Chief Knight Tours Mississippi, Talks CSP

Bruce Knight came to Mississippi's 2nd Congressional District to see firsthand the efforts of farmers and landowners at soil and water conservation.

Knight, the chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, took a tour with U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson.

"It is not often that you get someone here in the district that has 12,000 employees in his operation. Nor is it often we get someone from South Dakota," Thompson said in introducing Knight, a native of South Dakota, to a luncheon crowd of 35, mostly farmers, at the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce on January 16.

Knight said the NRCS is awaiting final action in the U.S. Senate this week on an omnibus spending bill which will provide funding for service programs.

These include the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Grassland Reserve Program, which are intended to help farmers employ good farming practices which help to reduce soil erosion.

Knight said the NRCS offices were continuing to help farmers and landowners with the application process even without the funding mechanism in place.

A new program, the Conservation Security Program, is slated to begin once the funding package is approved by Congress.

Knight said the CSP program is intended to assist "leading edge conservationists" throughout the country.

A "Public Listening Forum" will be held on the CSP at 1:30-3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, at the Leflore County Civic Center.

The program, one of 10 in the Nation, is intended to seek input from farmers and others prior to the program being finalized, he said.

The 2nd District received more than 50 percent of NRCS funds allocated to the state in 2003, said Jeannine B. May, a public affairs specialist with the service.

"Eighty percent of the agriculture in the state is in the 2nd District. We do 100 percent of the Wetlands Reserve Program. We do 40 percent of the 'EQIP,' (Environmental Quality Incentives Program)," said James E. Johnson, NRCS area conservationist for Greenwood.

Farmers are integral to the success of the effort, he said.

"Conservation is voluntarily based. There's no requirement. We don't require people to do conservation," said Johnson, a 33-year veteran of the NRCS who has spent the past 19 years in Greenwood.

He said soil and water conservation has undergone a transformation over the past two decades.

"There's much more money. Many more programs are available to land users today. Mississippi used to get $2 million in cost share money back in the mid-80s. Now, we're getting somewhere in the area of $16 million to $18 million," Johnson said.

There are 82 soil and water conservation districts, one in each county, and 75 NRCS offices in the State. Thompson said the district has been blessed with "every commodity crop around. We have excellent waterfowling and wildlife opportunities."

He said improvements in water quality within the district will enable the area to become a much coveted destination for duck hunters and fishermen from around the country. Thompson said such "ecotourism" could play a vital role for area economies, where a tourism dollar turns over six or seven times.

Knight said he was impressed with the involvement of so many farmers and landowners in the various NRCS programs of the district. He noted that 40 percent of all of the State's Grassland Reserve Program contracts came from the district.

The efforts of NRCS have come a long way, Johnson said. "The Congress has recognized that conservation benefits everybody. However, they've got to put money in it to make it economical for farmers to do it. They can then pass on the benefits of clean water and clean air to everyone," he said.

IMAGE: Natural Resources Conservation Service chief Bruce
Knight speaks with Congressman Bennie Thompson in
Greenwood Friday. Natural Resources chief takes a tour
of the 2nd District.

Story courtesy of Greenwood Commonwealth.