WT Ag Day Set for Sept. 6, Raises Funds for University Ag Department

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — A celebration of Texas Panhandle agriculture, as well as the area’s largest single-day fundraiser, will return Sept. 6, and students will be presented with more than $1 million in scholarships at a related event.

Ag Day, hosted by the WT Department of Agricultural Sciences and the Ag Development Association, attracts hundreds of supporters from around the region.

Festivities will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 6 in the Bain Event Center in WT’s Agricultural Sciences Complex. Attendees will enjoy a prime rib lunch.

“Ag Day is a great time for our alumni, friends and industry supporters to gather to celebrate the ag community and to support our current and future students,” said Dr. Lance Kieth, associate dean of external relations and recruiting for the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.

The twin highlights of the day are live and silent auctions featuring a significant collection of cruises, exclusive hunting trips, seed and other ag-related items. To register for the auctions, visit wtamuuw.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0cbiyCoW92KyEgS.

Weekend festivities also will include the ag department’s scholarship and awards reception, scheduled for Sept. 5 in the Piehl-Schaeffer Pavilion at the Agricultural Sciences Complex.

At the reception, 372 ag students will receive more than $1 million in scholarships for the academic year.

“This is the highest amount of scholarship dollars we have ever awarded to students,” Kieth said. “This milestone could not have been achieved without the leadership and support of the Ag Development Association, the Board of Ag Advisers, and the Spicer Gripp, the Engler and the WTAMU foundations. With their help, we continue to rapidly grow our scholarship funds and matching dollars, enabling more students to benefit from scholarships.”

The reception also will pay tribute to this year’s First Choice Award recipients and Graduate of Distinction.

First Choice Award recipients include Rebekah Bachman, who retired in 2025 as the assistant dean of the Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences; and Chris Cabbiness, a Canyon businessman and WT supporter.

The First Choice Award recognizes successful professionals that are easily identified with WT and who have contributed to WT Ag through leadership, service, financial support or advocacy.

Graduates of Distinction to be honored will be Harold Grall, a 1979 graduate, farmer and prominent Dumas resident; Marcel Fischbacher, a 1984 graduate and longtime Texas A&M AgriLife extension agent; and Ben Weinheimer, a 1994 graduate and president and CEO of Texas Cattle Feeders Association.

The Graduate of Distinction Award goes to WT Ag alumni who have displayed proven success and contributions in their profession, and who have contributed to WT Ag with leadership, financial support and as a spokesperson for WT Ag in their profession and community.

Funds raised at Ag Day support recruitment efforts for the ag department, including scholarships, travel and merchandise. 

In the past 25 years, ADA has raised more than $2.2 million for the department. Enrollment has risen from a few hundred students to more than 1,150, with 20 straight years of growth.  

“Ag Day and ADA’s auction proceeds have been and will continue to be the catalyst for enrollment growth,” Kieth said. “These funds are used for student recruitment, and every penny raised at the annual auction is spent every year. This model has produced an outstanding return on our donors’ investments in our University.” 

ADA currently is the largest department-affiliated chapter for WT’s Alumni Association. 

For information, call 806-651-2550.

WT’s efforts to recruit, retain and reward exceptional students is a centerpiece of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $170 million.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. A Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The University also is home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

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