When Jeff Conner started the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership Program in June 2006, he had been working in agriculture for 25 years.

He quickly found he had more to learn, said Conner, a salesman with Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed.

“It really opened my eyes,” he said. “There was a lot out there I didn’t expect.”

His program is a globe-trotting leadership training regimen for agriculture professionals.

Twenty-four applicants ages 25-50 will be accepted into the program, which begins in June and ends in 2012.

Deadline to sign up for the next session is March 15.

Managed by the Texas A&M University System’s Texas AgriLife Extension Service, the program consists of 455 hours of training at various locations.

The upcoming session will  include a journey to India.

Potential candidates include farmers and ranchers, bankers, lawyers, and those working in lumber and landscaping.

Understanding issues

One goal is to develop leaders who understand issues and can take constructive action on those issues that affect the agriculture industry,  said Jim Mazurkiewicz, the extensions program director.

There are seminars with experts, tours, meetings with government and business leaders, personal skills work and international study.

It costs about $25,000 to per student, but each participant pays $2,000, he said.

The balance of the fee is covered by state extension money, grants and private donations, Mazurkiewicz said.

Nations such as India and China, with their large populations, are potential markets for Texas agricultural goods, he said.

Learning about culture and ways of thinking in other areas of the world are vital to helping Texas hold its place in the global economy, he added.

“They are opportunities for markets, and you need an understanding of their systems of government and their religions, an understanding of the thought processes of customers and the decisions they make,” Mazurkiewicz said.

Conner, a resident of Hewitt, finished in 2008. His class included trips to Mexico and China. 

A visit to the timber industry showed him how much went into producing lumber from sapling to saw.

“You go to the Home Depot or Lowe’s and you don’t think about the life cycle. That was amazing,” he said. 

The trip to China revealed how important Texas agriculture is to the rest of the world, he said.

Worldwide effect

“We actually saw a bale of cotton from the Texas Panhandle and we saw it turned into a pair of jeans,” Conner said. “It gave you a real feeling for the worldwide effect all these products had on the world.”

One of his classmates, Marc Shepard, who lives near Moody, is a crop insurance broker. 

“I think I lived a sheltered agricultural life,” he said. “For me, the program exposed me to different phases and different sectors of agriculture.

“It showed me the impact we have on the global market.”

bteeter@wacotrib.com

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