By Simone Grant for FSA Public Affairs

In mid-March, Geographic Information System specialists, county office employees, national office staff, and program management of all levels at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) gathered together in Charlotte, North Carolina, for FSA’s first national face-to-face GIS training in more than 10 years.

This training was held in order to achieve the following goals:

• Identify key GIS position responsibilities and skills needed for the completion of key GIS tasks for all FSA employees serving as State GIS Specialists or acting as GIS resources;
• Address previously identified training needs to help those in GIS positions achieve a standardized approach to national program delivery;
• Define common dataset, reports and tools recommended for completion of GIS tasks.

In order to accomplish this feat, a GIS Training Tiger Team was established comprised of Washington, D.C., National Office Staff, State GIS Specialists from around the nation, and representatives from the FSA Aerial Photography Field Office (APFO) in Salt Lake City, Utah. This team, led by Production, Emergencies and Compliance Division’s Common Provisions Section Head, Todd Anderson, and GIS Program Manager, Shirley Hall, compiled all training materials, including user guides, Power Point presentations, hands-on exercises complete with datasets, skits, and GIS demonstrations for the twenty different courses that would be held throughout the week, including Geospatial Metadata, Cartographic Design and Mapping, Imagery, Special Projects and Processes, Professional Development, CRM Farm Records, GIS Data Integrity (to name a few).

All this material was prepared through long hours, countless virtual and in-person work sessions, and an incredible amount of juggling normal daily responsibilities over the course of three and a half months.

The result of all their efforts? The training was a huge success. Said some of the training attendees:

“It was really nice to be working with data for our home states but still following along with a group project.” (Pennsylvania)

FSA GIS Training Tiger Team (Top to Bottom) Alex Dubish (MT), Steve Stark (National Office), Alison Lenz (National Office), Ryan Hunt (AZ) Dan Mertz (VA), Kent Willett (OR), Dan Janes (ND) Sarah AcMoody (MI), Heather Grady (NY), David Davis (APFO, Salt Lake City) Billie Jo Smith (NE), Alanda Crawford (National Office), Zachary Adkins (APFO, Salt Lake City) David Taylor (National Office), Simone Grant (National Office Support), Brenda Zachman (WI) Shirley Hall (National Office), Jeff Bloomquist (MN), Todd Anderson (National Office)

“The hands on exercises were the best and I loved that the training team was there to assist when I fell behind… I love the user guides provided. They are easy to follow and a good reference for when I start implementing these procedures in my state.” (Louisiana)

Said one APFO representative about the training team, “I knew that there are a lot a very good people in the national, state, and county offices, but was amazed when seeing them in action at this training. The level of expertise, teaching ability, dedication, enthusiasm, and passion for their work was amazing… It’s incredible that they were able to… work all week with such enthusiasm.”

“I was impressed by the enthusiasm and capability of the GIS team …assembled in Charlotte.  They displayed many maps that showed the variety of work FSA does in imaginative ways.  I would like to create more visibility for the work they do” (Deputy Administrator of Farm Programs)

Our next “Mapping the Ag-Nation” article will feature an interview of the National GIS Training Tiger Team to provide a more in-depth look at what it took to bring this training to fruition. To learn more about FSA’s geographic information systems and aerial photography capabilities, click here.

Questions? Comments? Contact Shirley Hall, GIS Program Manager

By Elizabeth Lauren Moore, for FSA Public Affairs

Sawmill Hollow aronia berry production

In the spring of 2012, Iowa farmers experienced a harsh freeze that damaged crops and altered production for the year. Vaughn Pittz, his wife Cindy and son Andrew were among the many producers that suffered significant losses, adversely affecting their Sawmill Hollow Family Farm, an organic aronia berry farming operation in Harrison County.

Aronia berries, also known as chokeberries, are native to the Northeastern United States and serve mostly as an ornamental plant, but the berries also are said to be resistant to drought, insects, pollutants and disease, which make the berry a versatile and valued food source. They are used to make wines and teas in Europe, and with their semi-sweet taste, are used in the United States in blended juice drinks.

The Pittz family operates a sixth-generation family farm that dates back to 1882. They converted Sawmill Hollow during the mid-1990s to what is considered the first aronia berry operation in the United States. And it’s organic.

Inspecting Iowa-grown aronia berries

According to Andrew, his family wanted to find a “healthy, native fruit with the potential to create a new agriculture industry for Iowa. In general, crop failures due to climatic conditions can devastate families, farming communities, and in the case of the aronia berry, an industry in its infancy,” Andrew said. “Important programs from the USDA invest in farm families and help keep America farming.”

For more than 15 years, the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) has provided financial assistance to producers that have suffered a loss of crops due to natural disasters.

Andrew said that even though the Pittz family was aware of FSA programs, there weren’t safety-net opportunities for the aronia berry prior to the 2014 Farm Bill, when berries were added as eligible crops for NAP. Further, new NAP benefits made coverage retroactive to 2012, authorizing payments for frost/freeze losses.

“The Farm Service Agency’s investment counteracting the massive loss of berries in 2012 was very helpful for Sawmill Hollow and Iowa growers,” said Andrew. “It’s a great example of how smart government and farmers can work together to foster rural vitality.”

Not only is Sawmill Hollow a successful organic farming operation, but the Pittz family is securing a future for the aronia berry in the United States. Over the last ten years, Sawmill Hollow has held workshops–teaching farmers how to plant, grow, maintain and harvest the crop. Sawmill Hollow currently processes aronia berries for more than 100 growers.

“Iowa is agriculture,” said Andrew. “From leading the world in traditional crops; corn and soybeans, to complementary crops such as aronia berries, grapes, apples, and wind energy–Iowa is growing.”

Pittz family harvests aronia berries on its Sawmill Hollow Family Farm in Harrison County, Iowa

To add to their entrepreneurial experience with the aronia berry, the Pittz family found an American-made combine so the berries didn’t have to be harvested by hand, the traditional method. They contacted a company in Oregon that makes combines for blueberries. With input from Vaughn and Andrew Pittz, the company made a machine specifically for Midwestern aronia.

“We are growing a new American industry, from the plants, to the harvesting, to manufacturing processes. Having an American machine represents one more potential element of rural vitality through this new value added crop,” Andrew said.

It is because of the increasing number of farmers in the aronia berry industry and the growing demand that made NAP disaster assistance a necessity.

“For family farmers and rural communities, the FSA is a great partner for continued agricultural growth. It is helping sustain rural America,” Andrew said. “Thanks to Secretary Vilsack’s visionary leadership, farms and rural businesses have more opportunities to succeed than ever before.”

To learn more about the Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/nap.

So you’ve been marching to a military beat and now it’s time for a change. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has some suggestions you may want to consider. There are jobs in ag that could use the disciplines you’ve learned, your love of country and your eagerness to serve others. But how do you get started?

Cassondra Searight, Alabama FSA Outreach Coordinator

Some folks in Alabama, led by a U.S. Navy veteran working now for USDA’s Farm Service Agency, have a plan to introduce you to a diverse selection of careers in agriculture through three days of seminar training. In partnership with the National Center of Appropriated Technology (NCAT), Navy veteran Cassondra Searight, an FSA state outreach coordinator, has arranged the seminar to introduce ways for veterans to enter farming. The discussions will instruct on such things as how to qualify for government programs that reward land stewardship and conservation efforts, how to pursue profitable niche markets, and how to develop business plans and organic certifications. Other topics will include livestock production, pest management, estate planning and risk management.

“This seminar is an excellent way for active duty members to begin farming on a small scale before they leave the military and acquire the prerequisite experience needed to scale up their operation when they are ready to start their next career as producers,” said Searight.

Searight is one of 13,000 military veterans working among 100,000 USDA employees. Her declared mission is to introduce soon-to-be fellow veterans to new opportunities by coordinating the Farm Foundation for Veterans seminar series.

The location and dates of the seminars are:

• Montgomery, Alabama:  April 5-7, 2016
• Huntsville, Alabama:  May 24-26, 2016
• Dothan/Enterprise, Alabama:  June 7-9, 2016
• Tuscaloosa, Alabama: (Still to be determined)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proudly supports the men and women of the Armed Forces by encouraging active duty military, veterans and their families to seek farming, ranching and other agriculture-related jobs. Supporting Searight and FSA in the effort are USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Rural Development (RD). Each will present program information. A full day will be devoted to visiting livestock and fruit/vegetable farms for hands-on experience.

Active duty military members, veterans and their spouses interested in registering for the seminar should email Cassondra Searight at cassondra.searight@al.usda.gov or call 334-279-3502.