United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content




Conservation through Hard Work

Remarks by Bruce I. Knight, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service at the NRCS Honor Awards Ceremony, Washington, DC,

June 25, 2004

Thank you, Karen. And thank you, Under Secretary Rey.

I am pleased to be here for this important ceremony, recognizing those around us who contribute outstanding service in conservation.

We all know and believe in the importance of conservation. Last fiscal year, we allocated $2.4 billion to the States, generated $30 million in savings, and reached out to be sure every farmer and rancher knows about farm bill programs and had an opportunity to participate. We also developed National and local priorities for conservation programs and wrote program rules based on thousands of comments from our conservation partners.

We are in the process of launching the Conservation Security Program – which will soon be our largest conservation program. The first sign-up period starts 11 days from now!

We also developed and applied more than 8,000 comprehensive nutrient management plans and completed or updated soil survey mapping on 22.5 million acres.

These accomplishments add up to a lot of conservation on the ground for 2003. This year, with the help of employees and landowners like those we honor today, we will do even more! The investment in farm bill programs gets bigger every year.

Conservation doesn’t happen without the hard work of people. That’s why we are gathered here today. Today, we honor those among us that have rendered outstanding support in some area of conservation. We have much to be proud of in conservation.

Congratulations to all our awardees.