FSA director to retire after 33 years

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June 27, 2012

FSA director to retire after 33 years

By Mark Boshnack Staff Writer The Daily Star Wed Jun 27, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

A more than 33-year career helping Otsego County farmers is coming to an end Friday for a Cooperstown man. But county Farm Service Agency Executive Director Bill Gibson, 59, said he is not about to leave some of the people that have been important to him.

"I've enjoyed my work for all these years," heading the efforts of the agency that administers the U.S. Department of Agriculture's farm programs of price stabilization and agricultural conservation. His parents moved from Huntington when he was five to Springfield so he could grow up on a farm. Looking back on his career, "my parents gave me the agricultural heritage that served me well," he said. His mother is still alive. "I'm very appreciative having been able to serve the agricultural community for all these years" and he looks forward to continuing to do so.

Gibson said he will soon be doing farm-safety surveys and training for the New York Center for Medicine and Health in Cooperstown. He will also be continuing his volunteer work -- also something learned from his parents -- including helping at the Community Bible Church in Toddsville, and serving on the Middlefield Zoning Board of Appeals, among other activities.

Gibson lives with his wife, Jan. Their son, Will; daughter-in-law, Emily; and two grandchildren live in Springfield Center. The retirement will allow him to say involved with activities he enjoys and spend more time with family.

Gibson said he graduated from Alfred University in 1975 with a degree in business administration.

He went back to the family farm for four years, but after getting married he found his wife's health would not allow him to continue. A search for a new career led to what is today the Farm Service Agency in May 1979.

He started in Dutchess County and moved back to Otsego in 1981 after his predecessor "Webb" Weaver retired. For about 10 years during the later part of his career, he also served as FSA executive director for some neighboring counties.

He will be replaced by Mary Snider, who has been working at the Herkimer County FSA office for two years. She will continue there and at Otsego county. She is well-qualified, not only through agency training but also from growing up on a family dairy farm, Gibson said. She operates a beef farm with her husband near Rome.

A couple of people who worked with Gibson said he will be missed. Bob Tracy is a dairy farmer from Springfield who is also an FSA county committee member.

"He has done an exemplary job," Tracy said of Gibson's tenure. "He has always been willing to go above and beyond to get help for farmers when they need it. I don't think you can fill Bill's shoes." But, "the job is always evolving, and Snider will do just fine," he said.

Butternuts dairy farmer and county Rep. James Powers said Gibson has "a real appreciation for people who work the land." With his quiet demeanor and understanding of the industry, "he is one of a kind."