Nick Thomas

Nick Thomas grew up farming with his family just outside of Winona.  In addition to his life long involvement in agriculture, his father and uncle were both game wardens for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks. “I started hunting and fishing with my family when I was a child and developed a love for the outdoors at a young age. Still today, most of my free time is spent hunting and fishing with family.”

After graduating from Mississippi State University with a degree in agriculture engineering and business, Nick moved back home and continued his family’s farming operations while looking for other job opportunities. In 2002, Mr. Eddie Carnathan, an Area Conservationist with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Tupelo, Mississippi, invited Nick to join their operation. “A job with the USDA was hard to come by, and I’ll always be indebted to Eddie for giving me the opportunity to work for NRCS.”

Starting out as a Soil Conservationist in Booneville, Mississippi, he worked in seven different field offices throughout Mississippi, and eventually ended up being the District Conservationist (DC) in Holmes County, Mississippi.

“As a young DC, my goal was simple, I wanted to make Holmes County the leading county in Mississippi for the number of conservation contracts funded each year. If a landowner or farmer walked through the door of the office, our goal was to help that individual find a way to put conservation on the ground through one of the many conservation programs offered by NRCS.”

Over the next eight years, Nick’s field office was able to accomplish this goal on a regular basis. The amount of USDA funds spent through conservation programs in Holmes County quickly doubled and tripled. He was able to ensure that his office staff in Holmes County kept the focus on the landowner and they made it their focus to help as many people as possible. “The eight years I spent working for NRCS in Holmes County was a great experience for me. I loved my job with NRCS and developed friendships with people that will last for a
lifetime.”

During the summer of 2014, Nicks wife, Katie, was finishing up her Pediatric Residency Program.  A job in Grenada, Mississippi became available and the two quickly seized upon the opportunity to move their budding family closer to their roots.  Not long after, Nick left the NRCS to move back closer to home, and join forces with Michael Woods, a childhood friend, to sell crop insurance.

“As Michael and I were out visiting with farmers about crop insurance, I would always tell them about all the conservation programs that were available through NRCS. It didn’t take long to realize, that with the experience I gained while working for NRCS, we could be a big help to farmers and NRCS by consulting on conservation programs. I quickly had more phone calls about conservation programs than I could answer, and we had never even advertised the business. The word began to spread from farmer to farmer about the services we were providing, and the phone is still ringing today.”

Since 2015, Aaron Henderson, Barrett Daugherty, Will Primos, support staff, and a trained group of CSP Consultants across the country have joined Nick’s effort to support the demand for STEWARD LINK’s services nationwide. “Our company continues to grow and we are proud of the “link” that STEWARD LINK has been able to provide between USDA and farmers.”

“STEWARD LINK was formed by a group of individuals who love the land, wildlife, and good stewardship! We strive to help fellow land stewards achieve their own goals for their land. With that in mind, we are committed to working hand in hand with NRCS to achieve the common goal of putting sound conservation practices on the ground.”

Nick and his wife, Katie, have two beautiful children, Claire and Jack.  Nick and Katie met in 1995 at Winona High School and have been together ever since.