July 27, 2007

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STRATFORD – David Graf is coming back to Texas Cooperative Extension, and he's looking forward to working with youth again, as well as rejoining the family atmosphere of the agency.

Graf was recently hired to be the Extension agriculture agent in Sherman County. He will do his First Step to Success mentoring program in Gray County beginning Aug. 1, and then start his new job in Stratford on Sept. 1, said Donna Brauchi, district Extension administrator.

Graf's prior service with Extension was as an assistant agent in Hutchinson County from 1975-1977, a position he took after receiving his bachelor's degree in animal science from Texas A&M University.

In 1977, he went to work on the family operation in Vernon, which included 300 sows and a 100-head cow-calf operation. He later founded a feeder and show pig genetics company in Brownfield with 500 sows.

Graf also had extended stints as the southern plains marketing director for Agri-Pro Wheat in Vernon and as a multi-site finishing manager for Seaboard Farms in Guymon, Okla., before returning to Extension.

"David's diverse background in agriculture, his experience in working with the public, and his enthusiasm for working with people of all ages will be valuable to the Sherman County team in providing a strong Extension education program," Brauchi said.

"We are excited to have him in our Extension family as we work to meet the changing needs of clientele in the Texas Panhandle," she said.

"It was the ability to work with people, especially the kids, that brought me back," Graf said. "I like the family atmosphere that 4-H and Extension provides."

The well-rounded rural base and support for Extension in Sherman County attracted him, he said..

"I'm looking for a place where I can go and stay a long time," Graf said. "I think my wife (Lisa) and I will fit in there real well."