The story is told many times in the Dickinson County Farm Service Agency and in other FSA offices throughout the United States. Ellen Alvarez, a 47-year public servant at the Abilene office, was recognized at the national level for her work at the FSA. She received the National Association of FSA County Office Employees’ Award during a convention Aug. 13 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Alvarez had earlier been presented the Southwest Area Association of Service Center Employees’ Award. The Southwest region includes Kansas. By being a regional award winner it made her a finalist for the national award.
Alvarez said she was proud to win both awards, but was humbled because as she walks around the local FSA office, 328 N.E. 14th, she sees many current and past employees who were deserving. She said working in an FSA office requires teamwork.
“It made me feel humbled, honored and thankful,” Alvarez said. “There are times I cannot believe it but I have the award to prove it.”
When she went to the national conference but did not know she was going to be named the top award winner.
“Tom Oasen (from Wisconsin) told me ‘You’re No. 1 out of 8,000 employees,’” she said with her ever-present smile.
Alvarez, who grew up on a farm in Marion County and graduated from Centre High School, knows first hand the importance agriculture has not only in the heartland but overseas, too. Working for the Farm Service Agency allows her to continue that relationship with producers.
“FSA is a wonderful organization and if it was not for farmers we wouldn’t have our jobs,” Alvarez said. “When I first started I thought I would work for about 10 years, but I liked it so much. It is a challenging job. Farm programs seem to change every year. When I first started we had electronic calculators and manual typewriters.”
Land was physically surveyed, she said.
She has compassion for farmers. She remembered the farm crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s and how some multi-generational farms ceased because of the economic downturn.
The Agriculture Department through its local offices reached out through programs approved by Congress over the years to help farmers. Sometimes there was little time to digest complicated changes. She remembered during the Reagan administration Congress approved the Payment in Kind program in 1983. FSA offices were notified on Friday and expected to explain it to producers the following Monday.
Alvarez specialty known as the “go-to person” as the program technician for the Conservation Reserve Program. The CRP was started in 1985 and is a voluntary program for agricultural landowners. Through CRP, landowners can receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource conserving covers on eligible farmland, according to the Agriculture Department.
In Dickinson County, there are 1,450 contracts that cover about 41,000 acres with annual payments of about $2.1 million.
Alvarez took a lead role planning the 20th anniversary tour in Dickinson County.
Sara Morey, Dickinson County executive director for the Farm Service Agency, who nominated Alvarez, said she was a deserving recipient.
“Ellen is also the historian of the office. All of us utilize her knowledge to help figure who is related to whom and the location om the county someone is from,” Morey said. “She has several producers who are adults now that she remembers coming into the office as shy quiet kids with their dads.”
Alvarez started June 24, 1964, at the age of 18, starting at $1.38 per hour. She started at the counter. and became the first person producers greeted. It was a great training experience because she not only directed them to where they needed to go but it allowed her to associate names with faces.
“I was expected to know all the basics of farm programs,” she said. “When technology came into play programs became more specific to each of us. One of mine became the CRP.”
However, she pointed out that her fellow employees all got experience in learning about other programs, which helps farm customers.
She chuckles when she thinks about that important factor of serving farmers.
“When I started I was a youngster but now I’m the grandmotherly figure,” she said. “We have so much to be thankful for here.”
She has been a member of the state and national employee organization since their beginnings. Alvarez has been grateful for the benefits she has received, including health insurance, annual leave, sick leave and other benefits.
Her goal, she says with a smile, is to work 50 years. She and her husband, John, have three grown children and two grandchildren.
An open house for Alvarez is planned for 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Dickinson County USDA Service Center, 328 N.E. 14th.
NATIONAL WINNER – Ellen Alvarez, a Conservation Reserve Program technician with the Dickinson County Farm Service Agency, was named the top National Association of FSA County Office Employees’ Award recipient. Alvarez will be recognized here during a reception from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Dickinson County USDA Service Center, 328 N.E. 14th. (Photo by Dave Bergmeier)