By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor
Fourth-generation farmer and former Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) District 2 State Director Dan Smith was recently honored for his lifetime contributions to agriculture at the Texas Tech University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources’ (CASNR) 94th Annual Pig Roast.
The Pig Roast celebrates scholarship donors, recipients, intercollegiate judging teams and three honorees of the Gerald W. Thomas Outstanding Agriculturalist Award, which Smith received for agricultural production.
“The former winners of the award or CASNR faculty can nominate someone for the award. There’s no application, and you don’t submit a résumé or anything like that. And to this day, I don’t know who nominated me because they still haven’t come forward,” Smith said. “So, I was floored in September when the dean of the College of Agriculture called me to tell me I had won. I’m still overwhelmed.”
Established in 1969, the Gerald W. Thomas Outstanding Agriculturalist Awards recognizes three individuals each year for their contributions to agriculture—one each in the categories of agricultural production, agribusiness and public service.
Nominees must have demonstrated significant contributions to the agricultural industry and be recognized for their contributions by their contemporaries and peers.
Smith fits that description.
After graduating from Texas Tech in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Economics, Smith and his wife, Reeda Cay, moved back to their hometown of Lockney to farm cotton, corn, grain sorghum and wheat.
His farm career spanned 46 years before retiring in early 2021. During that nearly half a century of farming, the Smiths were actively engaged in agricultural advocacy.
The Smiths first joined TFB’s Young Farmer and Rancher advisory committee in 1984. After winning TFB’s Outstanding Young Farmer and Rancher award in 1987 and serving on the Floyd County Farm Bureau board of directors for a number of years, he went on to serve on the statewide TFB board of directors as the District 2 state director from 2012-2018.
In addition to his involvement with TFB, Smith served on the study and research committees in the development of the John Deere CS690 cotton stripper-baler and as a member of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation Northern High Plains grower steering committee.
Recently, Smith was the winner of the 2020 Farm Press/Cotton Foundation High Cotton Award for sustainable cotton farming, Southwest region. The award honors cotton farmers and their families who are true stewards of the land, air and water.
He served as mayor of the City of Lockney and president of Floyd County Farm Bureau and was a board member of the Lockney ISD board of trustees and Floyd County Appraisal District. Smith is currently president of the Lockney Economic Development Corporation.
Dan and Reeda Cay have two daughters, Tikka and Michelle, and four grandchildren: Tenley, Avyn, Presley and Carter.
Those accomplishments all add up to a memorable career for what Smith called “just a farm boy from little old Lockney.”
“It’s been a good life, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Both of my daughters, quite a few cousins and several friends were able to be there with us for the award,” he said. “It was a nice evening, having all my friends and family there and just looking back on everything.”
Learning about advocacy and leadership through TFB has played a large role in his various contributions to agriculture and his community, he noted.
“To me, the Gerald W. Thomas Outstanding Agriculturalist Award represents the accumulation of what you’ve done for agriculture throughout your life. I’m very thankful for the award because it showed me a lot of people noticed the work I’ve done through the years,” he said. “I’ve always liked working with the college and university I graduated from, so it really means a lot to me. It really does.”