Advocate for Latino Ag Students Inducted
Into Farm Credit Bank of Texas Academy of Honor

Agricultural educator Dr. Edward Romero was inducted into the Farm Credit Bank of Texas Academy of Honor at the bank’s 2017 annual stockholders meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 6. The award establishes a $10,000 scholarship that will be presented in Romero’s name to a student attending Texas A&M University–Commerce.

Established in 1968, the Academy of Honor recognizes outstanding individuals for their service and contributions to agriculture and to Farm Credit. To date, 59 people have been inducted into this prestigious group.

A native of rural New Mexico, Romero is chief diversity officer at Texas A&M University–Commerce, and a faculty member in its School of Agriculture.

Romero is recognized for co-developing the AgForLife concept, which helps create awareness of opportunities in agriculture, food and life sciences among Latino students. In 2010, he co-founded the first Latinos in Agriculture Leaders Conference, which works to create a network for the Latino community to connect ideas, resources and people to all aspects of America’s agricultural industry.

District Lenders Declare $260.6 Million Patronage to Customers

The Texas Farm Credit District reported excellent financial results in 2016, resulting in a record patronage declaration of $260.6 million to its member-owners.

The district, composed of the Farm Credit Bank of Texas and its 14 affiliated lending associations, is dedicated to the cooperative principle of members’ economic participation, wherein members contribute equally to, and democratically control, the capital of the cooperative.

Patronage refunds are one way that the district manifests that co-op principle and returns value to its member-owners.

Linda C. Floerke Elected to Farm Credit Bank of Texas Board

Texas Farm Credit District stockholders elected Linda C. Floerke of Lampasas, Texas, to a three-year term on the Farm Credit Bank of Texas Board of Directors, effective Jan. 1.

Floerke succeeds Jon M. “Mike” Garnett of Spearman, Texas, who retired from the board on Dec. 31 after serving 18 years as a director of the bank.

Elected to the Texas Land Bank board in 2012, Floerke continued as a Lone Star Ag Credit director after the associations merged in 2014. She and her husband raise cattle, white-tailed deer and hay in Lampasas County. She is also co-owner and secretary-treasurer of Agro-Tech Services Inc., a family business that provides liquid fertilizer, crop chemicals, custom application, cattle protein supplements, and other products and services to area farmers and ranchers.

In addition, Floerke serves on the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Leadership Advisory Board for Lampasas County and is a committee member at her church. She is a former director or trustee of numerous organizations, including two district school boards and the Girl Scouts of Central Texas, and is a past president of the Lampasas County Chamber of Commerce.

Landscapes Wins National Awards

Landscapes was the winning magazine in the communications contests of both the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) earlier this year. It also won Best of Show in the publications division of the CCA competition.

In addition, at the National Agri-Marketing Association’s Best of NAMA in April, Landscapes won a merit award in the company and association magazines category.

Landscapes is the semiannual member magazine published by the Farm Credit Bank of Texas on behalf of 13 Texas District associations.