Andrew Parks
Level 3 Conservation Planner

When he’s not fishing, hunting, or caring for his family’s 25 Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats, Andrew Parks has a true passion for working in the field of conservation.  Born and raised in Quincy, he lives about half a mile down the road from his parents on a family farm with his wife and 10-month-old son. Ever since he graduated from high school, he has been working outdoors, including jobs in landscaping and grounds maintenance. Three years ago, Andrew began studying conservation management at John Wood Community College, and he’s currently completing his final course requirement. He was one of the first Conservation Planners (CP) to be hired when the program officially launched in January 2023. He was working for the Quincy Park District when he heard about it and called his NRCS District Conservationist (DC) Mark Hitz to ask where the positions would be located. Later that year, after learning their office would host a CP, Mark e-mailed him. Andrew completed his application on Christmas Eve in 2022 and received a call for an interview a week or so later.

Along with his DC, Andrew also works very closely with NRCS Soil Conservationist Zach Rasche and Pheasants Forever (PF) Senior Farm Bill Biologist Brodie Eddington. PF Farm Bill Biologists each cover 5 to 7 counties, helping to lessen the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) workload. Brodie’s counties include Hancock, Adams, McDonough, Schuyler, and Brown.  Andrew and Brodie conduct a lot of their field visits together, primarily focusing on CRP acreage, which frees up a lot of Mark and Zach’s time to work on other farm bill programs. Referring to Andrew and Brodie, Mark said, “These guys are our eyes and ears in the field, really.” According to Andrew, he and Brodie have jointly performed 477 site visits since Andrew started in his CP position. Mark said, “We were behind… We did not have the people or the time to do it, so they got us caught up.”

NRCS Soil Conservationist Zach Rasche, IDOA Conservation Planner Andrew Parks, NRCS District Conservationist Mark Hitz, Pheasants Forever Senior Farm Bill Biologist Brodie Eddington

Mark is the DC for Adams and Hancock Counties and has been with NRCS for 19 years. He explained that previously, they only had to spot check 10% of the CRP contracts once during the life of the contract. Several years ago, that was increased to 100% of the contracts, three times during the life of the contract. He said, “We were just not staffed for that as an agency, so they went out looking for partners.” NRCS has several different partners they work with on CRP specifically, and each office is different based on their needs and who is working on what. According to Mark, Hancock and Adams Counties have around 1,900 active CRP contracts. Referring to Andrew and Brodie, Zach said, “Honestly, we wouldn’t be able to get done what we have to get done without them.”

Andrew expressed that Mark, Zach, and Brodie were all very helpful as he was transitioning into his position. Along being able to just walk down the hall and ask Mark or Zach when he has a question about a specific practice, he explained that Brodie really showed him the ropes out in the field. With a laugh, Mark said, “We just threw Andrew into the deep end of the pool… It was trial by fire.” Brodie mentioned that Andrew’s memory is very helpful when they are back in the office, explaining that Andrew is great at recalling what was on specific properties. Zach said that Andrew has also helped with some wildlife habitat plans, figuring out which species should be included in site plantings for Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) contracts.

Recently, Andrew, Brodie and Adams County FSA County Executive Director Brandon Holley hosted two informational CRP meetings at a local diner, inviting the public to come and ask questions. Andrew said they had about 40 attendees each day, and it was very successful in spreading awareness about the program. According to Mark, “It brought some awareness on things to be looking out for that have happened in their contracts, weeds that are encroaching on the area, things they can do to enhance their stand, or when their contract comes up for reenrollment… options available to them.” Brodie mentioned that some people who have been in the program for so long, or inherited the property with the program, are sometimes hesitant to ask questions because they are nervous that maybe they were not properly managing the acreage.  He said, “I think it helped us convey that we are not there to catch you. We’re just trying to help everybody, and we want to get everybody on the right path.”

This Article is from the November 2024 AIM Newsletter, click here to read the full newsletter.