November 8, 2024 • 43 mins
In this episode of the Growing Our Future podcast, host Aaron Alejandro speaks with Dan Taylor, a prominent figure in Texas agricultural education and the FFA. They discuss the importance of gratitude, mentorship, and the journey of Dan's life in agriculture, including his experiences as a teacher, businessman, and philanthropist. The conversation also highlights the significance of the Discovery Center in Lubbock, Texas, and the legacy of the Texas FFA Foundation.
Story Notes:
- Gratitude and Its Impact on Life
- Dan Taylor's Journey in Agriculture
- The Influence of Mentorship in Agriculture Education
- Understanding Cotton Ginning
- The Importance of the Discovery Center
- The Legacy of the Texas FFA Foundation
Learn more at MyTexasFFA.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast.
In this show, the Texas FFAFoundation will take on a
journey of exploration intoagricultural science, education,
leadership development andinsights from subject matter
experts and sponsors who providethe fuel to make dreams come
true.
Here's your host, AaronAlejandro.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or
whenever you may be tuning in tothe Growing Our Future podcast.
First, we want to start bysaying thank you.
You know, time's the only thingthat we get to spend.
We can't save it.
And so the fact that you'respending a little bit of your
(00:51):
time with us today, we want youto know how much we value that.
We also value the time of ourincredible guests.
We have guests that are.
They come onto this podcast andthey're willing to share their
time, their experiences, theirinsights, their expertise.
They pour into others and, likewe say in the world of
agriculture, if you want to knowwhat the future is, grow it.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
(01:14):
Well, to grow something, yougot to plant the right seeds,
and that's what this podcast isabout.
It's about bringing people onthat give us some seeds that we
can put in place in our livesand grow a beautiful life, a
beautiful community and abeautiful future.
Today's guest is no exception.
Folks, y'all are about to meeta legend in the history of Texas
(01:37):
ag, education and FFA, and itwon't take you long to
understand why he is, becausehe's such an incredible
encourager and he's got a great,great background and we're
going to talk about thatbackground.
But, ladies and gentlemen, it'san honor to welcome Dan Taylor
to the show.
Dan, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
It's my pleasure and I look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So, dan, you know every one of these episodes we
start off the same way, soyou're going to get the same
question everybody else gets,and that question is this Dan
Taylor, what are you gratefulfor today?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Well, I'm grateful for lots of things.
One, to live in America, eventhough we have disarray in
certain things, but America'sstill the greatest country in
the world, without a doubt.
I'm grateful to have beeninvited to agriculture.
I'm grateful to my family.
All of my kids and grandkidseither have degrees or are
(02:39):
working toward degrees inagriculture, and so it's been a
great life in agriculture, andso it's been a great life in
agriculture.
Many things I'm grateful for ingood health.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Isn't that something when we start with that, Dan?
I don't know, but people thatare grateful, they tend to be
more hopeful.
People that are grateful seemto be more energetic.
They look forward to things.
People that don't seem to bemore energetic they look forward
to things.
People that don't have a lot ofgratefulness they don't always,
they're not always positive,but when you start your day with
(03:13):
a little gratefulness, I thinkit sets the tone of great things
to happen that day.
And we always start thispodcast with gratefulness,
because I think when we allstart by reflecting on what
we're appreciative of, it justkind of sets the tone of the
dialogue that we're going tohave.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yes, without a doubt it does.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So Dan Taylor my goodness, dan Taylor's got a
life journey here, folks, thatwe're about to share with y'all.
And it goes back and he's goingto start.
Dan, I want you to start andtell us a little bit.
You're a successful businessman.
You've been a formeragricultural science teacher.
(03:58):
You are a philanthropist.
I'm going to put another labelon you You're a historian
philanthropist.
I'm going to put another labelon you You're a historian.
And what I'd like for you to do, dan, is walk us through if you
will walk us through your lifejourney.
How did you end up being thehead of Buster's Gin and the
president of the Ag Museum inLubbock, texas?
(04:21):
How in the world did this comeabout?
Take us through your life'sjourney, if you will.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Well, number one, you don't ever do it alone.
And so many mentors, manypeople support, don't ever say I
did this with you, we got itdone through the efforts of so
many.
I was raised on a farm in smallrange in central Texas, hill
County, a little town of Bloomwhich is south of Fort Worth
(04:49):
about 40 miles.
Because I grew up inagriculture, I was born in World
War II so things were prettyprimitive in that area.
We started some slightadvancement in the 50s.
But in the 50s we were notreally tolling in the fields.
We had no ag chemicals.
There was very littlefertilization and very little
(05:10):
mechanical harvesting methods.
It was pretty primitive.
We hand harvested our cottonuntil I was a sophomore in high
school.
But I learned work ethics.
And your family.
I was blessed with a goodparents but at the time you
think probably you've beenmistreated because you worked
all the time.
(05:31):
But as life goes on you realizehow what a real blessing that
was to learn some integrity,honesty, work ethics.
So sharpening up a little.
I wasn't going to anagriculture college.
I was going to determine I wasreal strong about two things I
(05:52):
was not going to do, and thatwas farm or have anything to do
with cotton.
I really pushed that hard tocotton because that was nothing
but hard times.
I went to a non-agriculturecollege but during another year
had grown up and I wasn'tpleased with the university I
was at.
It was more liberal thinkingthan I was raised and that's
(06:15):
before we really knew the wordliberal hardly in the 1960s when
I graduated.
But by accident I followed acousin to Texas Tech.
I had to look on the map toknow where Texas Tech was.
It could have been in Europe aswell as Texas as far as I'm
concerned.
(06:35):
I followed him out here with atranscript in my hand, without a
place to live.
He was a year younger than me.
He was on the engineeringscholarship.
We arrived in Lubbock Iregistered, slept on his dorm
floor a few days and I found thehouse out on the farm and from
then on I really got enrolled inTexas Tech, got more excited.
(07:02):
More of my real passion was inagriculture Not during the time
I was going to teach, but Iwanted to be in some
agricultural field.
And from day one there'smentors, people that helped me,
the people I lived on their farmArchland this was great Texan
way back in some of the earlybeginning of it and they ended
(07:25):
up nearly like parents do, realreluctant to rent an old house
in front of their house on thefarm to two college boys.
I didn't realize at the timewhat their fear was, but anyway,
after they got to know me, Ilived there and developed
relationships, worked forfarmers across the road and got
(07:48):
more and more involved inagriculture.
I obtained my major in ageducation and I had two of the
best professors.
There was TL Leach and LMHardraves.
If anybody didn't steal theimportance of agriculture
education, it couldn't beinstilled in someone.
(08:09):
They were gross.
Did my student teach inagriculture Not instilled even
more of my desire to want toteach.
Up until then I wasn't sure.
But in serving in the blockunder Mr Leach and Hargrave
didn't student teach it.
So, luckily, the grace of Godagain, and half the people, my
wife.
(08:29):
We got married a year ofcollege for her, so I had to
stay located close to Lubbock.
This is 1964, and you stillwasn't real mobile then as much
as today.
I took a job at Lubbock as muchas today Feed limit, for 55
hours a day.
I took a job at Lubbock Cooper.
That came open late in thesummer.
I graduated in August and welived on campus.
(08:54):
I was 50 yards from the Agbuilding for 11 years.
Really All my kids were barredwhile I lived at Cooper.
It was a great place.
I had great administration andour program just kept advancing.
After about six years we added asecond teacher, an ag mechanics
(09:15):
, farm-powered machine at thetime and I was very blessed and
still is our one farm.
By then we had mechanizedcotton harvesting, we had Treff
Land came out in the 60s we hadweed.
So I developed a six acre farmon the school campus and we
(09:38):
irrigated from a well, shared itwith the football field.
We started on time.
We planted different varietieskind of researched wealth,
shared it with the footballfield.
We started on-time.
We planted different varietiesof research and I rented 10
acres of my home in my fourthyear, which is well inside
Lubbock today, and when I talkedabout the 10 acres a lot of
people thought I had 1,000.
(09:59):
Well, I talked about it.
I have the tractor I started onthat Restored in my barn.
It's 53 Super M Farmall.
I bought it in 66.
But that kind of developed mydesire, got interested and got
approached about buying a cottongin that was about to close, a
(10:21):
gin, just barely enough to havethe doors open a year before.
I didn't want to leave teaching,but I guess, as your kids get
three of them, I thought I mightspend more time with them and
had a desire to take the nextstep in agriculture.
To this day, this is many yearslater.
(10:44):
That's the hardest decisionI've ever made in my life today.
I quit teaching.
I know you hear a lot say Iquit on kind of money.
I didn't quit on kind of money.
I think I was treated very goodsalary-wise but it was the
hardest decision I ever made.
I went to see thesuperintendent, the president of
the board on a Sunday to tellthem I ever made.
(11:05):
I went to see thesuperintendent, the president of
the board on a Sunday to tellthem I was leaving.
That was a lot of tears by usSid.
I don't know whether it's tearsthe community shed.
But we moved to a farm nearRocheville that we purchased
which is four miles from thecotton gin and I told people
(11:26):
that my time at the gin a lot ofthat's kind of track my time in
education.
There's a lot of parallels toyour customer service and PR and
I give my dearest credit in Maymy being successful in business
(11:47):
and we took Buster's Inn to oneof the largest in Texas.
It was the largest family home.
We were surrounded by Co-Op'sInn to the one of the largest in
Texas.
It was the largest family home.
We were surrounded by Co-Op'sInn which were owned by the
members but I outperformed mostof them in production.
The den was a lot of my farmerstudents were customers and but
(12:12):
it was a real blessing.
But that early you don't donone of this by yourself.
I had a lot of mentors.
A lot of mentors probablydidn't know this.
I had my mentor.
They bothered me in life, sameway teaching is a naysayers.
The world is full of manynaysayers instead of the
(12:32):
positive people and I had themeven teach and you can't have
that kind of problem.
But you can.
I think a good teacher can goto any school regardless how
weak a problem they've hadbefore, and they'll develop that
problem and in two yearsthey'll have an outstanding
(12:52):
problem and it's in the same way.
But I had a lot of nice seriesthat probably helps me.
I'm one of these that not goodtell me I can't do this and that
probably motivated me At thetime.
It hurt my feelings.
Sure, I've been in cotton gins.
(13:13):
You can't financially make it asuccess so it probably works
harder.
So paint's not a word in myvocabulary.
I really appreciate and I'vetried in my life to be very
positive towards others.
Same thing we've been saying inthe 60's been said today there's
(13:35):
no way you start farming onyour own without family help or
something.
My wife and I not from there.
We had zero family help.
We started.
But you don't start the samelevel as somebody across the
road.
You've got a big perseveranceroad map.
You've got to be inperseverance.
In the same way in teachingyou've got to have that
(13:57):
perseverance, that desire towant to.
You take it step by step.
I still say a person can startthe day, and even in this
environment, on their own,little by little.
You may have to work off-siteand farm on the side, but
there's opportunities out there.
Ag education program is such agood program that helps
(14:23):
establish some basis forindividuals in so many different
, varied fields of agricultureand leadership in things that
they may do in life that's notdirectly related to agriculture,
but I've been blessed with somany people that were positive.
(14:45):
One on the naysayer side andtalking about the naysayer, you
mentioned the museum a while ago.
I've been blessed to beinvolved with it, which really
filled a gap after my selling ofthe cotton gin.
I've got to have a goal everyday, something to do, but it's
full of naysayers.
I mean, there's no way y'allcan build this facility, get the
money to do it.
(15:05):
I heard that a bunch.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Really.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Oh, yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Those of us that know it.
Now, I can't believe that,because it's so important I have
support members that know itnow I can't believe that because
it's so important.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
I had support members that said it.
Wow, perseverance and peoplewith desire, team effort is a
positive thing.
It wasn't the nature of it, itwouldn't have been done, but
that covered some of my life ina short version well, there's
(15:39):
more there, dan, and we're gonnawe're gonna talk about a little
bit more of the details here.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
One of my favorite photos from my ffa experience,
dan, because it changed my life.
But growing up at boys which Iunderstand you had a guy by the
name of Bill Sarpolis.
That student taught under you.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
That is correct, and so.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Bill Sarpolis student taught under Dan Taylor, and
many of you know that Bill wenton to become a Texas senator and
a US congressman and thenhelped the country of Lithuania
become a free country.
But it's because of Dan Taylor.
Dan started all that.
So, Dan, you had an impact onthe world.
You just didn't know it.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
You mentioned, Bill, and I think I had 21 student
teachers under my time 11 yearsteaching and a lot of that was
due to convenience Cooper Schoolwas only 12 miles from the
campus of Texas Tech but I hadsome.
These student teachers weremore than just trainees under me
(16:44):
.
I've learned from them andtheir enthusiasm, their ideas
and I got a lot out of it and myfriend and most of them had
contact ever since.
Some of them are even deceasednow and some are honored with
the Hall of Fame.
Last year that student taughtunder me, Danny Beck and David
(17:09):
Howell were honored last year.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
You were talking, though I was going to tell you
that.
You know, one of my favoritephotographs from my ffa
experience I have was when I wasat the state fair of texas.
And at state fair of texas we Iwas a pig showman, so I showed
pigs and the hog farm or theswine barn, the superintendent's
office they always put boysranch.
(17:36):
We were always right in frontof the superintendent's office.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
I remember.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
And LM Hargrave was the superintendent.
One of my favorite photos, dan,is I've got a picture of me
wearing a as a freshman.
I'm wearing a yellow t-shirtwith a picture of my mom on it,
I'm standing with my ag teacherand LM Hargrave.
The reason that's such anamazing picture for me is
(18:04):
because later in my FFA career,when I went to Texas Tech
University, dr Bill Bennett gaveme, helped me, get a
scholarship, and thatscholarship was the LM Hargrave
Scholarship.
And that ag teacher that's inthat picture with me is now the
president of Vernon College, andso it's a real special picture
(18:27):
for me because of LM andeverybody that knew ag education
knew LM Hargrave and TL Leach,and everybody that understands
cultivation and the importanceof scholarships knows what Bill
Bennett did for Texas TechUniversity.
And you know, when I think back, dan, of what you do today and
what I've tried to do, those menwere great examples to us of
(18:52):
stewardship.
Men were great examples to usof stewardship, of making sure
that we do something to make itbetter for the people that
follow in our footsteps.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
That's correct.
Fortunately, linda and I, afterour kids got educated, they
were fortunate.
It cost me a very minimalamount, next to none, because I
get to own so many FFA and 4-Hscholarships with all the nice
support of Texas.
But Bill Bennett got LindeniteCollege towards Thanksgiving and
(19:25):
I had several lunches with himtrying to get us involved in
starting an endowment at TexasTech for the college ag.
He was such an influence on ourlife and I think what we're
doing today is a result of whatBill Bennett got us started.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
And you know it's behind the scenes, dan.
It's so many people like you,by the way, I hope that people
see this podcast.
You know there's an old sayingthat says you don't have to be
loud to be heard.
You don't have to be loud to beheard, you don't have to be
loud to be heard.
And I'm going to tell you, whenyou look at the legacy of Bill
Bennett and you think about allthe people that he mentored, you
(20:07):
know, you, you talk about hisrelationship with you.
Gordon Davis yes, gordon Davisis another one that was mentored
by Bill Bennett.
You know so many of these folksand then I was blessed to know
them as well, and I've got tosay honestly that Bill Bennett
is probably one of the peoplethat helped change my life.
I think my mom sending me toBoys Ranch, the fact that Mr
(20:31):
Chandler put me in FFA and thefact that a kid that didn't
think he could go to college,didn't think he ever had a
chance to go to school.
Bill Bennett made that possible.
That's right.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
So anyway.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
I appreciate you because I just want you to know
that people like you empowerpeople like me that don't even
see it coming.
We don't always know the behindthe scenes of who makes those
opportunities possible, but youknow that's what you and Linda
are doing through thisgenerosity and the success that
you've had, that you're willingto share that with others yeah,
(21:11):
and we're blessed to be in ourtime of our life where we can
afford to do things older.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
We need to give back.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
I think back how many supported our own kids and
grandkids and dan, let's talkabout something here real quick,
because I know there's peoplelistening to this podcast and
they heard the word cotton gins.
They heard cotton gin.
What is a cotton gin?
So I want to take a moment hereand I know I know you know what
(21:41):
one is, but there could bepeople listening to this that if
they're not, if they'relistening, they're not really
paying attention.
They might've missed something.
So Dan Taylor talked aboutpurchasing a cotton gin that was
on the verge of closing.
Okay, dan Taylor told you thathe sold a cotton gin that was on
the verge of closing.
Dan Taylor told you that hesold a cotton gin where he and
his wife were the largestindependent cotton ginners in
(22:03):
the state of Texas, and ifyou're not familiar with the
state of Texas, it's a big state.
So that's a big statement tosay it's the largest independent
cotton gin in the state ofTexas.
Dan, for our listeners andfolks that are tuning in, give
them a brief overview of what isa cotton gin in the state of
Texas.
Dan, for our listeners andfolks that are tuning in, give
them a brief overview of what isa cotton gin.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Well, if you go back in history, eli Whitney invented
a cotton gin in 1793.
All the cotton gin basicallywas invented for separating the
fiber, or lint we call it, fromthe cotton seed.
The lint drove off the seed.
Or it says modernization,harvesting everything.
There's more separation to dothan just the lint.
(22:43):
We harvest it.
The cotton was on the plant soyou did a lot of foreign matter
harvesting with it.
So there's about 15 somethingmachines and again 15 to 20
different machines from heatersto dryers separating.
So all of this goes to a largemass of equipment.
(23:06):
Today to build a new cotton ginwould be the 20 plus million,
25 probably closer.
All of this is going through acotton gin.
Separating all this in aminute's time.
It's from start to finish it'sa minute.
But the end product is mainlythe lint and the cotton seed and
(23:29):
the foreign matter is used forcattle feed.
A lot less for value.
So a lot entailed.
Of course I've got very modernand euterized now.
It's still a very complexindustry.
It don't flow like a regularmanufacturing plant that's got a
constant product and a constanttemperature, constant quality.
(23:53):
Our quality varies from farm tofarm.
So running a cotton gin is veryentailed.
Most of the gin now operated.
When I started it was morepeople that were laborers, that
were moved up to be managers,but now it's very educated
individuals.
College education.
You really need an engineeringdegree, an electrical degree all
(24:17):
at the same time.
There's so much.
Our gen was approximately 4,000horsepower.
You got a lot of components.
Education was so important.
Our proximity to love.
We had so many chamber ofcommerce groups, tour groups
(24:39):
walking to our cottage in fromother states and local, so we
built an education room 16 footup.
A picture of one that waslooking every direction.
They could see every piece ofmachinery.
They could see the trucksbringing it in.
They could see 50 peopledinners, studying, had TV
monitor.
So we did a lot of educationalprograms.
(25:02):
Field of Finnish Bale was avideo we produced.
It took you from the harvestall the way through every step.
We gave away I lost count wellover 5,000 copies of that to
teachers, mainly as the wordspread.
So we've incorporated educationwith the Cotton's and we
(25:23):
continue to do so.
We had a lot of educationalmeetings there as well as tour
groups.
So when I sold the den I livedthree months in it, so we've
kind of incorporated it.
Now back to my barn.
We're doing a lot of leadershipgroup, texas Tech Ag groups, do
some political groups here,ones that I'm really involved
(25:47):
with.
We've had fundraisers for them.
So we do it here at my barn.
We still do a lot of thesegroups and still tour them at
the cotton shed, but we have afunction at my barn.
We still do a lot of thesegroups and still turn them into
cotton, but we have a functionat my barn and take them to the
tent.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
So education remains a important part of our life so
for everybody listening, because, dan, this goes all over the
united states, all over texas,even around the world.
If you ever find yourself onthe south, if you ever find
yourself on the South Plains andyou ever find yourself in
Lubbock, texas, you can drive alittle bit out of town just
(26:22):
toward a little town calledRopesville and you will see a
big lighted up, a big red barnthat's got a big double T that
lights up at night.
And if you can make your wayout to that barn you're going to
find a lot of history.
Dan, how many tractors, howmany tractors do you have on
premise there now?
Speaker 3 (26:41):
well, I can't tell all of that because your wife's
always wanting to know how manyand you put them in different
barns so you can't get a truecount.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
I got approximately 20 yeah, the reason I shared
that again is dan taylor'sattention to history and
willingness to share history isnot just at the museum in
lubbock but on their farm.
They have an incredible displayof the history, of not only
their farm but of cotton jenny,and they've got equipment and
(27:12):
they've got a barn that they canhost events in.
And you know it's always one ofour favorite stops when we take
our lead teachers through WestTexas is to go to Dan Taylor's
barn and to spend time at themuseum and walking around
looking at the tractors and thenthere's cotton fields right
there, right next to everything.
(27:33):
They get to see the actualfields.
And so when we talk abouthistory here, not only is Dan
Taylor sharing history, he'sliving history, but he's sharing
history Physically.
He's sharing the story ofcotton ginning, and so if you
ever find your way to Dan's farm, y'all will understand just how
(27:56):
impressive his storytellingreally is Well.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Thank you, we hope and Linda and I have talked a
lot you spend such a busy timein your life, your business,
trying to be a success in yourkids.
You probably don't do enoughfor others, given your time and
talents and resources, and we'vereally tried to devote
ourselves.
In later years.
(28:22):
Most of our day is spent insome way giving back, hopefully
to others in the museum or ineducation or something.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Dan, we're going to talk about a couple more things
here and we're going to comeback to what you just shared
let's talk about real quick,because I want people to know a
little bit more about the museum, because you've had so many
incredible guests that havevisited that museum there in
Lubbock Texas and it's calledthe Discovery Center now and it
(28:55):
is impressive, but it is amuseum of agricultural history
and, if anybody's listening tothis, if you're ever looking for
a destination field trip, Iwould encourage you to look at
coming to the Ag Museum inLubbock Texas.
It is a destination field tripand, dan, you've got so many
(29:16):
things in there.
You've got an airplane in theceiling when you come in, you've
got silos, you've got a cottonstripper, you've got an
entertainment room, you've got amuseum, you've got stuffed
animals, taxidermied animals.
You've got everything in thisthing.
Tell us a little bit about themuseum and why it's important.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Well, we're trying to preserve the history and
heritage of agriculture andteach the next generation where
their food and fiber comes from.
Now back up a little bit AldenBrazel, which was a National FFA
officer in 1947-48.
He was a county commissioner,raised on a farm and 36 years he
(29:59):
was county commissioner and hegot real interested as he saw
what revolution changed inagriculture and our equipment
went advancing a lot,particularly starting in about
late 50s.
So he went to he said if wedon't preserve, collect some of
this, it's going on to thescrapyard.
(30:21):
So he got involved early on.
The county allowed him to usethe county truck with no county
funds and nearly everything wasgiven to him.
He started a mass collection oftractors and equipment and as
time moved on he started a masscollection of tractors and
equipment in the 60s and as timemoved on he really pushed for
(30:44):
trying to get a museum structure.
Farmer Mayor Lovett was a farmboy and lawyer and he's the
first president.
We started a charter about 23years ago I think, and he served
president three years and I'vehad it 18 years.
But we started with a plan anda vision, a three-phase vision
(31:12):
plan, what we needed to do.
It took years to get it.
Finally, the only thing we gotout of the city.
The city loaned us 24 acres for99 years.
We started, we built phase onein 2011, phase two in 2014, and
phase three has been built as wetalk.
(31:33):
Phase one is more thecollection of history and
heritage of agriculture, got alot of interactive exhibits.
Phase two is more upper level,science-based Got the airplane
in there that was a spray plane.
Got the late model cottonstripper they can do the
(31:55):
simulation for three minutesdriving it and we have a
fabulous meeting room.
These are built like graintanks to represent agriculture
and we have about 120 rentalevents a year in that area.
But that's health, promoteagriculture.
And our third phase is the mostexpensive.
(32:16):
We're going to haveapproximately $15 million in
buildings and exhibits.
That'll be more than that countin exhibits.
We're doing $15 to $20 millionin buildings and exhibits when
we finish that phase.
This phase around now iscosting a little over $6 million
.
It's going to focus on thatkind of third, fourth, fifth
(32:38):
grade level.
We're going to really inspiremore teachers to come field trip
and we have about 20-somethinginteractive exhibits and these
have been developed in Chicago.
We got our first shipment lastweek.
Then we got a cotton heritagecenter in there and we've hired
(32:59):
a company in Indiana to helpsign that.
My collection is going to leveland Lynn and I are funding that
part of the museum, the cottonheritage center.
But it's going to be a facilityto catch all of them and this
phase is really going to put usin a new level.
(33:27):
We started with this three-phaseplan a long time ago.
I never heard so many peoplethat can't be done, can't ever
do.
It had some get off the boardnot going to be part of that,
but personally, if we've got agood team we've got 19 on the
board and most of them have somebackground.
We've got bankers on the board,we've got business people on
the board and got some retiredfarmers.
(33:51):
We've got a great team andwe've been able to get to where.
It's a team effort gettingwhere we are.
Our first director was a ladythat out of Kansas got a
master's degree.
We didn't go after somebodythat knew how to run a museum.
(34:12):
Number one we couldn't affordthose people.
Number two I felt like asimparted and personally the
board gave me the power prettywell to seek who's the next
director.
We've only had two directors ina year.
Lacey this phrase.
We hired her.
Lacey Holden now is on her 16thyear.
(34:33):
She was a very outstanding FFAstudent at Cooper State, ffa
officer first vice president,got her degree in tech, a
master's in A&M, did internshipsat Ag Worker, houston, the talk
show Anyway.
When we had an opening for thatI told the board I had somebody
(34:55):
in mind what she knows aboutrunning a museum nothing.
What Dan Taylor knows aboutrunning a museum nothing.
But we learned together in thefirst appearance and she's been
a blessing to have.
Lacey has such manycommunicative skills and connect
(35:15):
to people.
So her and I both give thatcredit back to FFA and the
leadership she learned and hadand been a great team.
Marty Berkeback is ourcommunication marketing director
.
She's got an ag comm degree.
So agriculture, education andthe FFA program in NASCO has
(35:38):
played such a big role in thesuccess of this museum.
The current name today isFiberMax Center for Discovery.
We took the word museum out.
Some think the museum isnothing but artifacts to look at
.
We're a center of discovery.
It's interactive.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
That's the reason why I'm telling people, if you ever
get a chance to go see thisplace, you got to go see it
because it's interactive.
It's water, it's vegetation,it's livestock, it's everything,
and it's interactive.
That's what I like about it.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Yeah, we'll actually just do a small example of the
exhibits and next we'll have asupermarket, a grocery store,
wow, and they pick up an orangeor something, a computer monitor
, and tell them something aboutthe guy that grew.
That it's educational, it'sentertaining as well.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Dan, that's the reason why I wanted to have you
on this show, because I'mtelling you, you're like an
encyclopedia of Britannica, ofag, ed, FFA, agricultural
history, and I just appreciateyou sharing all this with us.
So we've learned a lot aboutyou.
We've learned a lot about yourjourney through ag education,
FFA business.
(36:56):
We've learned about your takingon this role of leadership and
helping craft the vision for amuseum which now has become a
discovery center.
One last quick topic here, andwe're not going to dwell on this
one very long, but I just wantto say thank you, because Dan
Taylor is one of the originalfounders of the Texas FFA
(37:16):
Foundation.
Dan was one of the early folksthat got involved with this
organization back in the late80s and, Dan, just like what
you've witnessed with the museum, what you've witnessed through
FFA, you have also witnessed andbeen a part of the growth of
(37:37):
the Texas FFA Foundation and youneed to take a little credit
for that.
Dan, I know how you are.
You're going to say, well, Ididn't do anything, but I'm
going to tell the world rightnow.
This man has done a lot tosupport the Texas FFA Foundation
.
Dan, I just want to tell you howmuch we appreciate you, we
value you and when we look atthe success of the Texas FFA
(38:01):
Foundation and you said it,nobody does it alone, Nobody.
And I'm telling you, as theexecutive director for 24 years,
Dan, I can tell you there are alot of times where I was
discouraged.
There was a lot of times whereI wondered if I was in the right
place.
There's a lot of times where Iwondered if I was in the right
place.
(38:22):
There's a lot of times thosenaysayers as much as you try to
drown them out, they cansometimes slip a comment in and
get it in your ear.
But I'm going to tell you it'sthe words of encouragement of a
man like Dan Taylor that'll keepyou going.
And, Dan, if anybody hasbenefited from any of the
(38:42):
programs, any of the services,any of the outreach of the Texas
FFA Foundation, you deserve athank you for being a part of
that and I just want to get thaton the record of how much we
value what you've done for us.
Speaker 3 (39:00):
Well, you're very kind and I share some of the
sentiments you did.
I've discouraged a few times,several times, and look like we
might not succeed in getting thebelt in the foundation, but the
things I mentioned earlier, theperseverance and the team
members that they're pushingforward and a little bit about
(39:20):
as I was bragging on with Lacey,while you were our director and
our background in agriculture.
You're a good example here tohelp carry forward this
foundation and your training inagriculture and ag science and
FFA has been set to positive inthe leadership of the foundation
(39:40):
and the reason it's successful.
You're carrying it forward andthank you for your leadership.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
I want you to know that I'm humbled by your
compliment and I'm telling you Itell people all the time and
you know what I mean, dan whenwe think about our friends like
J?
Udy and Guy Femstead.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
We stand on the shoulders of the people that
went before us and I'm proud,and I know you are too.
I want people to be proud ofwhat we've accomplished.
I want us to stand a littletaller, but I think with that
comes the challenge to everybodythat's listening your job is to
stand it even taller.
Your job is to make it evenbetter, to make more
(40:19):
opportunities, to create moreacknowledgement of our history.
But, dan, we are in a goodplace because of who you and
Linda are, and I don't know forthose that know, I don't know if
what's ever going to happen totheir farm when they're done,
but whatever we do, we need togo out there and we need to soil
sample it, we need to watertest it Because, dan and Linda
(40:43):
Taylor, every time I talk tothem they seem to get younger
and younger and younger, and sowhatever they're doing out there
, it's working.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
Awesome, thank you.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
Dan, thank you so much for joining us today.
I always like to wrap up thepodcast with kind of a fun
question, so I'm going to askyou a fun question Um, what's
the best concert you've everbeen to?
Speaker 3 (41:07):
Oh, that'd have to be George George Strait.
Yeah, and he's a farmer.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
Yeah, I was going to say how can you go wrong with
King George?
Yeah, oh, that's great.
Dan, thank you for coming onthe podcast, but more
importantly, thank you for whatyou've done for agriculture and
ffa and ag education, the stateof texas zig and tom ziggler
talk about.
We are all going to leave alegacy.
(41:37):
We're all going to leave alegacy.
We're all going to leave alegacy.
It will either be by default ordesign.
This man right here has left alegacy by design and I hope that
today you were able to capturesome of those seeds of greatness
that made him a success, madehis organizations a success and
(42:00):
can make your life and yourcommunity and your organization,
even your business, a success.
Dan, thank you for joining ustoday.
Speaker 3 (42:08):
Thank you, have a good day.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
For all of you that joined us today.
Thank you so much for stoppingby.
Remember, if you want to knowwhat the future is, grow it,
start planting seeds ofgreatness, take care of them and
then harvest it, and then, whenyou harvest it, share it with
somebody else.
Until our paths cross again, goout and do something great for
(42:31):
somebody.
You'll feel good about it.
Our homes, our community, ourstate and country will be better
because of it.
Thank you for joining us, andcountry will be better because
of it.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
Thank you for joining us.
We hope you've enjoyed thisepisode of the Growing Our
Future podcast.
This show is sponsored by theTexas FFA Foundation, whose
mission is to strengthenagricultural science education
so students can develop theirpotential for personal growth,
career success and leadership ina global marketplace.
(43:03):
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast.
In this show, the Texas FFAFoundation will take on a
journey of exploration intoagricultural science, education,
leadership development andinsights from subject matter
experts and sponsors who providethe fuel to make dreams come
true.
Here's your host, AaronAlejandro.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or
whenever you may be tuning in tothe Growing Our Future podcast.
First, we want to start bysaying thank you.
You know, time's the only thingthat we get to spend.
We can't save it.
And so the fact that you'respending a little bit of your
(00:51):
time with us today, we want youto know how much we value that.
We also value the time of ourincredible guests.
We have guests that are.
They come onto this podcast andthey're willing to share their
time, their experiences, theirinsights, their expertise.
They pour into others and, likewe say in the world of
agriculture, if you want to knowwhat the future is, grow it.
If you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
(01:14):
Well, to grow something, yougot to plant the right seeds,
and that's what this podcast isabout.
It's about bringing people onthat give us some seeds that we
can put in place in our livesand grow a beautiful life, a
beautiful community and abeautiful future.
Today's guest is no exception.
Folks, y'all are about to meeta legend in the history of Texas
(01:37):
ag, education and FFA, and itwon't take you long to
understand why he is, becausehe's such an incredible
encourager and he's got a great,great background and we're
going to talk about thatbackground.
But, ladies and gentlemen, it'san honor to welcome Dan Taylor
to the show.
Dan, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
It's my pleasure and I look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So, dan, you know every one of these episodes we
start off the same way, soyou're going to get the same
question everybody else gets,and that question is this Dan
Taylor, what are you gratefulfor today?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Well, I'm grateful for lots of things.
One, to live in America, eventhough we have disarray in
certain things, but America'sstill the greatest country in
the world, without a doubt.
I'm grateful to have beeninvited to agriculture.
I'm grateful to my family.
All of my kids and grandkidseither have degrees or are
(02:39):
working toward degrees inagriculture, and so it's been a
great life in agriculture, andso it's been a great life in
agriculture.
Many things I'm grateful for ingood health.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Isn't that something when we start with that, Dan?
I don't know, but people thatare grateful, they tend to be
more hopeful.
People that are grateful seemto be more energetic.
They look forward to things.
People that don't seem to bemore energetic they look forward
to things.
People that don't have a lot ofgratefulness they don't always,
they're not always positive,but when you start your day with
(03:13):
a little gratefulness, I thinkit sets the tone of great things
to happen that day.
And we always start thispodcast with gratefulness,
because I think when we allstart by reflecting on what
we're appreciative of, it justkind of sets the tone of the
dialogue that we're going tohave.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yes, without a doubt it does.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So Dan Taylor my goodness, dan Taylor's got a
life journey here, folks, thatwe're about to share with y'all.
And it goes back and he's goingto start.
Dan, I want you to start andtell us a little bit.
You're a successful businessman.
You've been a formeragricultural science teacher.
(03:58):
You are a philanthropist.
I'm going to put another labelon you You're a historian
philanthropist.
I'm going to put another labelon you You're a historian.
And what I'd like for you to do, dan, is walk us through if you
will walk us through your lifejourney.
How did you end up being thehead of Buster's Gin and the
president of the Ag Museum inLubbock, texas?
(04:21):
How in the world did this comeabout?
Take us through your life'sjourney, if you will.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Well, number one, you don't ever do it alone.
And so many mentors, manypeople support, don't ever say I
did this with you, we got itdone through the efforts of so
many.
I was raised on a farm in smallrange in central Texas, hill
County, a little town of Bloomwhich is south of Fort Worth
(04:49):
about 40 miles.
Because I grew up inagriculture, I was born in World
War II so things were prettyprimitive in that area.
We started some slightadvancement in the 50s.
But in the 50s we were notreally tolling in the fields.
We had no ag chemicals.
There was very littlefertilization and very little
(05:10):
mechanical harvesting methods.
It was pretty primitive.
We hand harvested our cottonuntil I was a sophomore in high
school.
But I learned work ethics.
And your family.
I was blessed with a goodparents but at the time you
think probably you've beenmistreated because you worked
all the time.
(05:31):
But as life goes on you realizehow what a real blessing that
was to learn some integrity,honesty, work ethics.
So sharpening up a little.
I wasn't going to anagriculture college.
I was going to determine I wasreal strong about two things I
(05:52):
was not going to do, and thatwas farm or have anything to do
with cotton.
I really pushed that hard tocotton because that was nothing
but hard times.
I went to a non-agriculturecollege but during another year
had grown up and I wasn'tpleased with the university I
was at.
It was more liberal thinkingthan I was raised and that's
(06:15):
before we really knew the wordliberal hardly in the 1960s when
I graduated.
But by accident I followed acousin to Texas Tech.
I had to look on the map toknow where Texas Tech was.
It could have been in Europe aswell as Texas as far as I'm
concerned.
(06:35):
I followed him out here with atranscript in my hand, without a
place to live.
He was a year younger than me.
He was on the engineeringscholarship.
We arrived in Lubbock Iregistered, slept on his dorm
floor a few days and I found thehouse out on the farm and from
then on I really got enrolled inTexas Tech, got more excited.
(07:02):
More of my real passion was inagriculture Not during the time
I was going to teach, but Iwanted to be in some
agricultural field.
And from day one there'smentors, people that helped me,
the people I lived on their farmArchland this was great Texan
way back in some of the earlybeginning of it and they ended
(07:25):
up nearly like parents do, realreluctant to rent an old house
in front of their house on thefarm to two college boys.
I didn't realize at the timewhat their fear was, but anyway,
after they got to know me, Ilived there and developed
relationships, worked forfarmers across the road and got
(07:48):
more and more involved inagriculture.
I obtained my major in ageducation and I had two of the
best professors.
There was TL Leach and LMHardraves.
If anybody didn't steal theimportance of agriculture
education, it couldn't beinstilled in someone.
(08:09):
They were gross.
Did my student teach inagriculture Not instilled even
more of my desire to want toteach.
Up until then I wasn't sure.
But in serving in the blockunder Mr Leach and Hargrave
didn't student teach it.
So, luckily, the grace of Godagain, and half the people, my
wife.
(08:29):
We got married a year ofcollege for her, so I had to
stay located close to Lubbock.
This is 1964, and you stillwasn't real mobile then as much
as today.
I took a job at Lubbock as muchas today Feed limit, for 55
hours a day.
I took a job at Lubbock Cooper.
That came open late in thesummer.
I graduated in August and welived on campus.
(08:54):
I was 50 yards from the Agbuilding for 11 years.
Really All my kids were barredwhile I lived at Cooper.
It was a great place.
I had great administration andour program just kept advancing.
After about six years we added asecond teacher, an ag mechanics
(09:15):
, farm-powered machine at thetime and I was very blessed and
still is our one farm.
By then we had mechanizedcotton harvesting, we had Treff
Land came out in the 60s we hadweed.
So I developed a six acre farmon the school campus and we
(09:38):
irrigated from a well, shared itwith the football field.
We started on time.
We planted different varietieskind of researched wealth,
shared it with the footballfield.
We started on-time.
We planted different varietiesof research and I rented 10
acres of my home in my fourthyear, which is well inside
Lubbock today, and when I talkedabout the 10 acres a lot of
people thought I had 1,000.
(09:59):
Well, I talked about it.
I have the tractor I started onthat Restored in my barn.
It's 53 Super M Farmall.
I bought it in 66.
But that kind of developed mydesire, got interested and got
approached about buying a cottongin that was about to close, a
(10:21):
gin, just barely enough to havethe doors open a year before.
I didn't want to leave teaching,but I guess, as your kids get
three of them, I thought I mightspend more time with them and
had a desire to take the nextstep in agriculture.
To this day, this is many yearslater.
(10:44):
That's the hardest decisionI've ever made in my life today.
I quit teaching.
I know you hear a lot say Iquit on kind of money.
I didn't quit on kind of money.
I think I was treated very goodsalary-wise but it was the
hardest decision I ever made.
I went to see thesuperintendent, the president of
the board on a Sunday to tellthem I ever made.
(11:05):
I went to see thesuperintendent, the president of
the board on a Sunday to tellthem I was leaving.
That was a lot of tears by usSid.
I don't know whether it's tearsthe community shed.
But we moved to a farm nearRocheville that we purchased
which is four miles from thecotton gin and I told people
(11:26):
that my time at the gin a lot ofthat's kind of track my time in
education.
There's a lot of parallels toyour customer service and PR and
I give my dearest credit in Maymy being successful in business
(11:47):
and we took Buster's Inn to oneof the largest in Texas.
It was the largest family home.
We were surrounded by Co-Op'sInn to the one of the largest in
Texas.
It was the largest family home.
We were surrounded by Co-Op'sInn which were owned by the
members but I outperformed mostof them in production.
The den was a lot of my farmerstudents were customers and but
(12:12):
it was a real blessing.
But that early you don't donone of this by yourself.
I had a lot of mentors.
A lot of mentors probablydidn't know this.
I had my mentor.
They bothered me in life, sameway teaching is a naysayers.
The world is full of manynaysayers instead of the
(12:32):
positive people and I had themeven teach and you can't have
that kind of problem.
But you can.
I think a good teacher can goto any school regardless how
weak a problem they've hadbefore, and they'll develop that
problem and in two yearsthey'll have an outstanding
(12:52):
problem and it's in the same way.
But I had a lot of nice seriesthat probably helps me.
I'm one of these that not goodtell me I can't do this and that
probably motivated me At thetime.
It hurt my feelings.
Sure, I've been in cotton gins.
(13:13):
You can't financially make it asuccess so it probably works
harder.
So paint's not a word in myvocabulary.
I really appreciate and I'vetried in my life to be very
positive towards others.
Same thing we've been saying inthe 60's been said today there's
(13:35):
no way you start farming onyour own without family help or
something.
My wife and I not from there.
We had zero family help.
We started.
But you don't start the samelevel as somebody across the
road.
You've got a big perseveranceroad map.
You've got to be inperseverance.
In the same way in teachingyou've got to have that
(13:57):
perseverance, that desire towant to.
You take it step by step.
I still say a person can startthe day, and even in this
environment, on their own,little by little.
You may have to work off-siteand farm on the side, but
there's opportunities out there.
Ag education program is such agood program that helps
(14:23):
establish some basis forindividuals in so many different
, varied fields of agricultureand leadership in things that
they may do in life that's notdirectly related to agriculture,
but I've been blessed with somany people that were positive.
(14:45):
One on the naysayer side andtalking about the naysayer, you
mentioned the museum a while ago.
I've been blessed to beinvolved with it, which really
filled a gap after my selling ofthe cotton gin.
I've got to have a goal everyday, something to do, but it's
full of naysayers.
I mean, there's no way y'allcan build this facility, get the
money to do it.
(15:05):
I heard that a bunch.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Really.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Oh, yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Those of us that know it.
Now, I can't believe that,because it's so important I have
support members that know itnow I can't believe that because
it's so important.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
I had support members that said it.
Wow, perseverance and peoplewith desire, team effort is a
positive thing.
It wasn't the nature of it, itwouldn't have been done, but
that covered some of my life ina short version well, there's
(15:39):
more there, dan, and we're gonnawe're gonna talk about a little
bit more of the details here.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
One of my favorite photos from my ffa experience,
dan, because it changed my life.
But growing up at boys which Iunderstand you had a guy by the
name of Bill Sarpolis.
That student taught under you.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
That is correct, and so.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Bill Sarpolis student taught under Dan Taylor, and
many of you know that Bill wenton to become a Texas senator and
a US congressman and thenhelped the country of Lithuania
become a free country.
But it's because of Dan Taylor.
Dan started all that.
So, Dan, you had an impact onthe world.
You just didn't know it.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
You mentioned, Bill, and I think I had 21 student
teachers under my time 11 yearsteaching and a lot of that was
due to convenience Cooper Schoolwas only 12 miles from the
campus of Texas Tech but I hadsome.
These student teachers weremore than just trainees under me
(16:44):
.
I've learned from them andtheir enthusiasm, their ideas
and I got a lot out of it and myfriend and most of them had
contact ever since.
Some of them are even deceasednow and some are honored with
the Hall of Fame.
Last year that student taughtunder me, Danny Beck and David
(17:09):
Howell were honored last year.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
You were talking, though I was going to tell you
that.
You know, one of my favoritephotographs from my ffa
experience I have was when I wasat the state fair of texas.
And at state fair of texas we Iwas a pig showman, so I showed
pigs and the hog farm or theswine barn, the superintendent's
office they always put boysranch.
(17:36):
We were always right in frontof the superintendent's office.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
I remember.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
And LM Hargrave was the superintendent.
One of my favorite photos, dan,is I've got a picture of me
wearing a as a freshman.
I'm wearing a yellow t-shirtwith a picture of my mom on it,
I'm standing with my ag teacherand LM Hargrave.
The reason that's such anamazing picture for me is
(18:04):
because later in my FFA career,when I went to Texas Tech
University, dr Bill Bennett gaveme, helped me, get a
scholarship, and thatscholarship was the LM Hargrave
Scholarship.
And that ag teacher that's inthat picture with me is now the
president of Vernon College, andso it's a real special picture
(18:27):
for me because of LM andeverybody that knew ag education
knew LM Hargrave and TL Leach,and everybody that understands
cultivation and the importanceof scholarships knows what Bill
Bennett did for Texas TechUniversity.
And you know, when I think back, dan, of what you do today and
what I've tried to do, those menwere great examples to us of
(18:52):
stewardship.
Men were great examples to usof stewardship, of making sure
that we do something to make itbetter for the people that
follow in our footsteps.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
That's correct.
Fortunately, linda and I, afterour kids got educated, they
were fortunate.
It cost me a very minimalamount, next to none, because I
get to own so many FFA and 4-Hscholarships with all the nice
support of Texas.
But Bill Bennett got LindeniteCollege towards Thanksgiving and
(19:25):
I had several lunches with himtrying to get us involved in
starting an endowment at TexasTech for the college ag.
He was such an influence on ourlife and I think what we're
doing today is a result of whatBill Bennett got us started.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
And you know it's behind the scenes, dan.
It's so many people like you,by the way, I hope that people
see this podcast.
You know there's an old sayingthat says you don't have to be
loud to be heard.
You don't have to be loud to beheard, you don't have to be
loud to be heard.
And I'm going to tell you, whenyou look at the legacy of Bill
Bennett and you think about allthe people that he mentored, you
(20:07):
know, you, you talk about hisrelationship with you.
Gordon Davis yes, gordon Davisis another one that was mentored
by Bill Bennett.
You know so many of these folksand then I was blessed to know
them as well, and I've got tosay honestly that Bill Bennett
is probably one of the peoplethat helped change my life.
I think my mom sending me toBoys Ranch, the fact that Mr
(20:31):
Chandler put me in FFA and thefact that a kid that didn't
think he could go to college,didn't think he ever had a
chance to go to school.
Bill Bennett made that possible.
That's right.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
So anyway.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
I appreciate you because I just want you to know
that people like you empowerpeople like me that don't even
see it coming.
We don't always know the behindthe scenes of who makes those
opportunities possible, but youknow that's what you and Linda
are doing through thisgenerosity and the success that
you've had, that you're willingto share that with others yeah,
(21:11):
and we're blessed to be in ourtime of our life where we can
afford to do things older.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
We need to give back.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
I think back how many supported our own kids and
grandkids and dan, let's talkabout something here real quick,
because I know there's peoplelistening to this podcast and
they heard the word cotton gins.
They heard cotton gin.
What is a cotton gin?
So I want to take a moment hereand I know I know you know what
(21:41):
one is, but there could bepeople listening to this that if
they're not, if they'relistening, they're not really
paying attention.
They might've missed something.
So Dan Taylor talked aboutpurchasing a cotton gin that was
on the verge of closing.
Okay, dan Taylor told you thathe sold a cotton gin that was on
the verge of closing.
Dan Taylor told you that hesold a cotton gin where he and
his wife were the largestindependent cotton ginners in
(22:03):
the state of Texas, and ifyou're not familiar with the
state of Texas, it's a big state.
So that's a big statement tosay it's the largest independent
cotton gin in the state ofTexas.
Dan, for our listeners andfolks that are tuning in, give
them a brief overview of what isa cotton gin in the state of
Texas.
Dan, for our listeners andfolks that are tuning in, give
them a brief overview of what isa cotton gin.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Well, if you go back in history, eli Whitney invented
a cotton gin in 1793.
All the cotton gin basicallywas invented for separating the
fiber, or lint we call it, fromthe cotton seed.
The lint drove off the seed.
Or it says modernization,harvesting everything.
There's more separation to dothan just the lint.
(22:43):
We harvest it.
The cotton was on the plant soyou did a lot of foreign matter
harvesting with it.
So there's about 15 somethingmachines and again 15 to 20
different machines from heatersto dryers separating.
So all of this goes to a largemass of equipment.
(23:06):
Today to build a new cotton ginwould be the 20 plus million,
25 probably closer.
All of this is going through acotton gin.
Separating all this in aminute's time.
It's from start to finish it'sa minute.
But the end product is mainlythe lint and the cotton seed and
(23:29):
the foreign matter is used forcattle feed.
A lot less for value.
So a lot entailed.
Of course I've got very modernand euterized now.
It's still a very complexindustry.
It don't flow like a regularmanufacturing plant that's got a
constant product and a constanttemperature, constant quality.
(23:53):
Our quality varies from farm tofarm.
So running a cotton gin is veryentailed.
Most of the gin now operated.
When I started it was morepeople that were laborers, that
were moved up to be managers,but now it's very educated
individuals.
College education.
You really need an engineeringdegree, an electrical degree all
(24:17):
at the same time.
There's so much.
Our gen was approximately 4,000horsepower.
You got a lot of components.
Education was so important.
Our proximity to love.
We had so many chamber ofcommerce groups, tour groups
(24:39):
walking to our cottage in fromother states and local, so we
built an education room 16 footup.
A picture of one that waslooking every direction.
They could see every piece ofmachinery.
They could see the trucksbringing it in.
They could see 50 peopledinners, studying, had TV
monitor.
So we did a lot of educationalprograms.
(25:02):
Field of Finnish Bale was avideo we produced.
It took you from the harvestall the way through every step.
We gave away I lost count wellover 5,000 copies of that to
teachers, mainly as the wordspread.
So we've incorporated educationwith the Cotton's and we
(25:23):
continue to do so.
We had a lot of educationalmeetings there as well as tour
groups.
So when I sold the den I livedthree months in it, so we've
kind of incorporated it.
Now back to my barn.
We're doing a lot of leadershipgroup, texas Tech Ag groups, do
some political groups here,ones that I'm really involved
(25:47):
with.
We've had fundraisers for them.
So we do it here at my barn.
We still do a lot of thesegroups and still tour them at
the cotton shed, but we have afunction at my barn.
We still do a lot of thesegroups and still turn them into
cotton, but we have a functionat my barn and take them to the
tent.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
So education remains a important part of our life so
for everybody listening, because, dan, this goes all over the
united states, all over texas,even around the world.
If you ever find yourself onthe south, if you ever find
yourself on the South Plains andyou ever find yourself in
Lubbock, texas, you can drive alittle bit out of town just
(26:22):
toward a little town calledRopesville and you will see a
big lighted up, a big red barnthat's got a big double T that
lights up at night.
And if you can make your wayout to that barn you're going to
find a lot of history.
Dan, how many tractors, howmany tractors do you have on
premise there now?
Speaker 3 (26:41):
well, I can't tell all of that because your wife's
always wanting to know how manyand you put them in different
barns so you can't get a truecount.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
I got approximately 20 yeah, the reason I shared
that again is dan taylor'sattention to history and
willingness to share history isnot just at the museum in
lubbock but on their farm.
They have an incredible displayof the history, of not only
their farm but of cotton jenny,and they've got equipment and
(27:12):
they've got a barn that they canhost events in.
And you know it's always one ofour favorite stops when we take
our lead teachers through WestTexas is to go to Dan Taylor's
barn and to spend time at themuseum and walking around
looking at the tractors and thenthere's cotton fields right
there, right next to everything.
(27:33):
They get to see the actualfields.
And so when we talk abouthistory here, not only is Dan
Taylor sharing history, he'sliving history, but he's sharing
history Physically.
He's sharing the story ofcotton ginning, and so if you
ever find your way to Dan's farm, y'all will understand just how
(27:56):
impressive his storytellingreally is Well.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Thank you, we hope and Linda and I have talked a
lot you spend such a busy timein your life, your business,
trying to be a success in yourkids.
You probably don't do enoughfor others, given your time and
talents and resources, and we'vereally tried to devote
ourselves.
In later years.
(28:22):
Most of our day is spent insome way giving back, hopefully
to others in the museum or ineducation or something.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Dan, we're going to talk about a couple more things
here and we're going to comeback to what you just shared
let's talk about real quick,because I want people to know a
little bit more about the museum, because you've had so many
incredible guests that havevisited that museum there in
Lubbock Texas and it's calledthe Discovery Center now and it
(28:55):
is impressive, but it is amuseum of agricultural history
and, if anybody's listening tothis, if you're ever looking for
a destination field trip, Iwould encourage you to look at
coming to the Ag Museum inLubbock Texas.
It is a destination field tripand, dan, you've got so many
(29:16):
things in there.
You've got an airplane in theceiling when you come in, you've
got silos, you've got a cottonstripper, you've got an
entertainment room, you've got amuseum, you've got stuffed
animals, taxidermied animals.
You've got everything in thisthing.
Tell us a little bit about themuseum and why it's important.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Well, we're trying to preserve the history and
heritage of agriculture andteach the next generation where
their food and fiber comes from.
Now back up a little bit AldenBrazel, which was a National FFA
officer in 1947-48.
He was a county commissioner,raised on a farm and 36 years he
(29:59):
was county commissioner and hegot real interested as he saw
what revolution changed inagriculture and our equipment
went advancing a lot,particularly starting in about
late 50s.
So he went to he said if wedon't preserve, collect some of
this, it's going on to thescrapyard.
(30:21):
So he got involved early on.
The county allowed him to usethe county truck with no county
funds and nearly everything wasgiven to him.
He started a mass collection oftractors and equipment and as
time moved on he started a masscollection of tractors and
equipment in the 60s and as timemoved on he really pushed for
(30:44):
trying to get a museum structure.
Farmer Mayor Lovett was a farmboy and lawyer and he's the
first president.
We started a charter about 23years ago I think, and he served
president three years and I'vehad it 18 years.
But we started with a plan anda vision, a three-phase vision
(31:12):
plan, what we needed to do.
It took years to get it.
Finally, the only thing we gotout of the city.
The city loaned us 24 acres for99 years.
We started, we built phase onein 2011, phase two in 2014, and
phase three has been built as wetalk.
(31:33):
Phase one is more thecollection of history and
heritage of agriculture, got alot of interactive exhibits.
Phase two is more upper level,science-based Got the airplane
in there that was a spray plane.
Got the late model cottonstripper they can do the
(31:55):
simulation for three minutesdriving it and we have a
fabulous meeting room.
These are built like graintanks to represent agriculture
and we have about 120 rentalevents a year in that area.
But that's health, promoteagriculture.
And our third phase is the mostexpensive.
(32:16):
We're going to haveapproximately $15 million in
buildings and exhibits.
That'll be more than that countin exhibits.
We're doing $15 to $20 millionin buildings and exhibits when
we finish that phase.
This phase around now iscosting a little over $6 million
.
It's going to focus on thatkind of third, fourth, fifth
(32:38):
grade level.
We're going to really inspiremore teachers to come field trip
and we have about 20-somethinginteractive exhibits and these
have been developed in Chicago.
We got our first shipment lastweek.
Then we got a cotton heritagecenter in there and we've hired
(32:59):
a company in Indiana to helpsign that.
My collection is going to leveland Lynn and I are funding that
part of the museum, the cottonheritage center.
But it's going to be a facilityto catch all of them and this
phase is really going to put usin a new level.
(33:27):
We started with this three-phaseplan a long time ago.
I never heard so many peoplethat can't be done, can't ever
do.
It had some get off the boardnot going to be part of that,
but personally, if we've got agood team we've got 19 on the
board and most of them have somebackground.
We've got bankers on the board,we've got business people on
the board and got some retiredfarmers.
(33:51):
We've got a great team andwe've been able to get to where.
It's a team effort gettingwhere we are.
Our first director was a ladythat out of Kansas got a
master's degree.
We didn't go after somebodythat knew how to run a museum.
(34:12):
Number one we couldn't affordthose people.
Number two I felt like asimparted and personally the
board gave me the power prettywell to seek who's the next
director.
We've only had two directors ina year.
Lacey this phrase.
We hired her.
Lacey Holden now is on her 16thyear.
(34:33):
She was a very outstanding FFAstudent at Cooper State, ffa
officer first vice president,got her degree in tech, a
master's in A&M, did internshipsat Ag Worker, houston, the talk
show Anyway.
When we had an opening for thatI told the board I had somebody
(34:55):
in mind what she knows aboutrunning a museum nothing.
What Dan Taylor knows aboutrunning a museum nothing.
But we learned together in thefirst appearance and she's been
a blessing to have.
Lacey has such manycommunicative skills and connect
(35:15):
to people.
So her and I both give thatcredit back to FFA and the
leadership she learned and hadand been a great team.
Marty Berkeback is ourcommunication marketing director
.
She's got an ag comm degree.
So agriculture, education andthe FFA program in NASCO has
(35:38):
played such a big role in thesuccess of this museum.
The current name today isFiberMax Center for Discovery.
We took the word museum out.
Some think the museum isnothing but artifacts to look at
.
We're a center of discovery.
It's interactive.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
That's the reason why I'm telling people, if you ever
get a chance to go see thisplace, you got to go see it
because it's interactive.
It's water, it's vegetation,it's livestock, it's everything,
and it's interactive.
That's what I like about it.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Yeah, we'll actually just do a small example of the
exhibits and next we'll have asupermarket, a grocery store,
wow, and they pick up an orangeor something, a computer monitor
, and tell them something aboutthe guy that grew.
That it's educational, it'sentertaining as well.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Dan, that's the reason why I wanted to have you
on this show, because I'mtelling you, you're like an
encyclopedia of Britannica, ofag, ed, FFA, agricultural
history, and I just appreciateyou sharing all this with us.
So we've learned a lot aboutyou.
We've learned a lot about yourjourney through ag education,
FFA business.
(36:56):
We've learned about your takingon this role of leadership and
helping craft the vision for amuseum which now has become a
discovery center.
One last quick topic here, andwe're not going to dwell on this
one very long, but I just wantto say thank you, because Dan
Taylor is one of the originalfounders of the Texas FFA
(37:16):
Foundation.
Dan was one of the early folksthat got involved with this
organization back in the late80s and, Dan, just like what
you've witnessed with the museum, what you've witnessed through
FFA, you have also witnessed andbeen a part of the growth of
(37:37):
the Texas FFA Foundation and youneed to take a little credit
for that.
Dan, I know how you are.
You're going to say, well, Ididn't do anything, but I'm
going to tell the world rightnow.
This man has done a lot tosupport the Texas FFA Foundation
.
Dan, I just want to tell you howmuch we appreciate you, we
value you and when we look atthe success of the Texas FFA
(38:01):
Foundation and you said it,nobody does it alone, Nobody.
And I'm telling you, as theexecutive director for 24 years,
Dan, I can tell you there are alot of times where I was
discouraged.
There was a lot of times whereI wondered if I was in the right
place.
There's a lot of times where Iwondered if I was in the right
place.
(38:22):
There's a lot of times thosenaysayers as much as you try to
drown them out, they cansometimes slip a comment in and
get it in your ear.
But I'm going to tell you it'sthe words of encouragement of a
man like Dan Taylor that'll keepyou going.
And, Dan, if anybody hasbenefited from any of the
(38:42):
programs, any of the services,any of the outreach of the Texas
FFA Foundation, you deserve athank you for being a part of
that and I just want to get thaton the record of how much we
value what you've done for us.
Speaker 3 (39:00):
Well, you're very kind and I share some of the
sentiments you did.
I've discouraged a few times,several times, and look like we
might not succeed in getting thebelt in the foundation, but the
things I mentioned earlier, theperseverance and the team
members that they're pushingforward and a little bit about
(39:20):
as I was bragging on with Lacey,while you were our director and
our background in agriculture.
You're a good example here tohelp carry forward this
foundation and your training inagriculture and ag science and
FFA has been set to positive inthe leadership of the foundation
(39:40):
and the reason it's successful.
You're carrying it forward andthank you for your leadership.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
I want you to know that I'm humbled by your
compliment and I'm telling you Itell people all the time and
you know what I mean, dan whenwe think about our friends like
J?
Udy and Guy Femstead.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
We stand on the shoulders of the people that
went before us and I'm proud,and I know you are too.
I want people to be proud ofwhat we've accomplished.
I want us to stand a littletaller, but I think with that
comes the challenge to everybodythat's listening your job is to
stand it even taller.
Your job is to make it evenbetter, to make more
(40:19):
opportunities, to create moreacknowledgement of our history.
But, dan, we are in a goodplace because of who you and
Linda are, and I don't know forthose that know, I don't know if
what's ever going to happen totheir farm when they're done,
but whatever we do, we need togo out there and we need to soil
sample it, we need to watertest it Because, dan and Linda
(40:43):
Taylor, every time I talk tothem they seem to get younger
and younger and younger, and sowhatever they're doing out there
, it's working.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
Awesome, thank you.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
Dan, thank you so much for joining us today.
I always like to wrap up thepodcast with kind of a fun
question, so I'm going to askyou a fun question Um, what's
the best concert you've everbeen to?
Speaker 3 (41:07):
Oh, that'd have to be George George Strait.
Yeah, and he's a farmer.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
Yeah, I was going to say how can you go wrong with
King George?
Yeah, oh, that's great.
Dan, thank you for coming onthe podcast, but more
importantly, thank you for whatyou've done for agriculture and
ffa and ag education, the stateof texas zig and tom ziggler
talk about.
We are all going to leave alegacy.
(41:37):
We're all going to leave alegacy.
We're all going to leave alegacy.
It will either be by default ordesign.
This man right here has left alegacy by design and I hope that
today you were able to capturesome of those seeds of greatness
that made him a success, madehis organizations a success and
(42:00):
can make your life and yourcommunity and your organization,
even your business, a success.
Dan, thank you for joining ustoday.
Speaker 3 (42:08):
Thank you, have a good day.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
For all of you that joined us today.
Thank you so much for stoppingby.
Remember, if you want to knowwhat the future is, grow it,
start planting seeds ofgreatness, take care of them and
then harvest it, and then, whenyou harvest it, share it with
somebody else.
Until our paths cross again, goout and do something great for
(42:31):
somebody.
You'll feel good about it.
Our homes, our community, ourstate and country will be better
because of it.
Thank you for joining us, andcountry will be better because
of it.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
Thank you for joining us.
We hope you've enjoyed thisepisode of the Growing Our
Future podcast.
This show is sponsored by theTexas FFA Foundation, whose
mission is to strengthenagricultural science education
so students can develop theirpotential for personal growth,
career success and leadership ina global marketplace.
(43:03):
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
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