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March 28, 2024 6:55 pm
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USDA Official Visits Hardy Farms

By ANNIE C. LEAVITT

Moapa Valley Progress

Hardy Farms received a visit from a USDA Undersecretary earlier this month. Pictured l to r are Farm Service Agency Director Janice Kolvet, Stan Hardy, Glenn Hardy, USDA Undersecretary Bill Northey, Terri Knight of NRCS, Jim Hardy and NRCS State Conservationist Ray Dotson.

A high ranking official from the Trump administration made a quiet, unheralded visit to the Moapa Valley on Thursday December 13. Bill Northey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Undersecretary for farm production and conservation, and a few of his staff members made a special visit to observe operations of the local Hardy Farms organization.

Northey came to see the local alfalfa farm’s progress as a USDA partner farmer. As such, the farm tests certain USDA techniques in alfalfa production, land leveling, irrigation efficiency, conservation efforts and multigenerational farming.

The Hardys run a five generational farm that cultivates approximately 400 acres in the Moapa Valley. Approximately 200 of those acres are farmed through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) program and the federal farm bill.

The NRCS was formed in 1932 and helps to improve, protect and conserve natural resources on private lands through a cooperative partnership with state and local agencies. The Hardys have just that special arrangement here in Moapa Valley, on their alfalfa fields at the Overton Wildlife Management Area (OWMA).

The National Department of Wildlife leases the OWMA land to the State of Nevada, who in turn lease to the Hardys to farm. This means there are federal, state and private agencies working amicably together towards preservation and conservation of natural resources.

To farm the OWMA land, the Hardys must carefully work around the natural habitat needs, and the migration and eating habits of the wildlife.
“The birds get to eat first,” said Glen Hardy in an interview with the Progress “Then we can harvest the rest. But those birds eat a lot.”

The Hardys have also been implementing water conservation efforts through the NRCS . They have restructured irrigation, laser land leveling and weed control projects in an effort that took eight years to apply through the NRCS.

Stan Hardy, Glen’s son, appreciated that Northey took the time to come and see their acreage and their efforts.
“Northey understands that a 10 acre niche farm is just as important as a 5000 acre soy bean farm in the Midwest,” Stan Hardy said.

Stan said that it was impressive that the Undersecretary is taking the time to connect with different people and different landscapes and to understand all the varying regions of farming and what it entails.
Glen Hardy has been farming in the Moapa Valley since 1966. His family has been here since 1917.

If you ever have the pleasure to be in a Moapa Valley traffic jam, which means stuck behind a Hardy tractor, take a deep breath and consider it a small gift to remember what an amazing place you live in. Preservation and conservation of local, generational farming is not just important to us in the valley, but to the entire country.

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