On behalf of American Farmland Trust and the Berg family, we thank you for sharing your memories of Norm.

I was so sorry to hear of Norm's death, and reacted as I did in 1999 when I learned that Ruth had died. I was a Norm and Ruth Berg Fellow of the Soil and Water Conservation Society in the mid-1990's.  I knew both Norm and Ruth from my time at American Farmland Trust, and of course Norm was an icon for those of us working in farmland conservation. But I was most impressed with the devotion, caring and love that both Norm and Ruth extended toward each other and all those around them. I am proud to be a Norm AND Ruth Berg Fellow; the two were an inspiration, even as Norm also accomplished so much in his soil conservation career. I will always think fondly of both of them, and extend my condolences to the entire Berg family.

Erik Vink
Trust for Public Land

When I arrived in Washington, D.C., over Labor Day in 1982 to come to the AFT Headquarters office to get oriented for my new job as California Field Representative, I met this guy named Norm Berg who had been the Chief of the Soil Conservation Service. I was only 25 at the time, so someone who was already retired from federal service seemed a bit old to me. Little did I know what a powerful, energetic and committed individual he was. Throughout my whole career since, more than 27 years, Norm has been a force. In my time at AFT, Norm was always there as a mentor on a whole host of issues. He and Ruth would come to California and all of the people we encountered in the SCS revered him and by extension I gained respect and credibility with key individuals in the various western states. Just dropping Norm's name got me meetings with people I would not have otherwise been able to get in to see.  

It was the softer, human side of Norm that I really appreciated. What a consumate gentleman he always was. What a person of impeccible character. What a caring human being, always asking about Erica and the kids in a very authentic way.  

I will surely miss Norm and his omnipresence on the issues of farmland protection and soil conservation as well as his kindness and good nature.  

Best,
Will Shafroth

America has lost a great conservation leader and scholar—an individual that helped weave a conservation ethic into the fabric of our society. To that end the American public owes him a great debt of gratitude for his accomplishments. 

Norm Berg was a  long-time mentor of mine and provided invaluable guidance to me over the past 25 years that profoundly affected my professional as well as personal life. We shared a very special bond in that we had our birthdays on the same date—March 14. On  that day for the past twenty years we would exchange birthday greetings. This year was no exception. Norm called me and wished me happy birthday and I congratulated him on his 90th. He responded he was looking forward to the next 90 and seeing how the conservation landscape would change. Those were the last words I heard from him. 

I will greatly miss Norm and his counsel, but most of all I will miss him as a close and dear friend. 

Gary Margheim

Little did I know, as a wet-behind-the-ears environmental attorney in the late 1970s, that Norm Berg, the Chief of the Soil Conservation Service I sued over the agency’s lack of a wetlands policy, would become a friend, a mentor and, along with his wife Ruth, an example of loving togetherness for my own wife Ann and me. The lessons he taught me over the years are literally too numerous to recall. His passing leaves a huge hole in my heart and in the conservation profession that he was instrumental in shaping.

Norm can rightly said to be the father of farmland protection in America. He instigated the first USDA land use policy at a time when few understood that urban development could take a significant toll on the county’s seemingly unlimited agricultural resources. And he was the originator of the Department’s National Resources Inventory (NRI), without which there would have been no National Agricultural Lands Study to launch the movement; no Farming on the Edge to document how much of America’s food supply is at risk near our sprawling cities; and no way to monitor and respond—so he hoped—to urbanization, erosion and other threats to the land that sustains us.

The NRI is one of the most tangible bequests of Norm’s fertile intellect and strong conservation ethic. But I wonder if it has kept pace with challenges it was designed to help us meet. During the three decades since NRI was conceived, geographic information systems technology and available data have advanced exponentially. Meanwhile, pressure on the agricultural resource base has escalated to “perfect storm” proportions as a consequence of burgeoning global demand for food, domestic interest in more sustainable, regional food systems, the frantic search for alternative bio-fuels, evidence of wholesale environmental degradation like the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico and, looming over it all, the prospect of climate change. Yet, NRI itself appears not to have changed and adapted to agriculture’s evolving needs, as Norm himself continually did in his progressive, open-minded wisdom.

Therefore, as a tribute to our friend and mentor, I respectfully propose that USDA and its private sector partners, AFT among them, make an urgent and ambitious commitment to re-invent the National Resources Inventory. We owe it to Norm to renew his vision of NRI as a world class, cutting-edge, scientific information and analytical tool in the service of the land. And as Norm himself might add—from somewhere inside the Pearly Gates, with Ruth once again by his side, and Hugh Bennett and Aldo Leopold smiling on a nearby cloud—we owe it to ourselves and our progeny to seize the opportunity and use it to meet head-on the unprecedented challenges facing American agriculture and farmland in the 21st Century.

Edward Thompson, Jr.
California Director & Senior Associate
American Farmland Trust

I never met Norm but knew of him. And I wish to say thanks
for all he has done.

Rick Garner, USDA retired

I was not an NRCS employee when Mr. Berg took the reigns at SCS as their last non-political chief (to my knowledge), but I worked frequently with conservation districts and SCS employees and could tell through them that Norm Berg was considered a knowledgeable friend on conservation and an advocate for those who practiced it.

I later got to know Norm on a more first-hand basis through my involvement in the Soil Conservation Society of American (later Soil and Water Conservation Society), and then as a Kellogg Agricultural Leadership fellow while spending time in Washington, D.C.I interviewed him for a project I was doing. It this point he was an advisor to AFT.

What a gentleman who, despite his deep knowledge of conservation and conservation policy, conducted himself with humility. I believe that Mr. Berg will go down as one of the icons of the conservation pipeline, along side Bennett, and even Leopold, at least in my book of influences.

My condolences to Mr. Berg's family. I am already missing his presence.

Ken Trott

I shall always remember Norm Berg as a friend and mentor. I first met him through our mutual interest and activity in the Soil and Water Conservation Society. As I moved through various officer positions to become president of the Society, Norm was encouraging and helpful to me every step of the way. When I encountered a sticky issue of some kind, I always turned to Norm for his wisdom and counsel. And he always came through with sound advice. When I didn't handle something well, Norm was the first to offer words of encouragement. He was quick to praise, slow to criticize. Even his criticism, if it could be called that, was always offered in a tactful and positive manner.

Norm Berg was a gentleman of the first rank. He was friendly, courteous and honorable. Even though he held positions of rank and influence, his life was characterized by humility and concern for others. I will miss him greatly.

Maurice Cook

At the beginning of 1985 I went to work as a legislative assistant to Sen. Robert Kasten of Wisconsin.Taking an interest in farmland conservation, my office pushed a package of legislative proposals for the Farm Bill that year. It may be that we pushed pretty hard for people with no agricultural background, working for a Senator not on the Agriculture Committee.

Some men who had devoted their careers to farmers and the land might have resented this, but Norm Berg was not that kind of guy. He was one of a very small group of soil conservation professionals without whose expertise and advice the first Conservation Title ever to appear as part of a Farm Bill would never have been enacted. As much as the essential substantive contributions Norm made to getting that legislation right, I remember his personal grace and tolerance toward a young policy entrepreneur seeking to move the ball forward on turf Norm might with, perfect justice, have considered his own.

For Norm's family and his many friends, his sudden passing after so many years of vibrant activity must have come as a terrible shock. To them I offer my sympathy, and commend to them the solace that may be found in memory of a good man's long and useful life.

Joseph Britt
Agricultural Incentives Director
Sand County Foundation
Madison, Wisconsin

Lynn F. Merrill
Contracting Officer
USDA-NRCS
2614 NW 43rd St.
Gainesville, FL 32606

I have very fond memories of Norm Berg. His recent passing sparked in my mind numerous positive memories. I recall vividly visiting SCS Chief Norm Berg as a college student from the University of WI-Platteville. I visited his office during our college spring break. I spent an hour with Norm learning about his passion for SCS and the need to continue to put conservation on the land. I left the office with a spring in my step knowing good and well the career path I had chosen with SCS was the right one. The conversation I had with Norm helped!

My father, the late Byron Berg, had the opportunity of participating in several meetings of which Norm was present. I recall many conversations that my father had with me about how very passionate Norm was about soil and water conservation. His passion resonated throughout the country, the halls of congress and on farm fields throughout our nation.

I was glad that Norm had planted the seed of conservation in me. Over the years, I had saw Norm at several conservation events, SWCS events and Farmland preservation conferences. I enjoyed those times and those conversations. Norm came to Minnesota in July 2004 for the SWCS International Convention. Again, I was fortunate to spend some good quality time with Norm.

When a person passes on, it's very difficult. However, in one's passing, each and everyone of us have the opportunity to treasure the memories of the individual that we loved and respected. My family in Stillwater, MN is keeping the Norm Berg family in its prayers.

Warm Regards,
Julie, Rob, Daniel and Raquel MacSwain

I will always remember the gracious way that Norm Berg transcended the distractions of daily activities and unpleasantness of some political decisions.He had an uncanny ability to sense the higher goal and purpose of conservation and personal stewardship that sometimes tends to get lost in the shuffle, consequently he was a great role model and mentor. I had the pleasure to be the director of the soil survey under his leadership in theearly 1980's.His common sense background and experiences made it easy for people to converse with him; his wisdom and sense of humor endeared him to many. Norm's enthusiasm and dedication were legend and that isthe way many of uswill always remember him.

Richard W. Arnold
SCS/NRCS 1979-2000

Norm Berg was a gentle giant of a man who modeled professionalism in all he did. We have all lost a great friend and mentor. When I was last in DC to testify on the CSP, Norm was there—as always—following the proceedings intently. When I was on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, during my years at the Institute for Alternative Agriculture, and while at USDA, Norm was always there to assist. He was a walking library, providing useful insights and delivering them with calmness and humor. If I had to pick one word... it would be "steadfast."

Kathleen A. Merrigan, Director,
Agriculture, Food and Environment Program,
Tufts University, Boston MA

During the late 1970's, I was stationed in the Washington Office of the Soil Conservation Service. I had been requested for an assignment there and since SCS had always been good to me, I figured I owed it to the Agency to accept. In the National Office, I was promoted to ever more responsible positions, eventually ending up as Director of Evaluation and Analysis, but my heart remained in the field.After 6 years of a 2-year hitch, it was Norm Berg who personally intervened and enabled me to move back out to the field. I am forever grateful to him for that action.

As the leader who I believe was the last of the career Chiefs, Norm had a commitment to soil conservation, technical excellence, and his employees that went far beyond what could be expected.I am proud to have known him and worked for him and after his retirement, I eagerly followed reports of his activities through the American Farmland Trust's news releases. Agriculture, soil conservation and the American people have lost an important force, and I will personally miss him.

Sincerely,
Robert L. Caldwell, SCS 1965-1994

I posted this information on the BARN...
Thanks for sending it to me, and I am so sorry for your loss, and I pray for his family in their time of grieving.

Your Friend in Agriculture,
Brian Allmer, The BARN
"Covering Agriculture On-Air & Online 24/7/365"

Our sincere condolences. Thank you.

Andrew H. Fasnacht, Editor
Lancaster County Weeklies ,
Ephrata Review and Lititz Record Express

I am so sorry for your loss.

Shirley Hudleson

My deepest sympathies go out to Norm’s family and friends. I hope we can have further protectors of our farms, etc., in the future by being the good stewards as he was. God Bless.

JF Curtis

Norm was our wise, constant counselor who gave us historical perspective on and political insight into American Farmland Trust’s efforts to protect farmland and conserve natural resources.

Jimmy Daukas, American Farmland Trust

God bless you Norm.... Condolences to the family.

David Reid

Norm Berg has been my office mate for over 8 years and a joy to work with. I always looked forward to seeing him when I arrived to start my day, and missed him on those days that he wasn't here. He was always warm and helpful and nurturing of new staff to AFT. He had so much history and context to share with us all that it was always a joy to hear him speak on any subject.

He was truly a mentor and teacher. When my son had a science project about soil composition, I asked Norm to suggest some areas to research, but as usual Norm went the extra mile. He went to his vast archives and was kind enough to provide lots of background materials and was willing to be interviewed for the project. My son was grateful for the help and remembers him fondly for being so supportive.

Norm's contribution to AFT, conservation and all of us who knew him will always be felt. It was a privilege to see him honored with the Norm Berg Collection and highlighted in the AFT magazine. I will miss him greatly and am grateful for getting the chance to know him.

Vicki Edwards
Chief Financial Officer, American Farmland Trust

Based only on your bio of Norm Berg, I only wish I had had the opportunity to know him, as many of you did. That kind and duration of accumulated knowledge, wisdom and ability, coupled with his apparent easy manner of human relations must be a loss to the organization and those who knew and worked with him. At least his work and his legacy live on in documents and in those who survive him.

J. Peter Holsman

I first had the pleasure of meeting Norm Berg in 2006 at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum in Washington, D.C., when the spotlight of the forum was centered on the efforts nationwide to promote natural resources conservation. Prior to that occasion, I knew only of Norm by his lifelong work and sterling reputation as a promoter and government spokesman for such efforts over the course of his public service career. As I rather nervously prepared to deliver my presentation on the ”2005 Conservation Security Program Experience in Iowa,” I could not help but notice a rather short, older gentlemen constantly smiling and providing non-verbal encouragement. All through my PowerPoint speech, I could look into the audience and see this was one member of the audience that really got what I was trying to say and show.

Immediately after my session, this same gentleman was the first at my side to introduce himself and sincerely congratulate me on the fine story of conservation stewardship that my family and I had put into practice over 30 years of farming. He introduced himself as Norm Berg and I immediately knew that I had made a friend and supporter for life. Norm’s genuine, heartfelt compliments and praise meant more to me than if he had been the President of the United States for he was truly a friend of the farmer and a legend in the conservation stewardship arena. Finally, meeting this living legend in person and finding him to be such a genuine human being was one of the highlights of my farming career.

All of us will truly miss Norm but we are likewise better citizens for the finest example of selfless public service that he modeled for the rest of us to emulate. That is the legacy that Norm has passed on to all of us, and one I am sure many of us will now devote the rest of our lives to see is remembered and carried on into action to fully protect the nation’s resources.

James O. Andrew
President and General Manager
Andrew Farms, Inc.
Jefferson, Iowa

All I can say is "Thank You Mr. Berg" for your leadership.

Stephen F. Kislcok III

As a retired soil scientist-soil correlator, retired in 1975, I tender
my sympathy to his family and to the conservation community.
Norm was a great leader.

Leslie W. Kick

My condolences.

Deb Geno