USDA-NRCS Chief Matt Lohr, visited OKC last week to attend the 68th National Land and Range Judging Contest held Thursday night at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Lohr, is a fifth-generation farmer from Virginia serving as the 16th Chief of NRCS and is the first in his position to have attended this contest. During his visit, we had the chance to speak with him about his role and his department's efforts currently, working to implement the new regulations provided under the 2018 Farm Bill.

When it comes to that monumental task, Lohr says his team is making some substantial strides towards its completion. According to him, the changes made by Congress in the legislation has an emphasis on urban agriculture, organic production and charges him and his team to find ways in which to make these programs serve a broader base of customers. Lohr's approach to crafting these rules comes directly from Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue's overarching mission to improve USDA's customer service. He says he and his staff are currently in the process of vetting ways in which they can make programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) more efficient and streamlined. To him, this process is an opportunity to help producers achieve their goals.

"I'm convinced farmers and ranchers want to do the right thing, but some of our practices are expensive. Good conservation is the right thing to do, but it also makes financial sense," he said. "So, really it's the perfect opportunity to incentivize our farmers and provide cost share dollars to help farmers do the good work they want to do."

You can listen to my complete conversation with Lohr to hear more of his remarks pertaining to the progress being made in implementing the guidance of the 2018 Farm Bill, and his views on other topics including the importance of soil health, by clicking or tapping here.

Members of the Oklahoma FFA welcomed a special guest at their 93rd Annual State FFA Convention held in Oklahoma City recently. National FFA Advisor Dr. Steve Brown made the trip from Indianapolis to attend last week's event and interact with members and advisors from across the Sooner State. In speaking with us, Brown explained the importance of making such trips as often as possible in order to take a pulse on what is being done well in the organization and in which areas it can do things better.

According to him, after engaging with students during a special roundtable at the convention, he believes it of the utmost importance to the FFA organization to focus on better preparing and equipping students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the rapidly evolving technological landscape of the ag industry in order to ensure future global food security. Brown says this is a task the National FFA has already started to actively address and adds that the work being done in that regard goes hand-in-hand with the organization's ongoing efforts toward growth and inclusivity.

"I think the main thing is we offer opportunities for students and we engage those students - and not just those students that are highly energetic," he said, "but make sure we engage all students in a meaningful way - with a purpose so they learn something and go home with something of value."

Fortunately, Brown says that job is made easy by the students because they already know and understand the employment opportunities that exist in the ag industry. According to him, members of the organization view the FFA as a stepping stone to future success.

To continue reading about Dr. Brown's takeaways from his visit or to hear our complete conversation, click over to the Blue-Green Gazette on our website.