Wichita ? Kansas Farm Service Agency, which funnels federal crop payments to farmers, plans to close 11 offices in the state in a bid to save more than $500,000 a year and provide more efficient service, the agency said.

The decision, reached Wednesday, comes after three days of agency committee meetings, said Bill Fuller, the agency’s state executive director.

“Savings is a part of it, but savings is not what is the No. 1 issue,” he said. “The No. 1 issue is trying to deliver 30-plus programs with a declining staffing base and declining budget.”

He refused to disclose the 11 affected Kansas counties, saying those names first must be submitted to the agency’s national office and the Kansas congressional delegation.

But Fuller said the 11 offices slated for consolidation represent a geographic balance across Kansas. All but two or three of them also are shared-manager offices. No layoffs will be made in conjunction with the consolidations, although some staff members may have to move.

Kansas has 103 Farm Service Agency offices in its 105 counties. Of those, 32 are shared-manager offices, he said.

“The network of offices were created in the 1930 Depression days. Just like post offices, schools and county Extension offices, we are at a point where we too have to look at our resources and the changes that have occurred to our resources,” Fuller said.

Kansas plans to submit its proposed state plan to its national office in mid-November for review.

So far, 19 other states have submitted closure plans to the federal government, said John Truluck, FSA special assistant to the administrator for field operations.

Last year, the agency shelved plans to close a third of its 2,346 county offices after a groundswell of opposition from lawmakers and farmers. In Kansas that would have meant the closure of 29 FSA offices.