On a rainy Thursday in August, we joined Lindsey Forbis with NRCS in Columbia, MO, Jenny Long from the Missouri NRCS State Office, and Jill Lucht from Missouri Rural Crisis Center (MRCC) at Abounding Acres, a 10-acre vegetable farm located in Ashland, Missouri. When farmers McKinley and Ashley Worley started out, they thought they would farm with livestock, but limited acreage and access to processors led them to vegetable production. Now that they are raising their family of four boys, specialty crop production also allows them to get away from the farm with their kids. With livestock, it was more challenging to spend time away from the farm.

Doubting Thomas Farm is on land in Northwest Minnesota’s Red River valley that has been in the family since 1878. Noreen Thomas and her husband Lee have been certified-organic producers since 2001, farming 1,200 acres of grains, feed and beans. As someone with a degree in Food and Nutrition from North Dakota State University, Noreen understands and values the application of science and technology on the farm as well as the importance of utilizing conservation best management practices.

In 2025, one in four USDA Natural Resource Conservation staff accepted early retirement through the Deferred Resignation or Voluntary Early Retirement program. The staff that remain are tasked with providing Conservation Technical Assistance and administering NRCS conservation financial incentive programs which will see increased levels of funding starting in 2027. Despite these reductions, many NRCS staff are working hard to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers at a time when demand still remains higher than the level of funding to support it. Maggie Syversen with Iowa NRCS is doing just that.