By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor

A typical day may find Chase Brooke hosting workshops, classes or demonstrations for the public on agricultural topics. He might be conducting a farm visit to offer technical assistance or working with a school to help educate students on agriculture. He might even be promoting agricultural advocacy at the local community college.

That’s because he’s the Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension agent in Collin County.

He works to provide education and information to farmers, ranchers and landowners, as well as consumers.

Although no two days are ever the same, Brooke has the satisfaction of knowing he’s making a difference in his community by promoting the story and science of agriculture.

“Agriculture is important as it not only provides food and fiber, but also by the foundational connections it has to other industries. From finance and marketing to IT and automation, agriculture engages with a broad swath of the economy, often in ways that are not explicitly recognized,” he said. “This is important to me, because it means that every farmer and rancher supports a network of industries that contribute to a healthy local economy. Keeping agriculture strong means keeping our communities—and our families—strong.”

After spending most of his formative years in Mexico, Brooke attended middle and high school in suburban Southlake, where he met his now-wife, Jennifer.

When he lived in the metroplex, Brooke felt most at home spending time at his family’s ranch in Coryell County. Working cattle, fixing fences, hauling hay and other aspects of ranching taught him the value of hard work. It also instilled an enthusiasm for agriculture that grew into a passion and a career.

Brooke graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in spatial sciences and a master’s degree in ecosystem science and management, then took a job as a research technician at Michigan State University.

But the cold was too much for this Texas boy, he said with a grin.

So, he and Jennifer returned to Texas, where that passion for agriculture came full circle when he was hired by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Collin County.

The position seems custom-tailored for a person of his agricultural and suburban background. Collin County is one of the fastest-growing areas in Texas, with a 198% increase in population from 1990 to 2010.

“We’re growing so quickly. Many of our landowners are first-time landowners, so my role in Extension is to give them the information they need to lower that learning curve, help them love their land and meet their goals,” he said. “I also do a lot of outreach and education with all kinds of organizations to help connect people with agriculture. I remind them that we still have a very robust agricultural economy, but it goes beyond planting seeds and harvesting. The technical aspects, the tying in of all these different fields and components come together to intertwine in a community, even one as large as those we have up here.”

Getting suburbanites interested in agriculture and helping them separate truth from sensationalism can be an uphill battle some days, he said. But it’s a battle worth fighting, and it’s fulfilling.

“My favorite part of my job is working with people. Being able to go out and do a farm visit, helping someone identify a challenge and ways to fix it, that’s a good feeling,” Brooke said. “Or letting people know there are local farms and local food available here. Showing them where to make connections with agriculture in more than just a textbook sense. To me, that’s the greatest part—the people I meet and having a tangible impact on my community.”

And he still plays a role on his family’s ranch. He helps control and manage invasive species, cares for the livestock and helps plan for the future of the property.

“All the good character-building manual labor I did as a teenager out there really instilled a passion for agriculture and natural resource management,” he said. “I like to go back to the ranch every chance I get and just spend time working to improve our operation.”

Click here to watch a video interview with Brooke.

He is a finalist in Texas Farm Bureau’s 2021 Excellence in Agriculture Contest. Click here to learn more about the contest and other young farmer and rancher opportunities.