Report on County Operations Trainee Training Materials Task Force 

August 11 through August 14, 2008, I met with other members of the County Operations Trainee (COT) Materials Task Force at the Cumberland and York County FSA Office in Portland, Maine. The task force was comprised of a State Director, Farm Loan Manager, County Executive Director, District Director, Administrative Specialist, and a Program Specialist with the National Office. Ken Gustin of Maine was the task force leader. The purpose of the task force was to generate a COT training guide that would be a resource available to State Offices for COT training.

Several states had expressed a desire for the national office to have a COT training guide available for COT training. Prior to the meeting, task force members reviewed training guides developed and used by six state offices. The task force used the state guides to develop the format for a new training guide.

The training guide developed by the task force consists of individual training modules. Each module covers a specific program. The task force felt that trainees would gain a better understanding of FSA programs and policies by organizing the guide by programs, rather than being based on the numerical order of the handbooks. Some of the programs covered in the training modules are FLP, administrative, price support, and payment limitation.

Each module in the guide includes a module purpose, key review area with handbook references, work activities as assigned by the trainer, and review questions. The trainer and trainee each sign the module to verify the module was completed. Handbook references are given by handbook and part, but not by specific paragraphs. By not including paragraph references, the training guide can be updated on a periodic basis. This will not require the guide to be continually updated as handbook references are changed.

The task force members worked diligently to complete the guide during the meeting. Each member had computer access and each member wrote out the training modules. Before the guide is available to the states, it is to be reviewed by the office of Deputy Administrator for Field Operations (DAFO). The guide has been provided to DAFO for review. After the review is completed, the guide will be available on the DAFO website. The task force provided a great opportunity for NACS to be involved with the National Office in development of training materials. 

Bardell Faux

Farm Loan Manger

Lewiston, Idaho