By Gerry Taylor, Primary Change Agent for the State of Kentucky (KY)
On March 30, 2012, Angella Watson, Kentucky’s secondary change agent and I attended NASCOE’s Southeast Area Rally. During the Rally’s morning session, Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs Juan Garcia, addressed the group via video conference and re-emphasized that MIDAS has top level management support. Angella and I presented MIDAS 101 to more than 100 attendees and gave an overview of the MIDAS objectives, the current status of the project and the latest deployment strategy. To help answer the group’s technical questions, Michael Walter and Darrin Watkins from the MIDAS team in WDC were present through teleconference.
Attendees discussed the Change Agent Network (CAN), emphasizing that the CAN exists to give every county a voice. People were directed to the MIDAS website (www.fsa.usda.gov/midas) to give them up-to-date information and keep them connected to the MIDAS project through the , MIDAS newsletter, MIDAS FAQs, USDA Facebook, and FSA Twitter.
After the MIDAS 101 presentation, Angella and I attended the program committee’s breakout session where we answered MIDAS questions and discussed GIS in depth. Patricia Sorensen, NASCOE’s National Program Committee chairperson, later reached out and stated, “I wanted to say a special thank you for helping out with the programs breakout session. Though we only had a minimal amount of time I felt having you and Angella there to answer questions and concerns regarding MIDAS was great for the attendees. I really appreciated your help.”
Overall, NASCOE’s Southeast Area Rally helped participants better understand the changes associated with MIDAS and how MIDAS will ultimately aid in their daily work.
