, but with less.  Reasonably, offices to be closed or moved would be those serving the least number of farm operations - - Kalamazoo County’s FSA office serves more farms than all but one other county office;  perhaps we can cut back on personnel, thus saving those salaries and benefits; Well, the proposal only moves the Kalamazoo County people to county offices elsewhere.  No savings there. 

Closing the Kalamazoo County office would eliminate the annual rent on the office building, but offsetting that is the undetermined cost involved in the computer facilities.  Presently, Natural Resources Conservation Service and FSA are in the same building.  They use the same computer facilities, located in the FSA side of the building. They’d have to be moved, or replaced.  That might eat up the savings realized in the rental cancellation.

Also among the criteria for these office closings is the USDA recommendation that there be no more than 20 miles from the closed office to the one now handling those services.  As the crow flies, it may be no more than 20 miles from the Kalamazoo County office in Portage to the next closest office, but, I am told, “On Star” calls it 20 and some tenths, and somebody else’s odometer clocks 50 miles round trip - - that would be 25 miles one way, right?

Kalamazoo County Agriculture is among the most productive of all counties in Michigan; it ranks among the top 2% among counties nationwide. I didn’t look for some other office to close - - but look as I might, I could find no valid, cost-cutting reason to hit Kalamazoo County.

Now, we’ll be looking for help from Senator Debbie Stabenow, Congressman Fred Upton, and Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger, and Representatives Sean McCann and Margaret O’Brien.  Let’s stop this nonsense before it can’t be recalled.

Karl Guenther is a retired Kalamazoo farm broadcaster from WKZO and can be reached at khguenther@att.net. He is a member of Michigan Farm Bureau and an emeritus member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.