Taylor receives Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership Award

COLLEGE STATION – The Governor Dolph Briscoe Jr. Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership, or TALL,  program has honored Daniel Taylor with the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award was presented recently at the Austin Club during a “Tribute to Texas Leadership” reception, hosted by The Governor Dolph Briscoe Jr. TALL program alumni, the Texas A&M University System and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. The event featured Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as its keynote speaker.

Previous honorees of the TALL Lifetime Achievement Award include former Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe and former Congressman Charlie Stenholm.

Since 2009, Taylor has been president/manager of DLT Enterprises Inc. where he is involved in agricultural investments and land management in Castro, Hockley, Lamb, Llano, Lubbock, Lynn, McCulloch and Terry counties in Texas.

“TALL has benefited greatly from the wisdom and guidance Dan Taylor has contributed,” said Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz, TALL program director in College Station. “His first-hand knowledge of agriculture operations combined with his passion for education and his sharing that knowledge has made a huge contribution to this state.”

After graduating from Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education, Taylor spent 10 years as an agriculture science teacher at Lubbock Cooper High School in Woodrow, where he led students involved in all FFA activities and participated in many state and national contests.

In 1975, Taylor became manager and co-owner of Buster’s Gin and later purchased the gin in 1983. From a humble beginning of ginning less than 2000 bales from only two customers, Taylor each year saw increased production, according to his award nomination. He later updated the gin to a modern, state-of-the art facility, always keeping the quality of ginning and service a priority.

Keeping with his educational roots, Taylor built an expansion on the gin with space for the public to experience the cotton ginning process in person, along with a museum that includes antique ginning equipment and memorabilia Taylor has collected over the years.

Through the years, Taylor has served as president of the Bayer Museum of Agriculture and has been a member of the Texas Tech School of Agriculture and Natural Resources advisory board. He previously served as president of the Texas FFA Foundation Board and is still a board member.

The Governor Dolph Briscoe Jr. Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership program is a competitive leadership development program that includes seminars with experts, on-site tours, meetings with business and government leaders, international study and personal skills improvement. It is funded by individuals and institutions through private gifts and grants. Participants pay a participant fee and AgriLife Extension provides administrative support with 100 percent of the program support paid by the agriculture industry.

The TALL program is designed for men and women in the early stages of their leadership careers. Each cohort consists of at least 25 people who are associated with agriculture. Participants come from every sector of agriculture and all parts of Texas.