Diversity in NRCS Services and Employment

Thank you, Yamika (Stokes), for that introduction.

Chief Knight wants me to convey just how sorry he is that he could not attend and deliver his remarks, but he is meeting with the Secretary of Agriculture Designate at this very moment to brief him on the mission and workings of NRCS. The Chief is deeply committed to diversity in NRCS, as are Sara (Braasch), Merlin (Bartz), and I.

I have been very impressed without our outstanding and diverse workforce, but there is even more to do. Our employees and the trust our clients place in them make NRCS the one of the most effective agencies in the Federal Government.


CHIEF KNIGHT’S REMARKS

The Chief asked me to read to you a portion of the speech he had planned on giving today. So here it is:

Thank you to Bill Hunt for inviting me to be a part of this year’s training conference. I understand you are reaching the end of your term as president of The Organization. Congratulations on a job well done.

I understand that Assistant Secretary Vernon Parker is going to be your luncheon speaker tomorrow. I’m sure you will find his perspective on USDA’s Civil Rights efforts to be very informative.

I also see that Chief Pearlie Reed will be your banquet speaker tomorrow night. It is hard to believe that Chief Reed has been retired for almost a year, now.


Farm Bill Implementation

I want to thank you all for everything you have done to make farm bill implementation a success. The 2002 farm bill presented us with a series of challenges -- many of them met, and many of them remaining.


Diversity Challenges

I want to take a few minutes today to talk about our diversity challenges – which ones we have met, and which ones we have yet to meet. Our current NRCS Civil Rights Policy Statement is almost as old as the farm bill. I signed it two summers ago.

That statement set an important goal for our agency and for me as Chief: To ensure that all of our “employees, prospective employees, customers, and prospective customers are provided with a positive and professional work environment that offers program delivery services in a fair, equitable, and respectful manner.” I have repeated that pledge many times over the past two years, at meetings such as this, at meetings of NRCS leaders, and at meetings of our partner organizations.

The entire NRCS leadership team have put a lot of energy into making this civil rights commitment a reality. And we will continue to do so in the future, both in terms of NRCS programs and the NRCS workforce.

Let’s take a look at what we have done to live up to that commitment and what we need to do in the future, with particular emphasis on our African American customers and workforce.


Programs

As you must know, the 2002 farm bill increased America’s investment in conservation on private lands by more than $17 billion over a 10-year period. That historic investment creates tremendous new opportunities for America’s farmers and ranchers to reach their conservation goals.

That investment also creates a tremendous new obligation for us to make the benefits of USDA conservation programs available to all segments of the producer community, including African American farmers and ranchers.

Outreach

Our ability to offer equity in program administration begins with effective outreach. That is why I have emphasized outreach in my work with employees, NRCS leaders, partner organizations, and producer organizations.

We have some successes that show that our outreach is working. For example, last fiscal year, we approved 54 percent of the applications for NRCS programs by African American farmers and ranchers. That contrasts with the 28 percent of applications we approved overall. African American producers received nearly $7.3 million in cost share payments.

Program Changes

The 2002 farm bill included a number of changes designed to increase participation by traditionally underserved groups, including African American producers. For one thing, the farm bill increased the maximum cost share from 75 percent to up to 90 percent for limited resource farmers and for small and beginning farmers and ranchers. Many African American producers are limited resources farmers or beginning farmers or ranchers. I am planning further aggressive outreach to them.

RC&D Participation

Many of you may know that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the RC&D program. Participation in the RC&D Program by African American producers has grown over the years.

Partnerships

We have also been working closely with our partner organizations in their efforts to increase the diversity of their boards and committees.

I want to emphasize that outreach continues to be important.


Workforce

Now, I would like to talk a bit about workforce diversity. NRCS is committed to maintaining and improving opportunities for minority employees. That pledge is a part of the Civil Rights Policy Statement, and it is my personal goal.

Training sessions such as the one we are attending today are an important part of making this commitment into a reality. I applaud all of you for being here.

Our workforce has been growing slowly over the last couple of years. We are at about 13,000 employees. As small as this growth is, it has given us significant opportunities to increase the number of African American employees over the last couple of years. We have grown from 1,048 African American employees, in 2003 to more than 1,100 now!

Recruiting Initiatives

This increase took a lot of hard work by a lot of people and a number of innovative programs.
I want to thank all of our African American Employment Program Managers around the country for everything they do to promote diversity in our workforce.

Among other things, we open our vacancies to all sources, and advertise them for 30 days to encourage a wide range of applicants.

Our National Recruitment Strategy is designed to address under representation in the workforce. We lead all USDA agencies in hiring under the Career Intern Program. Overall, half of our interns have been women or minorities.

Our Student Employment Policy is intended to attract qualified applicants from underrepresented groups.

Retention Issues

In addition to recruiting for diversity, we also have to look closely at retaining the minority employees we already have. We have to be especially alert to any adverse effects any of our management actions might have on the diversity of our workforce.

Complaints Processing

We have also made a change in the process for handling discrimination complaints that is helping us handle complaints in a timely manner. About a year ago, Assistant Secretary Parker transferred the investigation process for discrimination complaints to NRCS, which will help us comply with the 180-day requirement for completing investigations.

The new process is working. Since the change, we have completed our investigations in an average of 130 days.


Conclusion

I hope you agree that we are making pretty good progress both in terms with serving a diverse customer base and in maintaining and improving our workforce diversity.

My desire for you is that you continue your dedication, enthusiasm and hard work. Your hard work on behalf of customer service and conservation programs is an important part of helping us meet the needs of all producers, including those in underserved segments of the agriculture industry. Your dedication to self improvement, as evidenced by your attendance at this week’s training conference, is your personal ticket to meeting your individual potential.

(Sara, Merlin, and I welcome the opportunity to learn, too.)

I pledge to you that I will continue to do everything I can to see that our Agency has the best possible program delivery system and the best trained and equipped workforce, and that we will achieve these goals in ways that live up to our Agency’s Civil Rights Policy Statement.

Thank you.