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Experts educate students on the political side of ag |
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By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition |
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December 12, 2002 -- While education, good grades and a good reputation can help land a good position, being in the right place at the right time also helps! That's what college students heard while attending the first Independent Cattlemen's Association (ICA) Collegiate Forum held, recently, at the Capitol in Austin. Led by Shane Sklar, ICA executive director, around 80 students from various colleges and universities heard a variety of speakers, including a panel comprised of four professionals who have "been there and done that." Students in attendance represented Abilene Christian University, Sul Ross, Tarleton State, Texas A&M, Sam Houston State University, Southwest Texas State University, Trinity Valley Community, Blinn Junior College and Texas A&M in Kingsville. In a panel discussion concerning how politics, legislation, and agriculture can "fit" together, Jason Skaggs, Senate staff; Trent Thomas, House staff; Terri Barber, Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA); and Logan Spence of the Governor's office explained how they became involved in the political side of agriculture, and what possibilities new graduates have to look forward to in the future. One thing each encouraged the students to pursue is internships with local politicians, if they have any idea about a career in ag politics. Several of the panel started their careers with state representatives or state senators, and most were contacted by the offices because of their reputations and knowledge in various ag-related fields. "I really realized that legislation and politics was not only fun and exciting, but it was real important," said Spence, a recent law school graduate who has been with the Gov. Perry's office since May. Scaggs works with Sen. Robert Duncan, from the Lubbock area, and is the Committee Director for the Texas Senate Sub-committee on Ag, as well as the Texas Senate Natural Resource Committee. "As you go through life, if you haven't experienced this already, you meet people and you learn about people and different positions ... some of those kinds of things. I became friends with a guy on Senator Duncan's staff, and I got a call, one day, asking if I was interested in coming to work for him, because this friend of mine was going to be going to law school at Baylor," added Scaggs. Scaggs, along with the others, is very concerned about the recent elections and the changes that will take place in the Texas Legislature in January. According to him, six of the 31 senators will be freshmen, and 53 House members will be freshman out of 150. "The majority of those folks will be, primarily, urban members. We in ag have a very important job, and a very important responsibility rests on our shoulders ... not only to protect ag, but to try to protect rural Texas," Scaggs explained. Thomas works as an ag consultant within the House staff, and expressed concern about the re-districting that will happen, and he believes it will be a real challenge to educate new members at the state and federal levels, although many urban issues are the same as rural areas experience. "I think there's a real education curve that is going to have to take place for people with production ag experience. People that understand the bigger picture with ag issues, out there. That's where I think you (college students) can play a role ... to help educate some of these folks that are coming into the legislative process that may or may not know that much about ag," said Scaggs. Finally, Barber, TDA director of livestock marketing, explained how she works with buyers from over the state, the nation and international visitors. She is responsible for helping to connect them to producers who are eager to work with them. "Not only do I handle the livestock marketing for the department (TDA), we also work with the GO TEXAN beef members and the GO TEXAN campaign, which was launched my Ag Commissioner Susan Combs," she said. Barber also serves on the Texas Animal Health Commission committee, along with Sklar. Like the others, she urged the students to accept internships when they are offered and to look to the future. "You never know where you're going to go, along the way, and who you're going to meet and how it's going to affect your future," she said. |
