Is a Flood of FSA Staffing Shortages Coming Soon? USDA Denies FSA Vaccine Exemption Request

From tractor parts to fertilizer, farmers are plagued with problems in the U.S. supply chain. And with labor already being an issue across the U.S., some fear it could get worse as vaccine mandates are prompting some employees to walk away from their jobs. After USDA said late last week it’s not approving a vaccine mandate exemption for Farm Service Agency (FSA) employees, farmers could see another shortage: FSA field staff.

The request was made by National Association of FSA County Office employees who filed the request. The Association, which represents 6,700 FSA employees, asked that county offices be allowed to choose regular testing instead of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations as detailed in President Biden’s September executive order.

According to Pro Farmer Washington Correspondent Jim Wiesemeyer, FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux fully supports President Biden’s executive order requiring vaccines for federal employees, which takes effect Nov. 22.

Vaccine Mandate Hits FSA

As AgWeb reported earlier in October, Biden’s executive order not only applies to all FSA field office staff, but also the FSA county committee members, who largely consist of farmers.

The USDA Agriculture Secretary was pressed on the issue during a recent House Agriculture Committee hearing.

When asked if he anticipated issues keeping local FSA offices open after Nov. 22, Vilsack said, “Well, there are provisions in the proposal for religious exemptions and for health exemptions, and so we will certainly respect those. I would anticipate and expect we will do what we need to do to keep offices open at the end of the day. We don’t want to necessarily reduce the service to people who need the service. So, I don’t anticipate we’re actually going to see a significant number of closed offices that would significantly reduce our capacity to serve farmers and ranchers in your state and other states.”

Staffing Shortages

In late August, Vilsack admitted USDA was already facing staffing shortages. During the Farm Journal Town Hall, Vilsack told AgDay Host and Farm Journal Editor Clinton Griffiths, “When we came into this situation, we faced a USDA, as was the case, I think with a number of other federal government agencies and departments, where we had significant fewer people than we had last time I was Secretary,” he said. “I think there were 3,000 to 4,000 fewer people working in USDA. So, at the same time, we’re trying to get these resources out the door and do all of this work that’s important to people, we’re also trying to step up, and we’re trying to deal with the pandemic.”

Those in FSA-paid positions choosing to file for exemption were told to file those exemptions in October.

According to a letter sent to all FSA county committee and state board members, the vaccination requirement “includes all FSA state and county committee members and advisors, subject to such exemptions only as required by law.”

In order to reach full vaccination status by the Nov. 22 deadline, the letter provided a clear timeline, including Oct. 11, by which any paid positions within FSA needed to have their first Moderna vaccine dose and Oct. 18 for Pfizer.

Farmer County Committee Members 

Farmers who serve as elected county committee members weigh their decisions, it’s a decision that comes with less weight than those employed full-time by FSA. Currently, elected county committee positions receive just over $20 a month. Typically, those positions are also reimbursed for mileage, but some FSA county committees haven’t met in person since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic 18 months ago.

In central Illinois, Rory Rincker, a farmer who currently serves as the chairman of his FSA county committee, is still undecided. With seven years of a nine-year term already under his belt, and no current plans to get vaccinated due to already having COVID-19 and natural immunity, he is still trying to decide what to do. His concerns extend broader than the committee, though, as he says he’s afraid FSA will lose valuable office staff due to the vaccine requirement.

“I have spoken to a couple of full-time employees, and they’ve voiced their concerns about it in our general conversations,” Rincker told Farm Journal. “A couple of those individuals have said they are simply not going to get the vaccination; they are choosing to step away. I also spoke to FSA staff who weren’t vaccinated but went ahead and got vaccinated just because they want to keep their job. My fear is we [FSA] are going to lose good people, because it’s forcing them to walk away.”

Under Biden’s vaccine mandate, county FSA committee-elected positions are required to be vaccinated by Nov. 22; however, elected officials in Congress are not required to be vaccinated under Biden’s executive order. That’s because the Senate and House of Representatives fall under the legislative branch, whereas USDA and FSA are under the executive branch, which is impacted by the executive order.