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NRCS introduces mobile field office
Kansas Enhancing the customer service of the NRCS is the driving force behind the new concept of the "mobile" field office, a pilot project in Kansas. The use of current technology and scientific information enables NRCS employees to help landowners voluntarily address the resource concerns and meet the goals for their land. In the fall of 2006, State Conservationist Harold Klaege for NRCS in Kansas, decided it was time to free the employees from the brick-and-mortar of a building and allow them to do more conservation planning where it should be done, from the grasslands and croplands of Kansas. "Today, with the latest portable equipment at their fingertips, such as laptop computers, Geographic Information System technology, printers, cell phones, and more, NRCS field staff can meet with a farmer or rancher on the land and develop a conservation plan on-site," said Klaege. Chris Tecklenburg, NRCS rangeland management specialist, South Hutchinson Field Office, is just one of 15 Kansas NRCS employees who is participating in this statewide pilot project. His equipment consists of a truck equipped with the latest technological tools; for example, a portable computer tablet, printer, scanner, GIS, and Global Positioning System. Other "mobile" locations include: Colby, Gove, Stockton, Ness City, Dodge City, Ulysses, Belleville, Kingman, Oskaloosa, Marion, Eureka and El Dorado. NRCS employees are able to provide immediate access to natural resource data, such as soils, range sites, aerial photography, and Field Office Technical Guide information. This data will help the employee develop a conservation plan on-site with producers. Tecklenburg is able to assist producers like Derek Zongker, Sylvia, who lives 40 miles from his local NRCS office. For the last seven years, Zongker has worked with NRCS to address resource concerns on his grazing land. "Anytime you're able to go out on the ground and actually see what it is you're talking about, it is a good thing," said Zongker. From their discussions, a conservation plan was developed and appropriate conservation practices identified to address these concerns. Zongker was accepted in NRCS' Environmental Quality Incentives Program to receive cost-share assistance on practices like a watering system and interior fences and incentive payments to do rotational grazing. He attributes his one-on-one discussions (in the field) in developing his grazing plan to fit his operation. For Zongker, Tecklenburg can gather necessary rangeland information and use the technology in order to create a plan in the field. Once this information is gathered, it is transferred into GIS. "I can create a grazing plan, print it, and give it to him right then," explains Tecklenburg. Time is a valuable commodity for Tecklenburg. "It makes sense to do everything right here in the field that way I can focus on the customer. Back at the office, interruptions are inevitable and it's sometimes hard to stay focused on a single job for a period of time." Another tool NRCS is using is the electronic Field Office Technical Guide (eFOTG). The old FOTG was a traditional, paper-based reference used in NRCS field offices as the primary scientific reference containing technical information about the conservation of soil, water, air, and related plant and animal resources. "Anyone, landowners and conservation planners, can access this information online. This is just another valuable conservation tool farmers and ranchers have access to in managing their land," explains Tecklenburg. "The merging of these technologies, GPS, GIS, and mobile hardware, has enabled us (NRCS employees) to accomplish more work in the field, provide immediate access to landowners' natural resource data while developing a conservation plan on-site," said Tecklenburg. "The more we can do out in the field, the better," he added. Technical assistance is available from the NRCS at your local USDA Service Center (listed in the telephone book under United States Government). More information is also available on the Kansas website. B 8 5/28/07 2 Star EK Date: 5/24/07
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