Provided

After raising more than $1 million in 20 years, the West Texas A&M University Ag Development Association will continue its annual Ag Day festivities Sept. 11.

The 21st-annual celebration will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Bain Event Center at the WT Ag Sciences Complex on the Canyon campus.

“The ADA is the wind beneath our wings,” said Dr. Lance Kieth, head of WT’s Department of Agriculture in the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences. “Their support allows us to get the word out about our department, and now we’re attracting students from all over the country.”

The WT Alumni Association will serve coffee and kolaches at 9:30 a.m. while the student-led Ag Ambassadors organization will provide tours of the ag complex. Lunch begins at 11 a.m.

The twin highlights of the day are live and silent auctions featuring a significant collection of cruises, exclusive hunting trips, seed and other ag-related items.

Funds raised at Ag Day support recruitment efforts for the ag department, including scholarships, travel and merchandise.

In the past 20 years, ADA has raised $1,145,060 for the department. Enrollment has risen from a few hundred students to more than 1,000.

“Beyond raising money, Ag Day is about fun, food and fellowship enjoyed by alumni and friends of the department,” said Dr. Kevin Pond, dean of the Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.

But the ultimate goal, said ADA President Brandon Conrad, is to grow the department.

We are all about doing whatever we need to do to help the department grow and continue to be one of the best in the world,” Conrad said.

ADA currently is the largest department-affiliated chapter for WT’s Alumni Association.

WT’s efforts to recruit, retain and reward exceptional students is a centerpiece of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

-West Texas A&M University