This column was originally planned as my second one from Walton, New York. I have been assigned here by NRCS and so there is a lot to write about. But I am taking a different path in this column. My ex-father-in-law, Mr. Donald E. Carter, died on October 27, 2013, at the age of 81. I write of him here.

I am now reporting to you from Walton, New York. The USDA-NRCS has transferred me to Walton, New York, to work as a planner for the New York City Watershed Agriculture Program. I have been here just over two weeks, so there is much to learn, but here is what I do know.

Delivering conservation is challenging. The dynamics of both the family farm (the physical attributes) and the farm family (the human attributes) give way to uniqueness and constant change. At a recent farm visit with my NRCS colleagues and a private contractor, the challenge was especially manifest. Here is the field report.

Conservation is a group effort. The conservationist and the landowner, and others in both the public and private sector, are collectively working towards planning for and implementing conservation. What does this mean? We may define conservation as a change in the landowner’s behavior toward how a farm landscape is managed, with the expectation that resources like water and soil and air are protected from degradation.

I have been giving some thought to a topic that is now in our lexicon: emotional intelligence. In this article I write some of my thoughts. I will admit this topic may appear to be way off the reservation, so to speak, in a magazine that is centered upon the dairy industry. But I will make the case that emotional intelligence is indeed appropriate for all of us.

My colleague and good friend June Grabemeyer, our Michigan NRCS state economist, and I recently visited a lovely dairy farm in northern Michigan. Here is a trip report.

We are delivering our comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) technical service provider update training next week. Here are the details.

Editor’s note: The following report was submitted prior to recent violence and political upheaval in Egypt after the removal of Pres. Mohamed Morsi from office.

Reporting to you from Alexandria (Noubaria), Egypt … We are working this week in a rural area south of Alexandria, very near the desert road connecting Alexandria and Cairo, about 220 kilometers.

I have discovered three agricultural regions in lower Egypt. They are the alluvial floodplains of the Nile River, the larger delta and then the desert lands beyond the delta. The Nile is quite impressive: It’s wide and deep with much ship traffic. The river border areas are densely populated with people, high-rise apartments and office buildings.