By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist
Members of Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) AgLead XVI class toured farms, ranches and agricultural businesses in Southeast Texas this month.
The session allowed AgLead members to engage with farmers, ranchers and industry leaders from College Station to Houston.
“We started the first day in College Station learning about a couple of entities that were a part of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Then, we had a good learning experience at a mouse farm,” Hilary Gleitz, Waller County rancher and AgLead XVI member, said. “We learned a lot about starting your own business and looking for entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as how to expand on those opportunities and grow your business.”
While in College Station, the group toured V.G. Young Institute of County Government, Texas A&M Forest Service and Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and Development. At Tonkaway Ranch, they visited with Kyle Kacal, who is a rancher, graduate of TFB’s AgLead X cohort and former member of the Texas House of Representative for District 12 from 2013 to 2025.
Stops they made on the way to and in the Houston area included ST Genetics where they visited with Tim Akers, a member of TFB’s AgLead XV cohort, Frydek Heritage, the Food and Agriculture Literacy Center at Mykawa Farm, Station Theater, the British Consulate, Atkinson Farms and NASA.
The session emphasized leadership development, with each visit incorporating key skills such as listening, interpersonal communication, passion and humility.
“This session was leadership focused,” Chris Carter, AgLead XVI member and Karnes County rancher, said. “We discussed how important listening is and the importance of having humility. You must be humbled in everything you do. A lot of people may be doing the same thing as you, just in a different way, and that’s fine.”
Gleitz and Carter noted the visits provided a look at nontraditional agricultural operations like the mouse farm and how NASA contributes to agriculture.
The group learned how NASA’s technology can monitor Earth’s surface to detect how much natural aquifer water nourishes crops through the roots, identify areas that need additional moisture and determine regions better suited for dryland farming.
“The agricultural industry is extremely diverse,” Gleitz said. “People work in research. They develop programs that serve the general public. They look for entrepreneurial opportunities and then expand on those opportunities. And they make adjustments along the way as they need to. It fascinates me just how diversified people who work in agriculture are.”
At the Food and Agriculture Literacy Center at Mykawa Farm, the group spoke to over 100 high school students from Houston ISD.
“We told them all about what we do for a living, and they all had so many questions. We had fun teaching them about what we do and giving them a deeper glance into agriculture,” Carter said.
The students asked the AgLead class about starting careers in farming and ranching and how to get involved in agriculture.
“We talked one-on-one with them and answered their questions and discussed some opportunities for them to pursue a career in agriculture if they want to go that direction,” Gleitz said. “That was very rewarding. AgLead really gives us the opportunity to not only learn more about the industry, but also to share our insights with other people outside of agriculture.”
AgLead is a two-year leadership development program that takes participants across Texas, the country and the world to discover agriculture and leadership from a new perspective.
For more information about TFB’s AgLead program, visit texasfarmbureau.org/aglead.
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