Farmers Want Greater NRCS Presence

               More than 50 people attended a joint meeting of the Glasscock County Soil and Water Conservation District and St. Lawrence Cotton Growers Dec. 19 at the Senior Citizens’ Center in Garden City. The meeting’s purpose was to consider issues relating to the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s work in the county.

               More than 15 people, mostly cotton producers, described their experiences and dissatisfactions with the NCRS in recent years. One after another, producers told of difficulties in trying to get technical help from the NRCS with projects involving such things as topcon mapping, waterways, water diversion terraces, drip irrigation and brush control. Their complaints related numerous instances of unanswered requests for assistance, work promised and not begun, work begun but not finished, and unreturned telephone messages. Many said their frustration was such that they had simply stopped asking the NRCS for assistance.        

              Most producers said they have been hiring work done, such as topcon mapping, which the NRCS does for producers for no charge in other counties. Others spoke of NRCS technical information and assistance regarding reduced-till farming and installation of drip irrigation, which has been available in other counties but not here. Most said they have been unaware of the services and programs the NRCS offers. Generally, the producers said they are being left out by the agency, and most said the problems would be solved if an NRCS person were located in Garden City.

Little NRCS Involvement

Warren Multer, Extension Agent for Integrated Pest Management, agreed with several others who said that 10 years ago, there was NRCS help, cooperation and support in Glasscock County, but now, he said, the agency is not very involved here.

Multer said the county’s farmers and livestock producers are progressive and interested in new methods of soil and water conservation, and should be given help in their conservation efforts. He and Extension Agent for Agriculture Steve Sturtz both called for cooperation among government agencies in order to best help producers.              

NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations Elisha Kuehn, and Natural Resources Team Leader Gary Grogan, responded to the speakers’ concerns.

              Kuehn said most of the problems are because 1) the NRCS is understaffed and 2) USDA Program work, which is mandated by Congress, gets highest priority. (Program work includes CRP, EQUIP, and CCRP.) She cited the agency’s downsizing in recent years, and said her area of supervision now encompasses 51 counties and includes 76 employees, 4 of whom are engineers. She said a team of 5 employees, including one engineer, services Tom Green, Coke, Sterling and Glasscock counties.

Workload Dictates Staffing

                Kuehn said workload dictates staffing in the NRCS, and Glasscock County’s workload, as it is recorded in her office, has not warranted more staff here. Producers say the actual workload is more than sufficient, but that it doesn’t show up in NRCS records because they are doing most of the work themselves.

                Grogan said producers should apply for any NRCS programs for which they qualify, and should ask for NRCS assistance where it is applicable. He also said producers should ask their elected state and national representatives to support their efforts. He said, “If you don’t ask, you never get a damned thing.”

                Attempting to find ways to improve the local situation, Kuehn said that if Glasscock County would provide office space and utilities, she would send one of the people from the Sterling City NRCS office to Glasscock County for an undetermined number of days weekly, if there is enough workload to justify it. Kuehn said she also would look into getting a toll-free telephone number for the Sterling City office. She said locating a full-time office here would take USDA or congressional approval.

Educational Meetings Promised

                Kuehn also said the NRCS would conduct educational meetings in Glasscock County, beginning in January or February, in order to inform producers about what types of programs and assistance the agency offers. (See “Briefly,” page 2.)

                According to Kuehn, complaints, concerns or comments regarding NRCS service should be directed to Grogan at 915/655-3521, ext. 3 or to her at 915/944-0147.  The NRCS accountability website is: www.nrcs.usda.gov/prms.

            In addition to Kuehn, Grogan, and the SWCD board of directors, those attending the meeting included Mina Fitting, staff assistant to State Representative Lamar Smith, Ben Wilde from the Soil and Water Conservation state office, St. Lawrence Cotton Growers members, the Glasscock County commissioners, the FSA’s Glasscock County Committee and the Glasscock County Underground Water Conservation District’s manager and board.

 

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