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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Bill Beam, Aubrey Bettencourt and Pat Swanson have been named to lead USDA's Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Risk Management Agency, respectively.
Tom Schultz, former director of the Idaho Department of Lands, was named chief of the U.S. Forest Service. He succeeds Randy Moore, who announced his retirement this week, citing the challenges of the 'significant transformation' of the federal government.
Capitol Hill veteran Kristin Sleeper and former Idaho Department of Lands Director Tom Schultz will hold positions at USDA focused on forest management, wildfire prevention and natural resource conservation.
William “Bill” Richards, a soil conservation pioneer who served as chief of USDA’s Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resources Conservation Service) from 1990-1993 under President George H.W. Bush, died Tuesday. He was 93.
The fourth installment of a five-part series, “Getting Grounded,” that examines the nation's conservation delivery system and the challenges facing farmers in getting the advice they need to select, plan and implement new practices. University efforts to craft classes and degree programs that appeal to a wider range of students may be making it harder for USDA to hire the soil conservationists needed to help farmers.
The Agriculture Department is launching an effort to better utilize conservation programs to create corridors for wildlife to pass through, Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday.
USDA is relying heavily on outside groups and federal retirees to help farmers use the billions of dollars in new conservation funding for climate-smart practices. Based on data provided to Agri-Pulse under the Freedom of Information Act, the Natural Resources Conservation Service now employs about 5,000 people a year who work for partner organizations.
