FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Janell Aust
816.584.8444
jaust@mccormickcompany.com
Richard McDonald Selected as 2007 Texas A&M
Distinguished Texan in Agriculture
COLLEGE STATION, Tx., Jan. 11, 2008 – Continued support of research on animal issues earned Richard McDonald one of the two 2007 Texas A&M Distinguished Texan in Agriculture Awards which were presented at the annual Texas A&M AgriLife Conference this week in College Station.
The other award was presented to William T. Lovelady, a third-generation cotton producer from the El Paso area. McDonald served as executive vice president and president/CEO of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association from 1988 to his retirement in 2006.
During that time, his leadership helped support the sustained growth of the cattle feeding industry in the Texas High Plains, Oklahoma and New Mexico, a region that produces 30 percent of the fed cattle in the nation, said Dr. Bill Dugas, Texas AgriLife Research deputy director who presented the award.
“Richard challenged and helped lead us to work together and more collaboratively in the High Plains to develop more cutting-edge programs that create and deliver science-based, practical knowledge,” said Dr. John Sweeten, resident director for the AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Amarillo.
McDonald spearheaded the creation and development of the Consortium for Cattle Feeding and Environmental Sciences and worked closely with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
His support of state legislative and congressional initiatives provided funding for the growth of research and education related to feedlot air quality, animal nutrition, distiller’s grains and renewable energy, Dugas said.
This funding supported programs within AgriLife Research, the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M University, West Texas A&M University, Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service.
“Richard has been our best friend, but also at times our toughest critic and that has insured we focus on issues of great importance to the livestock industry,” Sweeten said. “That leadership has not only been on the High Plains, but also statewide and region-wide as it relates to the livestock industry.”
In 1999, McDonald was recognized as an outstanding alumnus of the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences – a 1967 graduate – and he continues to work for the success of the Texas A&M System in the High Plains, serving on several stakeholder search advisory committees.
Since his retirement in 2006, McDonald serves as Texas Commissioner for the
Canadian River Compact Commission and serves as a contract associate with McCormick Company in Amarillo.
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station changed its name to Texas AgriLife Research and Texas Cooperative Extension changed its name to Texas AgriLife Extension Service on Jan. 1. Both are agencies of the Texas A&M System.
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