By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor
A recent night of networking in North Texas helped connect young farmers and ranchers with other agribusiness leaders, resources and more.
Collin, Dallas, Denton and Grayson County Farm Bureaus (CFB) hosted their first North Texas Ag Networking Night with assistance from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and a few local sponsors.
The goal was to connect those who may not otherwise cross paths and assist young farmers and ranchers in locating useful resources for their operations and businesses.
“The idea behind the evening was that we sort of have two groups of people in agriculture in North Texas,” AgriLife Extension agent and Collin CFB board member Chase Brooke said. “We have our established farmers and ranchers and people whose families have maybe been farming here for a long time, and then we have many newer farmers, people who are moving into the area and buying small-acreage properties and usually running more niche operations. They have a lot in common, but these two groups aren’t always connected.”
But there’s much they can learn from each other.
“We wanted to have a way to hook up these communities, because together, they can do a great deal of good for agriculture,” Brooke, who is also the Collin CFB Young Farmer & Rancher (YF&R) Committee chair, said. “The established farmers have some wisdom to impart, because they’ve been here a long time. They know what works and what doesn’t for this area. And the new landowners have a lot of enthusiasm and newfound passion for agriculture, and they have some good, innovative ideas for marketing and sharing their stories.”
The event kicked off with a small trade show. Ten organizations, including Texas Farm Bureau (TFB), were on hand to provide resources and information young farmers and ranchers might find helpful.
Whit Weems, TFB director of Organization, was the event’s keynote speaker. He talked to the crowd of more than 60 people at the networking event about emerging agricultural issues and the importance of agricultural advocacy in a world of urban-rural disconnect.
Weems encouraged the group to be involved in TFB and other agricultural organizations, because they’re next in line to lead the industry.
After the keynote, AgriLife Extension agents from each county spoke about events, workshops and Extension programs available in the area.
“There were a variety of farmers and ranchers in the audience—from small-acreage and hobby farmers to large-scale producers, urban agriculture folks, organic farmers, specialty beef ranchers. It was a really diverse group,” Weems said. “It was a great opportunity for young farmers and ranchers in that four-county area to engage and get to know each other better, because they face the same challenges and obstacles, no matter how different their operations look.”