What NRCS does for farmers

A chat with NRCS spokesperson person Tracy Robillard about what her agency does for farmers. "We do forest health projects, pre-commercial thinning projects to reduce the risk of wildfire in your forests, high tunnels where you can grow your crops in a high tunnel, really it is the full gamut so I would strongly encourage any agricultural producer who wants to make more of their land to just find your local county NRCS office because there are resources there to help. I can't let you go without having to explain high tunnels. Some people call high tunnels hoop houses. They are valuable because they extend the growing season. You can start planting earlier in the winter or earlier than you normally would and they really help increase your crop yields. For us that is important because they are helping farmers grow food to feed our communities and keeping that food within the region. If you can grow more food locally in your high tunnel then you are saving on those overall energy and transportation costs because you are keeping more food local. High tunnel doesn't mean like a tunnel in the ground. Oh no. Gee I don't know how I would even describe it. Kind of like a greenhouse.