Three Leaders Honored as Outstanding Agriculturalists

Texas Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources will honor three South Plains residents with outstanding agriculturalist awards on Tuesday (Nov. 9) during its annual Pig Roast at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center Banquet Hall. The Pig Roast also features scholarship donors, recipients and intercollegiate judging teams.

The annual outstanding agriculturalist awards recognize individuals for contributions to various areas of Texas agriculture. This year's recipients are Wallace Darneille of Lubbock for agribusiness, Barry Evans of Kress for agricultural production, and Tim Lust of Abernathy for public service.

Wallace Darneille

Darneille, a Lubbock resident, is the president and CEO of Lubbock's Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA), one of the nation's largest originators of U.S. cotton. Over the years he has been a leader in the creation of CASNR's new Larry Combest Endowed Chair in Agricultural Competitiveness. He serves as president of Cotton Council International, and is the immediate past chairman of the National Council of Textile Organizations in Washington, D.C. Darneille worked for three decades in the international cotton trade with Weil Brothers-Cotton before joining PCCA in 2004.

He received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and a master's of business administration degree from Auburn University. Last year he was named by Auburn University as one of the "Top 40 at 40," which honors the 40 top graduates for the 40-year history of Auburn University's Montgomery campus. In the past he's served as president of the Texas Cotton Association, a member of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives' Executive Committee and an American Cotton Shippers Association board member.

Barry Evans

Evans, a Swisher County producer, leads the family-owned business Evans Grain in Kress and Hale Center, in addition to no-till and limited-tillage sorghum and cotton farming operations in the area. He's a past president of Plains Cotton Growers (PCG) and has been a member of the group's board of directors since 1995. PCG has been instrumental in funding Texas Tech's government internship program, which has helped more than 65 students serve as interns in congressional and legislative offices in Washington, D.C. and Austin.

In addition, PCG was critical to the establishment of the Larry Combest Endowed Chair in Agricultural Competitiveness, an endowment established to provide high quality research that addresses the long-term viability and economic prosperity of agricultural production and agribusiness. Evans received his bachelor's degree in agricultural business and economics from West Texas A&M University. He serves on the National Cotton Council's Environmental Task Force and was named as an Ag Distinguished Alumnus from West Texas A&M University in 2008.

Tim Lust

Lust, a Lazbuddie native, is the CEO of the National Sorghum Producers and the United Sorghum Checkoff Program, two organizations dedicated to increasing profitability for more than 30,000 sorghum growers nationwide. Lust works directly on legislative and regulatory issues that impact the sorghum industry for the organization and represents the U.S. sorghum industry at events throughout the nation and world. His work in the legislative arena has resulted in increased sorghum price elections for farmers, equalized loan rates for sorghum, and inclusion of sorghum as an advanced biofuel in the 2007 Energy Bill.

He received his bachelor's degree in animal science from Angelo State University and a master's of business administration degree from Texas Tech. He's a past member of the USDA Agriculture Trade Advisory Committee and a former board member for the USDA Sorghum Crop Germplasm Committee. In addition, Lust, who lives in Abernathy, has served on Texas Tech's Center for Industry Research and Education board of directors and the Sorghum Improvement Conference of North America board of directors.

The Outstanding Agriculturalist awards, established in 1969, are named for Gerald W. Thomas, who served as dean of Texas Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences from 1958 to 1970.