The Fort Worth Chamberletter

Jim Link

James E. “Jim” Link is a Tarrant County cattleman, but he’s bullish on all of the United States’ agriculture and its growth potential in global markets.

“There’s a tremendous amount of opportunity in agriculture,” he said, noting that in terms of U.S. exports, agriculture products are in heaviest demand. “We may not be able to feed the whole world, but we put a pretty big dent” in meeting demand.

Link is a nationally respected and authoritative voice in the matter, having served as director of Texas Christian University’s Ranch Management Program from 1994 to 2005 when President George W. Bush appointed him as administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.

In 2008, he was appointed administrator of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

Link has been named by the Fort Worth Farm & Ranch Club, an independent arm of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, as the 2010 recipient of the W.A. “Bill” King Award for Excellence in Agriculture.

He will receive the award January 21 during Livestock Appreciation Day at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, which runs Jan. 15-Feb. 7.

“His work in Washington, D.C., made enormous improvements in the Packers and Stockyards program and the animal ID program,” Jim Bradbury, president of the Fort Worth Farm & Ranch Club, told the Stock Show’s November newsletter.

Link brought greater recognition to TCU’s Ranch Management curriculum, Bradbury said, while training cattlemen who now operate some of the largest ranches in the U.S. “Most importantly, Jim never lost his bearings for agriculture in Fort Worth.”

Link has returned to private business, running a stocker operation with his wife, Karen. They also graze and feed cattle in his native Kansas.

He sees vast export opportunity for U.S. agriculture. The value of U.S. agriculture trade has increased annually for years, growing from more than $63 billion in 1990 to more than $194 billion in FY 2008, according to the USDA.

“The biggest challenge for the economics of agriculture is to keep our exports strong – to make sure that we have that flow of corn, wheat, milo, rice and other products moving to other countries to help keep the price up for our farmers.”

Plus, he said, as economies around the world recover, U.S. farmers can grow a new array of exports with specialty crops such as flowers and ginseng. And opportunity for livestock exports continues to increase because no other country can match the quality of U.S. livestock.

“We’ve just scratched the surface” in agribusiness, he said.

“We hear a lot of gloom and doom about agriculture, but it’s still in business.”

More links:

• Former King Award winners.
• Outlook for U.S. agricultural trade.

The Edwards Family Ranches has been named recipient of the 2009 W.A. “Bill” King Award for Excellence in Agriculture. The award, named for the late Bill King, founder of the Fort Worth Farm and Ranch Club and longtime manager of the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, recognizes a business or individual who has significantly contributed to the agriculture or agribusiness industry.

For generations, the Edwards family has been devoted to agriculture and raising cattle in Tarrant and neighboring counties. Established in 1848 by Lemuel and Elizabeth Edwards, the ranch was originally 640 acres when it became home to a newly established military post, now known as modern-day Fort Worth. Over time, the management of the ranch passed down through the generations and the ranch grew in size to eventually span across 7,000 acres. The Edwards Family currently manages properties in Fannin, Garza, Lynn and Parker Counties, as well as the original ranch in Tarrant County located on the Clear Fork of the Trinity River.  Although only 850 acres remain of the original ranch, Edwards family members are devoted to maintaining the ranch’s historic significance through the development of the Edwards Ranch neighborhoods: Clearfork, Riverhills and Overland.  

“The Edwards family has devoted tremendous leadership and support to Texas agriculture, setting a standard equaled by few for well over a century,” said Shanna Weaver, president of the Fort Worth Farm and Ranch Club. “This commitment and passion for agriculture, embraced by a cast of dedicated family members, will undoubtedly extend their family legacy for decades to come.”

The Fort Worth Farm and Ranch Club still operates as an independent facet of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and is dedicated to the advancement of agriculture and agribusiness in Fort Worth.  The Club is also devoted to local 4-H and FFA members through their support of the Tarrant County Junior Livestock Show and Domino’s Pizza Ranch, which educates local 4th graders in agriculture. W.A. “Bill” King was instrumental in the relationship developed between the Farm and Ranch Club and the Chamber, having served as the Chamber’s livestock and agriculture department head in the 1950s-60s.

First awarded in 1994, the 16th W.A. “Bill” King Award for Excellence in Agriculture will be presented at the Stock Show’s Livestock Appreciation Day Luncheon at noon on Jan. 22 at the Round Up Inn.  The luncheon will feature Luther Beauchamp of Cheifland, Florida as speaker and seats can be reserved by calling 817-877-2400. Individual tickets are $60 and a table of eight is $480.

Go here for more information on the Farm and Ranch Club.