10/01/2026
What a great day to be reminded of how important agriculture is to West Texas—and to the world.
Today, I had the opportunity to attend a customer meeting hosted by one of our longtime clients as they welcomed another cotton gin that officially merged with them on October 1st.
It was great seeing a room full of farmers and people who have spent their lives in agriculture. These are the men and women who get up every morning and go to work producing the food, fuel, and fiber the rest of the world depends on.
We heard some excellent remarks from representatives of Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. and Plains Cotton Cooperative Association, and our main speaker was my good friend Tom Sell for Congress, Republican candidate for Texas' 19th Congressional District in the November 3rd general election.
Having worked alongside Congressman Larry Combest during some very important years for American farm policy, including work surrounding crop insurance and the 2002 Farm Bill, Tom understands firsthand how decisions made in Washington eventually find their way back to a farmer, a cotton gin, and a small rural community in West Texas. “Make Cotton Great Again!”
Then I walked outside and had one of those moments that makes you stop and think. Not every cotton gin has an airport right behind it! ✈️😂
I stood there watching an airplane come in with this modern cotton gin behind me and couldn't help but wonder:
What would my Granddad think if he could see what I was seeing today?
The equipment has changed. The technology has changed. Agriculture has become more sophisticated than he probably ever could have imagined.
But one thing hasn't changed — the people.
Hardworking families, relationships that span generations, and people willing to take enormous risks every year to produce something the rest of us cannot live without.
I'm proud to call so many of them clients, but even more importantly, I'm proud to call many of them friends.
"Protecting the Industries that Keep Agriculture Moving Forward!"
