Fuchtman Heading to Afghanistan

“I was looking for a change in work scenery, and now I’m going to get it,” said Joe Fuchtman, NRCS resource conservationist in the Neligh Field Office. Joe is making preparations for a nine-month tour in Afghanistan through the Foreign Agricultural Service as an NRCS employee. “I went to Washington D.C. and got my medical clearance with the State Department and now have been busy filling out forms for clearances, plus getting about six different shots!”

Fuchtman volunteered after reading a job vacancy notice on the NRCS employee’s intranet Web site my.NRCS. He will be working as a civilian ag advisor with the U.S. Army serving on a Provincial Reconstruction Team. “As I understand, I’ll be working on agricultural projects like irrigation development, irrigation canals and ditches and reforestation. Eighty percent of the Afghan economy is based on agriculture,” he said. Fuchtman’s supervisor Jerry Kovarik said, “It takes a lot of courage to volunteer for an assignment like this one. He is a good employee. We intend to rotate people into the Neligh office to keep the customer service going while he is gone.”

Before becoming an NRCS employee in 1991, the University of Nebraska agriculture graduate spent two years in the U.S. Army and another five years with the Nebraska Army National Guard. Fuchtman has worked for NRCS in Bloomfield and Curtis, Nebraska, before going to Neligh in 2000. He enjoys ice fishing, golf, bicycling, and working on his 40-acre farm.
Your contact is Pat McGrane, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 402-437-5328.