I am a 3rd generation Eastern Montana Farmer. After high school and college I farmed with my parents in Chouteau County. For the past 16 years I have worked for NRCS in Great Falls, Roundup, Havre, and Choteau field offices. I then spent 8 years as an Area Agronomist for the Great Falls area and am currently working as the State Agronomist in Bozeman. As an agronomist with USDA I work with USDA programs and the agronomy practices as they relate to conservation within those programs. Through one-on-one, personalized advice, NRCS works voluntarily with producers and communities to find the best solutions to meet their unique conservation and business goals. NRCS also works with the Farm Service Agency as the technical reference in regards to the HELC and WC compliance programs implemented by the Food Security Act of 1985. Producers who farm highly erodible land and receive USDA farm program payments are required to be following a conservation plan which minimizes water and soil erosion. NRCS local conservationists work with private landowners to improve and implement conservation practices on their land.