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Chief Norm Berg Honored
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(above standing from left) Ralph Grossi, Chief Lancaster, (Berg's younger
daughters Rebecca Schroeder and Pamela Lieb), Joe Lieb -- Berg's
son-in-law, Under Secretary Knight, and Under Secretary Rey -- Norm Berg
seated (NRCS photo -- click to enlarge)
(from left) Norm Berg, Under Secretary Knight, Chief Lancaster, and Ralph
Grossi NRCS photo -- click to enlarge)
Norm Berg (right) interviewed by USDA Radio (NRCS image -- click to
enlarge |
USDA, NRCS, and the American Farmland
Trust paid tribute to former NRCS Chief Norm Berg on the
creation of the new
American Farmland Information Center’s (FIC) Norm Berg Collection. On
hand to help honor Norm were USDA Deputy Secretary for Natural Resources and
Environment Mark Rey, USDA Deputy Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory
Programs and former NRCS Chief Bruce Knight, American Farmland Trust (AFT)
President Ralph Grossi, and NRCS Chief Arlen Lancaster.
Berg worked for the first Chief of NRCS, Hugh Hammond Bennett, and then steadily
rose through the ranks. He became associate administrator in 1969 and
served as Chief from 1979 until 1982. Upon retirement from public service, Berg
became active with AFT and the Soil and Water Conservation Society, both
national, nonprofit conservation organizations. But Norm Berg's
professional achievements have done more than track an emerging movement — his
contributions and leadership charted the movement's course.
The Norm Berg Collection assembles documents written by or about Berg as well as
key laws and reports that represent milestones in agricultural conservation.
At the collection's core are nearly 200 speeches and articles written by Berg
from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s, when he was in leadership positions at the
NRCS. These papers demonstrate Berg's tireless commitment to farm and
ranch land protection and his role in steering the agency and its partners
toward a broader understanding of agricultural conservation. In
addition, the collection includes examples of testimony delivered by Berg,
federal laws, biographical sketches, and, lastly, tributes prepared by esteemed
colleagues and friends.
The collection was assembled by AFT with help from NRCS and is housed within
AFT's FIC Web site. The FIC is
a fitting home for Berg's works because the federal law that authorizes the FIC
— the federal Farmland Protection Policy Act — was one outcome of the
National Agricultural Lands Study launched by USDA during Berg's term as
NRCS Chief.
Your contact is Fred Jacobs, NRCS
public affairs specialist, at 202-720-4772.
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