FCS Diversity and Inclusion - PROPOSED RULE - MARCH 2011
Dear Mr. Van Meter, As America's oldest agricultural organization, the Grange has been a stalwart supporter of family farmers for 144 years. We appreciate the opportunity to submit feedback to the FCS regarding their efforts to better serve and support small and medium sized farmers. In your efforts to diversify the FCS loan portfolio, we hope you will consider the following: 1) that each FCS institution establish a baseline of producers who meet the farm bill definition of local and regional food producers by number of borrowers, by loan volume, and other key characteristics. 2) that, within five years, the FCS establishes an investment goal for local and regional food producers of at least 10% of each institution’s capital. 3) that the FCS create and implement a plan for reaching out to local and regional food producers. 4) that the FCS adds local and regional food producers to the its board. 5) that the FCS provides training for its diverse personnel to help them better serve local and regional food producers. 6) that the FCA put a plan in place for how to use FCS local and regional food producer financing to better leverage other public and private capital to effectively redress larger weaknesses in the rest of the local and regional food supply chain.
Thank you for your service to America's family farmers,
Daniel Feldman VP, Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange #503