Raynor Top State Conservationist
Published: Friday, August 10, 2018
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in Indiana welcomes new state conservationist, Jerry Raynor.
Raynor will oversee 80 local service centers, four area offices and eight conservation delivery teams across the state and over 200 employees who work directly with farmers and landowners.
Raynor is a native of North Carolina and has spent a majority of his 26-year career as part of the conservation partnership there. He began his career with NRCS as a student trainee and he spent most of his early years in field and area office conservationist positions. He also worked for Johnston County Soil and Water Conservation District and the North Carolina State Department of Environment.
In 2012, Raynor was selected to serve as the state resource conservationist and acting director National Plant Materials Center in Maryland. In 2013, he returned to North Carolina as assistant state conservationist for operations, later transitioning to assistant state conservationist for management and strategy. He has also served on several detail positions at the national level, most recently as the acting state conservationist in Idaho.
"I am honored to be the new state conservationist in Indiana," said Raynor. "I look forward to meeting and working with our customers, partners and staff in this position to learn about the many great things Indiana is already doing to help conserve natural resources and to continue to move the state forward in agricultural conservation."
Raynor comes to his position with proven agricultural and leadership qualities. He was raised on a farm in Sampson County, N.C. by his parents. After high school, he attended North Carolina State University—College of Agri-
culture and Life Sciences and graduated with a degree in agriculture business management. He also is a graduate from George Washington University's Emerging Leadership Development Program, a two-year program hosted in partnership with NRCS.
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