A Wayne County man has accepted a lifetime achievement award in the nation’s capital for his years of service to area farmers.
Wilbert “Will” Herr of Hagerstown has received a Farm Service Agency Administrator’s Award for Service to Agriculture.
It’s the highest recognition at U.S Department of Agriculture/FSA.
Herr has worked for Indiana FSA for more than 35 years and currently serves as District 4 director for East Central Indiana.
He previously worked as executive director for Delaware/Blackford counties.
Nancy Best, who works for FSA’s Wayne County office, nominated Herr for the honor in appreciation for his dedication to district employees and his many years of service.
She said he’s been considered as an expert in many programs and has served on many task forces throughout his career.
“Will always has the employees in his district at the top of his mind and goes to bat for what we need to get the job done,” Best said. “He always encouraged me in my career and that of many others.”
Best said Herr has made providing additional training for all employees and cross training a priority.
For instance, he’s independently set up smaller district meetings for several responsibilities such as the Conservation Reserve Program that encourages farmers to convert highly erodible and other environmentally sensitive acreage to vegetative cover. Best said those meetings help strengthen employees’ knowledge of programs.
She notes he was a trainer for many years and had two employees hired into the program who are now county executive directors.
“Will led through empowering his employees to research their answers before coming to him,” she said. “This taught us how to use the handbooks for policy and procedure rules and made us stronger program technicians for it.”
Best said Herr’s managers’ meetings are used to share best practices between offices and provide mini training sessions, which increase understanding and employee morale.
He’s also helped many new employees learn about retirement by ensuring they have the resources to make decisions that can impact their retirement years away, she noted.
A version of this article appeared in the January 8 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.