NRCS CAMP Class One Graduates

Author

Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau Outreach Director

Published

10/25/2022

NRCS CAMP Class One Graduates — While this does not reflect all 10 mentors and 10 proteges that participated in Class one of the NRCS Camp program, it highlights the great day we had for the graduates at the Arizona Farm Bureau building.

Topics:

Arizona Ag

How time flies. In partnership with NRCS, Arizona Farm Bureau celebrated Class One graduates from the Conservation Agricultural Mentoring Program (CAMP).

Arizona Farm Bureau and The National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) began a partnership in 2021 to engage in an exciting program that aids NRCS employees in understanding Arizona agriculture at the ground level. CAMP provides a mentoring structure between farmers and ranchers and the NRCS employees. While several other states have the CAMP program, Arizona is unique in its partnership effort with Arizona Farm Bureau.

Arizona Farm Bureau and NRCS will continue to shine a bright light on this exciting program and the experiences our mentors and protégé are going through.

NRCS’s Arizona producer-employee mentoring effort will allow an organic partnership approach between the agricultural community and NRCS. This effort will assist with the completion of the national NRCS’ goal of implementing a statewide new NRCS employees and local producers exchange of regionalized knowledge of production agriculture and local natural resources in Arizona.

The core goals for this partnership effort are that participating NRCS employees (Proteges) advance their professional expertise related to:

1. Production agriculture in their local areas

2. Local resource concerns

3. How NRCS and producers address local resource concerns.

The outcome will be a deeper awareness of the types of challenges and decisions our farmers and rancher face each day and enhance their local community relationships and capacity to provide excellent customer service.

Says Class One NRCS graduate Brett Myers, “My mentor, Sonia Gasho, has taken the time to explain production agriculture, natural resources in her area, and the hurdles they face. Furthermore, expressing the fact that the best technical solution is not always the best for the producer, partnered conservation plans should address that.”

The graduation gathering occurred on October 20^th. Additionally, we kicked off Class Two during the event.