Ag Day Set for Sept. 12, Looks to Top Record-Breaking 2025

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

CANYON, Texas — The area’s largest single-day fundraiser will return Sept. 12 following a record-breaking success in 2025.

Ag Day, hosted by the WT Department of Agricultural Sciences and the Ag Development Association, is a celebration of Texas Panhandle agriculture and attracts hundreds of supporters from around the region.

In 2025, the event raised $269,000 in live and silent auctions, topping a record set in 2021.

The weekend also will include an event where students will be presented with more than $1 million in scholarships.

Ag Day festivities will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 12 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, interim head of the Department of Agricultural Sciences and 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_a5mSZADrodWKLk2.

Weekend festivities also will include the ag department’s scholarship and awards reception, scheduled for Sept. 11 in the Piehl-Schaeffer Pavilion at the Agricultural Sciences Complex.

At the reception, 326 ag students will receive more than $1 million in scholarships for the academic year.

“Scholarships are a backbone of the Department of Agricultural Sciences, and the prevalence of our Panhandle supporters is beyond belief when it comes to supporting our students,” Kieth said.

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

This year’s First Choice Award recipients are U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, who has served the 13th congressional district since November 2020; Texas Cattle Feeders Association, a nonprofit organization representing the cattle feeding industry in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico; and Kevin Buse, owner and general manager of Champion Feeders and past chairman of TCFA.

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 Kody Carson, a 1983 graduate and agricultural leader at the local, state and national level who also was named a 2025 WT Distinguished Alumnus; Wesley Spurlock, a 1979 graduate and national leader among corn and grain producers; and Brady Yeary, a 1979 graduate and banking leader known for his community service and leadership.

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 26 years, ADA has raised more than $2.4 million for the department. Enrollment has risen from a few hundred students to more than 1,194, with 20 straight years of growth. 

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

For information, call 806-651-2550.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University 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. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 65 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 41 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and three doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. 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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