Technical Assistance

Technical Assistance

By

Troy Bishopp

I watched with interest the documentary Black Blizzard, on the History Channel about the 1930’s dust bowl phenomenon.  My wife commented to my daughter Katie when the show started that her father may sigh, squirm and shout uncontrollably at the television set.  The commentator started the saga by describing how tearing up the grasslands led to erosion and flying topsoil.  I argued with the inanimate object and the host.  “See, see that’s why you need, grass farmers,” I cursed.  The scientist told how the black dust blanketed the leadership in Washington, D.C. and found its final resting place in the Atlantic Ocean.  This American agricultural tragedy birthed the Soil Conservation Service or what we know today as NRCS, The Natural Resources Conservation Service.

NRCS has been charged, along with Conservation Districts and other agencies, with protecting our nation’s natural resources and helping folks get conservation on the ground.  This successful system has been existence for over 70 years, but things, “they are a changin’.”  I defy the current administration and the national NRCS leadership team’s sweeping statements at recent events about how great the conservation programs are working.  The reason I get my hand slapped on this issue is I question these program’s inefficiencies in terms of proper program delivery and follow-up without sufficient men and women power.  I firmly believe that without our local field people building relationships with constituents the system is destined to fail, but you won’t hear that from the higher ups.

Taking a quote from A Few Good Men, “You can’t handle the truth.  You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall.”  This pretty well describes the rolling eye syndrome and blackberry bantering when I bring up the topic of technical assistance to national leaders who hold the purse strings of Farm Bill programs or direct resources in their respective states to fund local folks that help people put this conservation on the ground.  Conservation programs or any other such conservation initiatives without people are a recipe for disaster.  In 2008, the term “field staff” is an oxymoron.  How did this computer tiger mentality get such a strong hold?

I will take the blame.  Huh! What?  Yea, that’s right, me.  Somewhere back in history, I didn’t have a strong enough voice or got caught up in the cheap food policies to realize conservation title dollars were not keeping the boots on the ground.  I also didn’t see the impact because when your already farming with pasture and doing a decent job, conservation professionals tend to visit other farms with more soil erosion and nutrient management needs.  Gradually I learned, just because I wasn’t in any government programs didn’t mean I wasn’t receiving conservation assistance to better my land and my bottom line.  In fact, it was those mentors from various agencies and universities visiting my farm, putting on grazing events and hooking me up with some awesome farmers that got me where I am today.  These are the real heroes that we should be talking about.

I’ll be honest, I don’t like the term “technical assistance” in describing the people that deliver the message, facilitation, planning and implementation of grazing management.  It’s two words that get over used in our fast paced society.  I prefer, friends helping neighbors.  It’s that simple.  Is it technical when they calm your nerves at 9 p.m. about tomorrow’s paddock shift?  Is it technical to get a pat on the back for your shiny cows and good grass?  How technical is it when your friend helps you deliver a calf or assists in serving a meal at a pasture walk?  How crucial is it to have this person seeing many other operations and bringing that intellectual capital back to his or her local area?  And most of all, how important is it to have a passionate, experienced person to build a successful program around?  These questions demonstrate what I “did not” talk about when the behemoth snowball of programs like EQIP,CRP, CSP,CREP started to roll down the hill.

I failed miserably to market and highlight the excellent work of local, personal service providers in grassland management such as: Bill Murphy, Darrell Emmick, Jim Gerrish, Tom Calvert, Ed Rayburn, Julian Drelich, Dave Forgey, Jerry Verrigni, Robert DeClue, Roger Wentling, Sarah Flack, Bill Henning, Phil Cummings, Bob Hendershot and Olin Sims to name just a few that cemented the message of working together.  These natural born leaders came from a variety of conservation and educational disciplines.  When you size up the farming communities where these folks work or used to work in, the adoption of grazing programs and other conservation related activities was/is substantially higher than those without the people leading the charge.  The problem is getting a chance to talk about these people and their success stories in a big way to program leaders that hardly ever see their way out of the beltway.

I know this because when I visit D.C. or the state capitals to tell the real stories, many lament about not being able to get out in the country to witness the work “they” oversee.

Of course, I question them if they are in charge, couldn’t they grant themselves a day out in the field?  This is usually followed by a chuckle.  I hear quite often, “we only hear about the problems and not the successes.”  I guess if we want to keep our people we better start making some serious noise that gives a pat to the good conservation soldiers on the front lines.  To be frank, I’m not sure it would matter, being they have the respect and friendship of their local farmers and landowners.  I think that is where they find the passion and the means to go on and make a difference even without the financial or emotional support.

I can’t help thinking about the weird path of forms over farmers and paper over people as a way to solve our watershed issues.  In retrospect, people fooled with Mother Nature to cause the problems we have today.  It will take people with an increased holistic view of decision making to shape a better environment for our children and grandchildren.  The Dust Bowl is an eerie reminder of the past and the fisherman in the bay waiting for the water to clear after a rain should be the wake-up call for our future:  People do Matter!