Photos by Carolyn Lange Because USDA offices have been closed during the COVID pandemic, an outside window at the Farm Service Agency office in Willmar has been used for customers to receive and drop off documents for various farm programs.
COVID THROWS CURVEBALL TO FARMERS AND COUNTY FSA OFFICES By Carolyn Lange | clange@wctrib.com
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t’s a damp, cloudy day not suitable for combining beans, which made it a good day for Doug Weis to make a trip to the Kandiyohi County Farm Service Agency office to sign one of the many forms required by farmers who are enrolled in various federal agricultural programs. Weis, who farms corn and soybeans near Lake Lillian, stood outside the Willmar office at an open window where Marilyn Dunn, who has worked at the FSA for 34 years, handed him the required form from inside the building. Both were wearing masks during the transaction that took just a few minutes. “Doesn’t bother me at all,” said Weis of taking care of business while standing outside. That’s been the general attitude of ag producers who’ve had to adjust their normal interactions with FSA staff during the Coronavirus pandemic. Following the federal regulations, most offices have not been open to the public for much of the year, which means local FSA staff had to establish safe procedures for working with producers while filing annual paperwork, like certifying planting acres on detailed maps of their farmland, and signing up for new programs like the Coronavirus Food Assistance Programs. Page 10 – November 2020 – West Central Tribune
Karen Wermers, an employee at the Kandiyohi County Farm Service Agency office in Willmar removes documents from a drop box outside the offices. Farmers use the box to return paperwork for farm programs.
