Family life and NRCS

This story was written by Heidi Morton, the daughter of Wayne and Deb Yost and a 2000 graduate of Carter County High School. The article was originally published in WiNNING Perspectives, Vol. 10 Issue 1, a magazine created by the National Organization of Professional Women in Natural Resources Conservation Service.

I grew up in one of those little "fly over towns." My dad was a District Conservationist in Ekalaka, Montana, which is part of the Carter County Conservation District. I would tell people "All my dad does is save dirt." They would look at me funny, which was my intent! I would then explain that he worked with farmers and ranchers to improve their land by promoting grazing management. I was an NRCS kid.

I learned how to kill pocket gophers at a producer workshop when I was six. I would tell you that most of grasses were PNCI - a perennial, native, cool season, and increased when grazed. According to my dad, I could identify many grasses when I was a kid; however that skill has been lost in the advancement of age.

As I entered high school, I was involved in the National FFA Organization, and had to work to find my separate skill set from who my dad was. I eventually did and was able to represent the State of Montana at the National Convention in the Extemporaneous Speaking Career Development Event.

I also had the opportunity to represent my local FFA Chapter as the 2000-2001 State Secretary. Much of the knowledge I used in FFA was something I learned from my dad as an NRCS employee. Driving down one of the many gravel roads that crisscross Carter County's range land or through the forest, he would share his knowledge and love of the land with me. Dad would point out a dam or a cross fence or how a pasture was grazed and explain how this was improving the environment. Although I saw the love in his eyes, at that stage of life I could not truly appreciate it myself or find it in my heart. As I entered college and ended up with a Secondary Education Social Studies degree, I felt I had left Agriculture behind me. There was always a small part of my heart that smiled when I would see crops, livestock or farm equipment yet I had different plans for my life that didn't consist of Agriculture.

However, life has a funny way of coming full circle. I met my husband, Scott Morton, online and when we first started talking, he told me he was a Tribal District Conservationist. I silently chuckled. As we continued talking, I found out he knew my dad! What a small world! We got married in the fall of 2014, and he transferred from the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation Tribal Office to the Hill County Field Office as a District Conservationist.

Now married and in a new town, I found a job that was only part time, so at the suggestion of another district conservationist, I applied to be an Earth Team Volunteer. I was accepted and knew my dad was smiling as now I was "helping to save soil!"... I knew better than to call it dirt at the office!

I would go to the NRCS Field Office and get my daily assignments every day after my paying job. Some days it was filing, other days it was photocopying. As I began to get familiar with the programs, the old vocabulary and acronyms that my dad used came back. Pretty soon I knew who had EQIP, CRP, CSP and WRP. I also knew what was needed in the application packages and could put a packet quickly together for NRCS staff to give to the producer.

However, it wasn't all fun and games. Some nights we worked late as program deadlines loomed. But it is what was needed to get the producers the assistance that they deserved. I found that I was actually enjoying myself. To be honest, I initially joined the Earth Team because I wanted to spend more time with my husband; as I did more and more things for the office I found my passion again for agriculture and began to understand NRCS's mission and what they are trying to achieve.

My husband and I would drive 45 miles one way each day to work and talk or point out something on the land; as we passed by and I could see that same passion I saw so long ago in my dad in my husband's eyes. There were long days and hard days. There were nights when I would drive home so my husband could work on something. There were early mornings on the road because he was headed somewhere for a meeting or a field visit.

Our daughter was born in September, of 2015, and her first stop on our way home from the hospital was her dad's office so he could check emails and approve payments. We have now moved to the Arizona State Office where my husband, Scott started as a Farm Bill Specialist and then was reassigned to be an Easement Coordinator. At the request of his boss, Emily Fife, I once again applied and was accepted as an Earth Team Volunteer.

It's a different environment with new opportunities here in Arizona; yet the love is still there with change. My husband's love for conserving the land is an amazing thing. The people he works with are just as dedicated as he is and they all make up great team. Anything worth doing requires sacrifice. There have been missed birthdays, anniversaries, and staying late and going in early mornings to finish projects and assignments is not out of the ordinary. But, what greater thing to sacrifice for then to help the people that produce our food or want to address resource concerns on their land! As Sonny Perdue says, it is a service that our family sacrifices in order to "do right and feed everyone." I look forward to where our NRCS journey is going to take my family. I know there will always be challenges. But as the FFA creed says, "I believe in the future of Agriculture with a faith born not of words but of deeds." And as a spouse of an NRCS employee, those deeds look different. They include being a sounding board, knowing when to ask a question, and when to just give a break because it was a long day.

NRCS is a family assignment - it is our job as the current generation of agriculturists to save this land and preserve it. Whether you help to preserve it by actually being directly involved in farming or ranching or indirectly through the NRCS or another organization, you are doing a great thing. Your family is proud of you, and they might not understand your love and passion like my teenage self. And if you are a support provider for your spouse, there are times you are going to come in last on their list and know that he/she is working to provide for the family as well.

They know and trust that you can handle what needs to be done to keep the family operating while she/he is away. Know that they won't always be able to explain this passion, but it is a deep and honest calling that will show positive results at the end. As we raise our daughter, we hope to instill that same love and passion in her for whatever career path she takes

If my teenage self could see where I am now, she would probably roll her eyes. Marrying someone who had a job like my dad was not in the life plan. However, I am so glad that life doesn't always go according to my plan!