Kilgore College Ag Farm

Scientific agriculture officially became a part of the Kilgore College curriculum with a historic agreement signed by the College and Bruce McMillan, Jr. Foundation of Overton on November 6, 1963.

The pact, which took 11 months from the initial inquiry to lease fruition, provided for a "demonstration farm or farms to be located in Rusk County for the purposes of teaching and demonstrating modern and scientific methods of farming to farmers and others without charge, and to maintain and operate such demonstration farms without a view of profit but for the purpose of applying its income over and above amounts sufficient to maintain and operate such demonstration farms for use of other institutions of public charity."

In a letter dated December 14, 1962, KC President Dr. Cruce Stark approached the foundation about a partnership between the two which would foster a strong agriculture program for people in the Kilgore and East Texas area.

A meeting was held at the First State Bank of Overton on February 14, 1963, to explore the proposed agriculture project for Kilgore College. Participating were members of the foundation (Ralph Ward Sr., John L. Pope, Donald B. Leverett), KC Board of Trustees (Dr. George Kutch, A.G. Morton, Sr., Herb Knauth), and KC Administration (Dr. Cruce Stark, Dean Randolph Watson, Business Manager Austin Kay).

A delegation from Kilgore College (Dr. Stark, Dean Watson, Trustee Board President Donald Leverett -- also a McMillan Foundation trustee) and the Foundation (Managing Trustee Ralph Ward, Sr.) met with A&M officials in College Station to discuss the project with Gen. Earl Rudder, President of Texas A&M College; Dr. R.E. Paterson, Dean of the Agricultural School; Dr. G.M. Watkins, Director of Agricultural Instruction; Dr. R.D. Lewis, Director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station; and Dr. John Hutchinson, Director of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.

It was decided at the meeting that the KC project should serve three main purposes. It would afford direct information to farmers and ranchers in the area; it would provide a laboratory for KC students studying or majoring in agriculture; and would allow the College to offer terminal courses in agriculture.

The Board of Trustees of the Bruce McMillan, Jr. Foundation voted unanimously on July 27, 1963, to proceed with the KC Agricultural Project with a grant package to (1) lease 448 acres at no cost for 25 years with a 25-year option; (2) transfer 15 cows from the existing herd and various farm equipment; and (3) financially commit a grant of $75,000 (which later grew to $90,000) for teaching facilities and instructor's residence and miscellaneous farm buildings on the premises.

Wayne Lacy, a native of Wellington in the Texas Panhandle, moved to Overton in August 1963, in preparation to become Kilgore College's first agriculture instructor and farm manager that fall. Lacy earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in agricultural education from A&M and had taught vocational agriculture at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station for two years.

Lacy encountered the difficult task of beginning an agricultural program from ground zero, transforming it over a 17-year period into one of the nation's most revered community college agricultural programs.

Lacy is credited with beginning every program currently maintained on the farm with the exception of the sheep which was initiated by his successor, Jeff Grote. Included in the innovations are the famed Bull Evaluation Center Lacy originated, which is the only such test center between Dallas and Shreveport, Paris and College Station.

Jeff Grote, a Mason, Texas native, replaced Lacy in 1980. Grote, too, was a two-time A&M graduate who brought sheep to KC and worked, as did Lacy, to promote KC Agriculture Club activities at the State level. Grote resigned in 1992 to become a high school counselor at Mason High School, his home town. The amiable Grote had served as Chairman of the Rusk County Youth Project Show and was well known in the area for his support of different types of youth activities.

Robert G. Young replaced Grote in 1992. A former fertilizer business owner and vocational agriculture teacher, Young brought an enriched marketing/agribusiness emphasis to the position. During his tenure, Young has added alfalfa, millet, and hybrid Sudan research plots to the agronomic repertoire of the College Farm. He made the important decision to bring purebred Angus cattle to the farm to upgrade the herd for educational study and promote quality animals for the KC Livestock Show Team, which he also initiated. His daughters, Christie and Kara, brought the first goats to the farm through their donation of 4-H and FFA projects. Through his strong support, the KC Agriculture Club has been voted the "Outstanding Chapter in Texas" seven of the past nine years by the Texas Junior College Agriculture Association (TJCAA). Young has been State TJCAA Advisor four of the past six years by virtue of having a Kilgore College student elected president of the statewide organization.

The direction of the KC Agricultural and Environmental Science Center took a slightly different twist in 1965 upon creation of the Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and Extension Center north of Overton, also on Foundation property. With its establishment, the KC Farm no longer had as its primary mission to be a research or demonstration farm, although various scientific educational projects are ongoing continuously for the benefit of students.

KC President Dr. William Holda, in 1997, upon a suggestion by the KC Agricultural and Environmental Science Advisory Committee, requested Texas A&M University to make a detailed evaluation of the college's agriculture program. Since nearly four decades had elapsed since creation of the KC agriculture program, Holda and the Advisory Committee wanted an objective evaluation of its progress and direction.

The visiting team from A&M made some pertinent suggestions, most of which have been adopted. Among the proposals was altering the department's name to "Kilgore College Agricultural and Environmental Science Department" which reflects a more current use of modern-day agriculture. The Team encouraged KC to develop "2+2 Partnerships" with senior colleges to help ease or eliminate course transfer problems. KC is in the process of completing the lengthy procedure of transfer partnerships.