AgriLife Extension agent to chair national Sustainable Agriculture Committee
Laura Miller tapped by National Association of County Agriculture Agents
Laura Miller, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulture agent in Tarrant County, has been appointed chair of the Sustainable Agriculture Committee of the National Association of County Agriculture Agents, NAC
“We are proud to have Laura Miller representing Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in leading this national committee,” said Jeff Hyde, Ph.D., director of AgriLife Extension, College Station. “Enhancing learning opportunities for ag agents around the country will benefit farmers and communities across Texas.”
Sustainable agricultural practices are key in ensuring the future of food production, no matter where that production occurs. In her role as committee chair, Miller is charged with developing and providing professional improvement opportunities for members with responsibilities in sustainable agriculture, securing resources to fund these activities and promoting them to members.
“We are excited to have Laura representing Texas on a national level,” said Phoenix Rogers, Texas County Agriculture Agents Association, TCAAA, past president and AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Galveston County. “Laura has been a valuable asset to TCAAA, and we know she will bring that same level of dedication and work ethic to her new role with NACAA.”
Miller said Extension agents have been working to help farmers improve sustainability since the passage of the Smith-Lever Act in 1914.
“I hope to encourage my colleagues in Texas and around the country to take that whole system approach in their work,” she said. “I am hopeful that we will be able to spend time together at NACAA meetings sharing our program ideas and learning together using the Reading the Farm process.”
Miller said she also looks forward to working with the Texas Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education team, which includes Diane Boellstorff, AgriLife Extension water resources specialist, College Station; Nelson Daniels, Prairie View A&M Cooperative Extension Program agriculture and natural resources program specialist, Prairie View; and John Smith, AgriLife Extension program specialist in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, College Station.
Miller has worked with urban agriculture throughout her career, which includes seven years as a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension agent in Tampa, Florida, and the past 12 years as an AgriLife Extension agent in Tarrant County.
A sixth-generation Texan, she earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture and a master’s degree in agricultural education from Texas A&M University in College Station. In 2017, she was selected as one of four Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Fellows and spent two years learning about sustainable agriculture and visiting farms in Texas, North Dakota, Oregon and Delaware.
