BROADWAY, Va. - For years, Matt Lohr visited the Department of Agriculture's conservation office inRockingham County to talk about what he does to protect land and water on his Shenandoah Valley farm.It's a familiar discussion with old friends for the Lohr family, fifth-generation farmers involved in federal programsthat encourage them to plow less and plant cover crops such as red clover when crops like soybeans or cornaren't in the ground.Since December, though, the relationship has changed for Lohr. He's now the national chief of the agencyrunning those programs - the Natural Resources Conservation Service - and what he does or doesn't do onhis own farm can set an example far and wide. He has his wife, Beth, visit the NRCS offices together to avoidappearances of undue influence.
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