By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Members of Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) AgLead XV class traveled to the equator in July to wrap up the two-year program, where the participants visited Ecuador to learn about the country’s agricultural practices.

The trip gave AgLead members the chance to connect and engage with farmers, ranchers and government officials to discuss farming practices, regulations and other aspects and challenges to agriculture in the country.

“It was an awesome trip. It was great getting to see all the differences in agriculture and how, being that close to the equator, their ag production is pretty much year-round,” Justin Cave, a farmer from Dawson County, said. “It was interesting to see how different things are from what we’re used to in the U.S. It was a real eye-opening experience.”

AgLead participants had the opportunity to visit several small-scale agricultural operations.

They toured an avocado oil farm and a sugarcane farm and plant. They compared the differences between the sugarcane farm in Ecuador and sugarcane farm they visited on their Rio Grande Valley trip last year.

“The biggest difference I noticed was the sheer amount of small-scale farmers,” Cave said. “Lots and lots of their production is done on less than two to four acres. It was less developed and industrialized than U.S. agriculture. It does allow them to do a lot of neat things, but it also holds them back a little bit.”

Clayton Conway, a rancher and feedstore owner in Van Zandt County, noted the different perspective he gained from the trip.

“Ecuador is a third world country, and the economy is much smaller than ours. The technology they use isn’t as advanced as ours in a lot of ways, and many of the other places we went to have a different level of production and society,” Conway said.

A pineapple farm, plantain farm and marketplace were some of the other stops made on the trip.

When the AgLead members visited Ecuador’s capital, they met with multiple organizations. They discussed how those regulations and policies compared to other organizations they’ve met with on previous trips.

“AgLead was a tremendous opportunity for our group. We have seen people change in such a way as to become better leaders since we first started this program two years ago,” Conway said. “In order to be a leader in agriculture, we need a broader vision. Seeing how things are done in other places, speaking to the farmers and ranchers, discussing what their problems are and how they’re solving them—all of that helps us grow. A broader vision gives us a better insight into agriculture.”

About AgLead
AgLead is TFB’s premier leadership program.

Through the two-year program, Farm Bureau members travel the state, country and the world to discover agriculture and leadership from a new perspective.

AgLead members develop a variety of skills—leadership, communication, public policy, regulatory, advocacy and more.

Applications open
TFB is currently accepting applications for the AgLead XVI program. A maximum of 12 participants will be selected. Applicants must be 25 or older as of Dec. 31 in order to apply. Participants must be a TFB member at time of application and throughout the program, if selected.

Applications and supporting documents must be submitted by Aug. 31.

For the application, costs and more information on the program, visit texasfarmbureau.org/aglead.