Dukes returns to AgriLife Extension in North Region leadership position
Role will guide agriculture and natural resources programming in High Plains and South Plains
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Brandon Dukes, Ph.D., returned to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service this month as the North Region agriculture and natural resources regional program leader, assuming responsibility formerly held by Danny Nusser, who is retiring.
Dukes began serving the 41 counties across the agency’s District 1, headquartered in Canyon, and District 2, headquartered in Lubbock, on Sept. 1. He will have offices at the Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center in Canyon and Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Lubbock.
After spending five years with Capital Farm Credit as a relationship manager in the Pampa and Wheeler offices, Dukes returned to the agency he spent the prior 18 years serving.
He started as an agent in Roberts County, where he spent nine years, followed by two years as a 4-H program specialist and finally as the District 1 administrator for almost eight years before leaving in 2021.
“Brandon has the rare combination of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experience and real-world experience in the ag finance world in the Texas Panhandle,” said Dan Hale, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension association director for agriculture and natural resources and professor in the Department of Animal Science, Bryan-College Station. “This will make him an invaluable addition to the North Region leadership team and to the stakeholders in Texas.”
Making a difference
As a regional program manager, Dukes will be tasked with regional educational programming, overseeing trainings, workshops and projects. He will support county agents as they work closely with local farmers, ranchers and landowners to improve crop yields, manage livestock and adopt sustainable practices.
“I’m grateful for the trust placed in me with this appointment, and I look forward to working alongside our AgriLife Extension county agents and specialists to strengthen agriculture across the region,” Dukes said.
“Agriculture in the Texas Panhandle and South Plains is as challenging as it is rewarding,” he said. “My goal is to ensure our AgriLife Extension programs connect producers with the tools and research they need to remain profitable and sustainable.”
Dukes earned his doctorate in systems agriculture and master’s in agriculture from West Texas A&M University and his bachelor’s in agriculture education from Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
