Smith to retire from FSA

Another veteran local is leaving his post June 30. Kerry Smith, Eddy and Foster County Executive Director (CED) for the Farm Service Agency, has decided to retire after 35 years and 8 months of service.

Smith isn't just a veteran director, he's a native with deep roots in agriculture. Born and raised on a farm near McHenry, Smith worked the family ground alongside his father from 1986 to 2001 while employed with FSA. He walked away from the farm operation at that point to focus more on his full-time career.

"I take a lot of pride and satisfaction in being able to work with farmers in my home area," he said. Smith has spent 33 years of his tenure here in Eddy County, from 1986 to 2019.

His career with the agency began in 1983 when he entered the 12-month County Operations Trainee (COT) program. He then spent time working in the Nelson County office in Lakota and the Slope County office in Amidon before having the opportunity to move back home to serve Eddy County farmers as CED.

In 1986 he had eight employees in the Eddy County office, which was located in the building where the Evangelical Free Church now operates.

He distinctly remembers typing checks on an IBM Selectric II typewriter, making copies on the messy mimeograph machine, and calling up farmers on rotary dial phones at the start of his career. Staff members used aerial photographs to measure acreage in the office's dark room and calculators cost $200 apiece.

His most vivid memory involves a convergence of his two worlds, agriculture and business. On this particular summer day, a runaway sheep from 4-H Achievement Days escaped the Eddy County fairgrounds and headed east into town. As frantic 4-H'ers flocked downtown to capture the animal, it barged right through the window in Richard Elkins' office!

In the early 1990s the Eddy County offices moved to U.S. Hwy. 281, where they remained until their newly constructed downtown building was operational last December.

In 1997 the agency decided to consolidate management in Eddy and Foster counties. Larry Odegaard, the former Foster County Director, chose to leave the agency and enter the private sector at that time. As a result, Smith was chosen to manage both counties. There were 10 employees between the two counties at that time.

Now only three employees handle the same number of programs in both counties, a reduction of nearly 80 percent from the 14 employees between the two counties in the 1980s. That's all possible with technology, Smith notes, citing the tremendous changes in both farming and the way FSA does business. Computer programmers in Kansas City now build and maintain proprietary internal software to track FSA programs and paperwork, and farmers can access their farm records, maps and aerial photography from home via an online data network. As farmers continue to apply technology in new ways, Smith foresees a gradual shift toward online applications and computer data processing.

The decision to retire has not come quickly for Smith, nor has he taken it lightly. "I've been thinking about this for a long time," he said. The big reason is family, as he desires to spend more time with his wife, children and grandchildren. Smith's son Zachary, a chiropractor at Nicolai Chiropractic, lives right here in New Rockford with his wife and four young children. Smith also has a daughter and two grandchildren north of Manvel and a son in Grand Forks. He says he's grateful they are all close to home.

With Smith's exit, only five directors remain to cover 10 counties in FSA's northeast district of North Dakota, of which Eddy and Foster counties are a part. Stutsman County Director Andy Zink will oversee operations in Smith's absence. He will be present at the New Rockford office one day a week. Meanwhile, the agency is working to train new CEDs, as there is a shortage statewide. Smith said five candidates recently entered the COT program. After they complete the training in nine months' time, they will be eligible to apply for any of the open positions.

A Retirement Open House for Smith will take place this Wednesday, June 26 from 2 - 4 p.m. at the USDA Service Center in downtown New Rockford.