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Believe it or not, it’s possible for federal agricultural policy to not just fail in Washington. It can also fail when there’s no one left in a local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) office to help farmers put programs into practice. I’ve seen that reality up close, after spending more than three decades serving producers as a district conservationist with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
My job wasn’t to sit behind a desk. It was to sit across the table from farmers, visit their fields, help design conservation plans that fit their operations and make sure funding approved by Congress actually reached farmland. Those local offices and the people who staff them are the backbone of USDA’s conservation work.
I saw this firsthand early in my career. When I moved to a local NRCS office in the early 1990s, one of the first producers I worked with was an older rancher who was deeply skeptical of the federal government. We sat down together, walked his land, and put together a grazing plan that included a deep well, miles of pipeline, and cross-fencing. The results spoke for themselves. His stocking rate increased, his operation improved and his skepticism disappeared — a pattern I would see repeat itself over the years.
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Before long, he was telling other producers about his experience. Demand grew so quickly that our office went from being a quiet outpost to one that needed additional staff for the first time in years.
Today, that backbone is under real strain. A recent report by USDA’s Office of the Inspector General examining staffing levels at the Department from January to June 2025 revealed that NRCS lost 22 percent of its staff — 2,673 employees — in just the first half of 2025, one of the largest staffing reductions across the Department. Farmers across the heartland are already fearing the worst.
I share those concerns, not only as a former district conservationist, but as a farmer myself. Alongside my son, I run a 200-head cow-calf operation in South Dakota, paired with corn and soybean crops. Like other farmers across the country, I’m juggling high input costs, volatile markets, and increasingly destructive weather. These challenges are only the tip of the iceberg of what family farms like ours are up against.
Even the best run farms can’t go it alone under these conditions. That’s why voluntary, locally led conservation programs operated by USDA are so important. Thanks to these programs, farmers have access to practical tools that help manage risk, improve productivity and build long-term resilience.
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On my own operation, Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contracts have helped me install a deep well with miles of pipeline, water tanks and cross-fencing. Our planned grazing system increased our stocking rate by 15 to 20 percent on the same acreage, producing more beef from the same land base.
With outcomes like these, it’s easy to see why these conservation programs are so popular with farmers. Polling consistently shows broad farmer support for conservation funding, yet demand continues to far outpace available resources. Even with additional funding Congress provided in 2022, USDA was unable to fund nearly 64 percent of applications for EQIP, CSP and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program in fiscal year 2024.
Republican leaders in Congress recognize the importance of these programs. As a result of the efforts of House and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairmen G.T. Thompson and John Boozman, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act strengthened long-term conservation funding. More recently, under the leadership of President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, USDA recently announced a $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program — a clear recognition that conservation strengthens producers’ productivity and profitability, Americans’ health, and our food and fiber supply.
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These are important victories. But conservation funding doesn’t help if there’s no one left to deliver it.
As a proud conservative, I applaud President Donald Trump and Secretary Rollins for their efforts to make USDA a Farmers First agency. But reform must not come at the expense of the department’s most important priority: serving farmers.
Such significant staffing losses have real consequences for farmers. Each lost staffer means longer waits for applications to be reviewed, contracts to be finalized and payments to be processed. Farmers are forced to carry more costs upfront, take on additional debt, or miss narrow windows to make improvements that protect their land and their livelihoods. When margins are already tight, those delays can be the difference between staying in business and closing the doors of the barn once and for all.
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Efficiency means delivering results, not hollowing out the very workforce that is crucial to the work of our producers. Simply put: without sufficient staff, even the strongest, most pro-farmer agenda cannot succeed.
Like countless farmers, I hope to pass our family operation on to the next generation. Access to conservation programs — and the people who deliver them — is essential to making that possible. As policymakers continue Farm Bill and appropriations negotiations, and as the Trump administration works to improve USDA’s effectiveness, they must listen to farmers. Protect these programs. Ensure USDA is staffed, equipped and funded to serve those who feed us all.
