Courthouse Annex, 2nd Floor 101 E. Tyler St. Athens, TX 75751 Phone: (903)675-6130 Fax: (903)677-7222 http://henderson-co.tamu.edu

May 11, 2012

AGRIVIEW

By: Rick Hirsch County Extension Agent

All aboard! The 49th annual Henderson County Farm & Ranch Tour will be

departing the Cain Center on Tuesday, May 15th at 9:00 a.m. Coffee and donuts will be

available at 8:00 a.m. Tickets for the luncheon may be obtained at any of the tour’s

sponsors or the Athens Chamber of Commerce for $5.00 each. Tickets are not required for

the tour. The tour will culminate with a luncheon back at the Cain Center. The luncheon

will include the presentation of the Joe B. Fulgham Agriculturist of the Year Award.

The farm & ranch industry remains one of the largest sources of income in the

Henderson County area. The Athens Chamber of Commerce sponsors this event which is

dedicated to highlighting the importance of this industry.

The Farm & Ranch Tour began 49 years ago under the direction of Jay Benson,

Wyndel Tackett, J. D. Lewis, Woodrow Walker, Buford McLaughlin, Hub Moon, John

Corley and others. The tour is organized by a number of volunteers and is funded by

donations for the business community. Without the support of our sponsors the tour would

not be possible.

Athens and Henderson County have a rich history in the agriculture industry. The

major production areas include beef cattle, nursery crops, fruits and vegetables, hay

production, timber and horses. Beef cattle production and horticulture continue to be the

leader in agriculture production in the county. Fertile, well managed, pastures and

Educational programs of the AgriLife Extension are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, disability religion, age or national origin. The Texas A&M University System, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating. -2- productive cattle go hand in hand. Various types of perennial grasses are the most widely used forage for grazing and hay production. Wildlife management is on the rise as more land users see the economic value and conservation importance of wildlife.

Production is not the only part of agriculture that helps to drive the economy in our area. There are numerous businesses that are directly or indirectly related to agriculture.

Farm and ranch supply stores, marketing companies, equipment dealers and many others serve agriculture producers.

Stops for this year’s tour include the following properties.

âAthens Tree Farm - Owner Kip Estep, along with his parents, Dr. Earl Estep and wife Pat, run a smooth and close-knit operation.

Having a close father and son relationship, Kip and Earl know what it takes to achieve and exceed excellence in any goal they set out to reach. You won’t find a ‘fast city’ or ‘take a number’ approach around this family-owned farm.

This father/son partnership will always extend a personal touch with each individual customer. Whether its meeting you in town to discuss business, inviting you out to the farm to view our ‘Rootmaker’ technique, or just coming by for the day to fish in one of our well-stocked lakes.

The point is ... we do things right! ‘Good ‘ole Boy’, Texas style: that means we put our customers’ needs first no matter what it takes.

Athens Tree Farm opened about seven years ago with ten acres and six different species of trees. They now have about 300 acres and eleven different shade trees and twelve different ornamental trees. There are approximately 350,000 trees ranging from 10 gallons -3- to 95 gallons in size. We ship an average of two loads a day.

The farm now employs 25 people. Florencio Grande is our pruner and propagator.

He is one of the best in the business. There is a full time mechanic on the farm to be able to keep everything running smoothly. Carlos Murillo runs the farm and keeps the guys on their toes. Paula Giles runs the office and keeps the channel of communication running smoothly between everyone and Paul Gandy rounds out the team as the best Sales Rep in the business.

ãCaddo Hills Ranch - Jerry Sturgess grew up in Tulia, Texas. He attended

Lubbock Christian College at Lubbock, Texas, where he met his wife, Gwynette from

Plains, Texas, where they had a ranch.

Gwynette’s father in his early years rode for the XIT and trained their remuda.

They began farming in Tulia in 1960. They farmed there for four years and moved to

Dumas where they farmed for 20 years raising corn, milo, and wheat on 2000-3000 acres of irrigated land. They were in the fertilizer, seed and grain business, purebred swine business, and also some wheat pasture cattle.

In 1983 they moved to a ranch in northeast Oklahoma where they ran cattle and had an order buying business where they bought cattle for feedyards and grazing operations. They lived there 17 years.

In 1999 they moved back to Texas on a ranch at Palestine and later bought the ranch at LaRue. They raise purebred charolais cattle and have commercial cows. They also produce commercial hay.

They have 3 sons that they are the most proud of. They oldest son Michael owns -4-

Southern Livestock Standard at San Antonio. Jay works with them and is also an insurance storm adjuster. Kynan is a veterinarian and is co-owner of Hereford

Veterinarian Clinic in Hereford, Texas. They also have 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Their youngest grandson, Reed helps with haying in the summer.

äDavid Roberts Ranch - David Roberts, age 56, is a life long resident of Henderson

County, and has worked in some facet of Agricultural his entire life. David is the son of long time area farmer, the late, Wilburn “Tuffy” Roberts, who instilled in David a love of the land and an insatiable work ethic.

Today, David, with the help of his wife Pam, and two sons, Jerry and Joe, operate a very diversified agricultural business, which includes 100+ head of beef cattle, hay production and sales, custom hay work, dirt construction, trucking business, and truck crops. His non-ag ventures includes owner of the Pierce Creek Station and Restaurant, in

La Rue, Texas, where David and Pam serve old-fashion home cooking 7 days a week, along with a convenience store and gas station, which includes ethanol-free gas and farm diesel.

David’s hay operation consists of hay production in excess of 10,000 rolls of hay in a typical year, on 334 acres of owned land, in addition to over 1,200 acres of leased land. His custom hay work includes customers throughout the Eastern part of Henderson County.

David’s trucking business has found him hauling cattle all over the state of Texas, as well as frequent trips to New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. His dirt contracting business has resulted in the construction of numerous ponds and lakes, as well as road construction and oil field work.

Always one to look at the positive side of things, David’s only complaint about his business is, “…there’s not enough hours in a day!” -5-

The keynote speaker at this year’s luncheon will be Commissioner Todd Staples.

Todd Staples is the 11th Texas Commissioner of Agriculture and recently was re-elected to serve a second four-year term in this statewide elected office. Commissioner Staples believes the free enterprise system and individual responsibility are the keys to prosperity for Texas.

From his earliest days of public service as a member of the Palestine city council through his tenures in the Texas House of Representatives and later the ,

Commissioner Staples has championed such critical issues as protection of private property owners’ rights, workers’ compensation reform, school finance reform and improving the education of Texas’ leaders of tomorrow, just to name a few.

As leader of the Texas Department of Agriculture, Commissioner Staples is diligent in his efforts to support private sector job creation and economic development across the

Lone Star State; improve consumer protection from the grocery store to the gas pump; lead true eminent domain reform in Texas; and play an enormous role in continuing to improve the healthy lifestyles of young Texans.

He is also focused on the promotion of agricultural products and businesses using the GO TEXAN marketing program, and has expanded trade opportunities for Texas producers. Commissioner Staples has accomplished these priorities with a philosophy that puts family and taxpayer interests first while also focusing on efficiency.

Commissioner Staples was born in Anderson County where he was active in high school FFA and was elected state FFA vice president. He attended Texas A&M University where he graduated with honors with a degree in agricultural economics. -6-

Commissioner Staples began serving in public office in 1989 when he was elected to the Palestine city council. In 1995 he was elected state representative and served three terms in the Texas House before being elected state senator in 2000 where he served two terms. His public service continues today as Agriculture Commissioner. Following his first election in 2006, he was re-elected to a second term in 2010.

Commissioner Staples and his wife, Janet, have four grown children.

IMPORTANT DATES:

May 15th - Farm & Ranch Tour - Cain Center - 9:00 a.m.

Rick Hirsch is the Henderson County Extension Agent - Agriculture for Texas

AgriLife Extension Service. Visit our web page at http://henderson-co.tamu.edu.