The Big Creek Grange has for generations been an agricultural community stalwart; a site for meetings, competitions, fundraisers, and social gatherings.

Yesterday, the Grange was the setting for a hearing on the future of a vital farm service, and the atmosphere which prevailed was not assuring.Nearly 100 people attended the session during which it was explained that the Carbon-Monroe office of the Farm Service Agency (FSA), located along Route 209 in Towamensing Township, is slated for closing. The hearing was to gather testimony to be used for the final decision on the fate of the office.If it closes, the office would be merged with the Northampton-Lehigh County office in Bethlehem.About 20 people spoke up at the hearing, all appealing for the office to remain open. Others submitted written testimony.For 10 more days individuals can submit testimony to the state office of the FSA, which will then forward the testimony to the federal office. The federal Farm Service Agency will make the final decision on closing the office or keeping it open.The two-hour hearing was hosted by Bill L. Wehry, state executive director of the Farm Service Agency, which is a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Asked if he'll have input into the decision, Wehry, a native of Schuylkill County, said he didn't know. Asked if he would recommend keeping it open, he evaded a direct answer, responding, "I will certainly consider everybody's thoughts."Linda Christman of Towamensing Township asked Wehry if the meeting was merely "symbolic." Wehry responded, "It's not going to hurt. We'll collect all the comments and we'll send them to the national office where a review will be done."Present at the meeting and voicing objection to closing the office were Carbon County Commissioners Wayne Nothstein, who is a member of the Carbon County Conservation Board, and Thomas Gerhard; and personnel representing the offices of Congressman Lou Barletta and state Sen. John T. Yudichak. Nothstein read a letter from state Rep. Doyle Heffley.Wehry explained why the office is proposed for closing.He said that in the past three years, the USDA budget was cut by $3 billion, or 12 percent. Wehry noted that staffing has been reduced nationwide by 12 1/2 percent, and in Pennsylvania by about 11 percent.All types of cuts have occurred, including travel expenses and cell phone contracts, Wehry remarked.The USDA is looking at cutting 259 offices, including some overseas. This includes 131 FSA offices nationwide.Congress included specific criteria to determine which FSA offices would be closed and the Carbon-Monroe office meets that criteria, he said. The criteria is that another FSA office must be located less than 20 miles away "the way the crow flies" and have two or fewer employees. The Bethlehem office is 18 miles away.Audience members argued that the actual driving mileage to Bethlehem is well over 20 miles.Wehry said offices in Pennsylvania scheduled for closing are Carbon-Monroe, Sullivan-Wyoming, Lebanon, Fulton, and satellite offices in Mifflin, Perry and Blair counties.Individuals can still provide testimony regarding the closing of the offices up to 10 days after the hearings. The office or office files cannot be transferred for at least 90 days after the hearing, meaning the closure if approved could occur by summer.All employees at the closed FSA offices will have opportunities for employment at another FSA office.Roger Diehl, an audience member, suggested that if the local office is closed that a satellite office be established to serve the agricultural community.Clark Schoenberger, who serves on the Conservation Board, pointed out that there already is a savings realized for the FSA in Carbon County because it shares an office and expenses with the Carbon County Conservation District. He said of square footage for office space, "You won't get it for less than what you have here. It will cost you a lot more to move our people into (the Bethlehem) office."Chris Storm, district manager of the Carbon Conservation Agency, and local Christmas tree grower Dennis Yenser both complained about the increasing amount of government regulations on farmers and how the government is taking away local assistance for compliance with these regulations."Should you be concentrating on providing better services for our farmers," Storm asked, "not taking from them?"Another farmer, Gary Kiefer, said the book of regulations regarding manure management is 60 pages."Every farmer needs a manure management plan or they're in violation," he said. Kiefer said the farmers often turn to FSA to assist them with such complexities.Scott Berger said younger people will be discouraged from entering farming if they don't have programs like the FSA to help them."We're working with Congress with the dollars we're allocated," responded Wehry."If making this move is all about the bottom line, it cost $40,000 to keep this office running. It's costing $100,000 to run the Lehigh and Northampton office. Why not move them up here?" Eva Dugan asked Wehry."If it's about money, you move where it is the cheapest to keep the office open," she added.A farmer said he doesn't feel any of the FSA offices should be closed; that the government should be supporting the local farmers."I know that there is a great hue and cry to balance the budget," Roy Christman of Towamensing Township said. "I would remind the Congress that there are two ways to balance the budget."One is to cut programs; the other is to have a fair tax system in which everyone, including corporate entities and CEOs, pay their fair share. I don't see the necessity of balancing the federal budget on the backs of already overburdened farmers."One farmer shouted, "We should all go on strike!"