By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH

Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — When Jane Hardisty looks back on her former role as Indiana State Conservationist, she has high praise for her employees and the farmers they serve.

Hardisty retired at the beginning of January after 17 years as head of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Indiana. She spent more than 43 years in public service.

“Our greatest product is our employees,” she noted. “I loved being state conservationist. I loved being the boss. I got to work with people and I always valued what people working together can do.”

Indiana’s producers are quite conservation-minded, she said. “I’m so proud of our farmers. They’re innovative and willing to try new things. That’s why we’ve been so successful. We’ve all made the commitment.”

As state conservationist, Hardisty was responsible for managing programs and the agency budget, and for following policies set by Congress. “Anything the agency is involved in, I’m responsible for,” she explained. “I’m the head cheese. If anything goes wrong, I’m responsible.”

During her time as state conservationist, she reorganized the agency’s structure in Indiana. Her plan called for a district conservationist in each county and conservation delivery teams working in 10-11 counties.

“We probably have one of the most unique structures in the country,” she said. “When district conservationists are working with farmers on conservation planning, for example, they can go to the team and say ‘I need an engineer’ or ‘I need an agronomist.’”

Hardisty is also pleased with the results of a wetland restoration project at Goose Pond in Greene County. In partnership with NRCS, the then-landowner put 7,200 acres into a permanent easement through the Wetlands Reserve Program. “We added special water management structures and planted shrubs and grasses,” she recalled. “We brought in wildlife species, hundreds of species, no one dreamed we could.”

Soil health has been a key focus for NRCS in more recent years. The agency partnered with several organizations, including the Indiana Assoc. of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, to create the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative. The goal of the initiative is improve soil health through the adoption of certain practices and cropping systems.

Hardisty said the emphasis on soil health may help the public understand more about agriculture.

“None of us in agriculture is very good at telling our story,” she said. “We just assumed everyone knew what we did. Our challenge is, how do we help the public understand where our food and clean water come from?

“What might get their attention is this huge campaign on soil health. We’ve finally found a niche farmers and the public can attach to. It’s about health. I think soil health is that marketing thing that’s really going to get their attention.”

Another challenge is explaining the need for conservation funding to members of Congress who are less likely than their predecessors to have backgrounds in agriculture.

Jill Reinhart, who has been with NRCS for almost 16 years, will serve as acting state conservationist for 120 days. If Hardisty’s replacement hasn’t been hired by then, another person will be named to the temporary position.

“Jane has been my boss, mentor and friend for over 15 years,” Reinhart said. “I’ve learned from her things like following through, going into a meeting prepared for who you need to speak with and making sure you’re good on your word. Jane is a good cheerleader. She’s good at building morale and good at building partnerships.

“She taught us to celebrate success and to remain positive. That energy will be missed.”

When she retired, Hardisty was the longest-serving state conservationist in the country. In 1974, she became the state’s first female soil conservationist. She was Indiana’s first female district conservationist, area conservationist and state conservationist. She was also the first female state conservationist in Michigan.

“There’s no better satisfaction than being a public servant,” she said. “Working for NRCS, this is an agency that has really made me the kind of person I want to be. It’s such an honor.”

Hardisty isn’t sure what she’ll do in retirement. A Hoosier native, she’s living at her family’s farm in Hancock County. Her father, Laurel, 91, and mother, Marjorie, 88, also live on the 200-acre farm.

“I don’t know if I’ll get back into anything with conservation. I can pick and choose – it may be conservation or it may not. There’s some traveling I want to do. I won’t sit around being idle.”