The Governor Dolph Briscoe Jr., Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership (TALL) program is a comprehensive leadership enhancement program administered by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, an agency within the Texas A&M University System. The TALL program is a two-year study of agricultural policies, markets, trade, labor, water and environmental issues for emerging leaders in Texas agriculture.  This program was implemented to educate the next generation of agriculture leaders to support our most valued national security issue “our food and fiber”.  The average age of the current TALL cohort is 36, however, the average age of the American farmer is 59.  Recently, a research study of the TALL Alumni over a 26-year span of participants concluded they had an 85.6% better understanding of the issues facing agriculture and an 86% were involved in the public policy as result of the TALL program.  In addition, this in-depth leadership program was ranked higher than a 4-year college degree in knowledge gained and it has been compared to gaining 10 years of state, national and international experience. Currently, there are 425 TALL graduates and 26 in the current cohort from all geographic areas of Texas in key leadership positions from the state and federal level, state and national ag commodity associations and national and international agribusiness companies.  This program has been modeled throughout the United States to ensure the same U.S. food policy since World War II of producing the safest, highest quality, most wholesome, cheapest and most abundant food supply in the world.  The impact of this program has been far reaching nationally and abroad. https://tall.tamu.edu/

Updated:  October 7, 2020

By Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz