Texas Farm Bureau announces 2022 Excellence in Agriculture finalists
(WACO, Texas)—A passion for agriculture, community and family earned three agricultural professionals recognition in the 2022 Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Excellence in Agriculture (EIA) contest.
The finalists in this year’s competition are Cody Berry of Hudson, Chase Brooke of Anna and Kristin Warner of San Marcos.
TFB’s EIA award recognizes young men and women ages 18 to 35 who have not derived a majority of their net income from an owned production agriculture enterprise in any of the past three years.
“Texas agriculture is diverse. It takes small and large farms and ranches, as well as businesses and individuals that support agriculture,” TFB President Russell Boening said. “These young professionals exemplify that diversity, and they play an active role in their communities. They have a passion for agriculture and a determination to succeed. That is a benefit for all of Texas agriculture.”
Cody Berry
Cody Berry is a high school agricultural science teacher and FFA advisor at Hudson ISD.
Berry helps his students in extracurricular agricultural activities, including livestock shows, career development events, leadership development events, ag mechanics, speaking contests, FFA officer selection processes and more.
He was selected to serve as vice president and a member of the Executive Committee of the Area IX FFA Association. He also served as the district secretary and president. In these roles, Berry helps coordinate district and area FFA events.
Berry is an Angelina County Farm Bureau board member and serves as the Young Farmer & Rancher chair and the Scholarship chair. He previously represented District 9 on TFB’s Young Farmer & Rancher Advisory Committee.
He and his wife, Madisyn, have two daughters and own land in Angelina County on which they harvest timber. Berry also owns a small business that specializes in custom contract mowing and land management.
Chase Brooke
Chase Brooke is the County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Collin County with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. In this position, he provides education and research-based information to local farmers, ranchers and landowners to help them find solutions to the challenges they face.
He also hosts workshops, educational outreach events and clinics to help local producers with the latest in management techniques, agricultural technology and local, state and federal regulations.
Brooke continues to help on his family’s ranch in Coryell County by controlling and managing invasive species, repairing equipment, caring for livestock and helping plan for the future of the property.
He’s involved in the community by serving on local boards and organizations, including the Collin County Farm Bureau board of directors. He coordinates Young Farmer & Rancher activities in the county and led the efforts for a county scholarship recognition event. Brooke attends several TFB events throughout the year, including Young Farmer & Rancher activities.
He and his wife, Jennifer, live in Anna.
Kristin Warner
Kristin Warner is a technical sales representative and product development specialist with Syngenta Vegetable Seeds.
In this role, she helps bring new vegetable varieties to market for growers to plant. Her responsibilities include grower and dealer engagement, trial development and industry involvement to represent Syngenta.
Warner also volunteers with several state and national agricultural organizations.
She is the Hays County Farm Bureau board secretary and is a participant in TFB’s AgLead-FarmLead program. She also helps the county organization with various activities and advocacy events.
In addition, she represented TFB on the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Technology Issues Advisory Committee, which focuses on data privacy, biotechnology, new breeding techniques and more.
She lives in San Marcos with her husband Rob. She has two stepdaughters.
Contest details
The winner will be announced at the TFB Annual Meeting Dec. 2-4 in Waco.
The winner will receive a $15,000 member dealer voucher to be used at Ford, Case IH, Grasshopper, CAT or John Deere, courtesy of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company; a $5,000 cash prize, courtesy of Farm Credit Bank of Texas; and expense-paid trips to both the TFB Annual Meeting and AFBF Annual Convention.
The two runners-up will receive a $1,000 cash award, courtesy of Farm Bureau Bank; a $500 cash award, courtesy of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company; and an expense-paid trip to the TFB Annual Meeting.
The state winner will advance to compete in the national contest hosted by AFBF in January.
Information on TFB’s EIA contest and Young Farmer & Rancher program can be found online at https://texasfarmbureau.org/YFR.
For more information about TFB’s Annual Meeting, visit https://texasfarmbureau.org/annualmeeting.
For high-resolution images of this year’s contestants, please click the name of the contestant below.
For broadcast-quality HD video of the candidates, please email requests to Ed Wolff at ewolff@txfb.org.