The return of Ag Breakfast

Over 100 people gathered at the St. Stanislaus Parish Hall, Dec. 6, for the Navasota Grimes County Chamber of Commerce Ag Breakfast.

“Agriculture is the foundation Grimes County was built upon and as The Chamber, we want to ensure farming and ag business continues to thrive,” said Chamber Executive Director Lucy Ybarra. “Thanks to our sponsors, we were able to bring Ag Breakfast back to Grimes County. We plan to make it an annual event.”

The Chamber awarded First Home Improvement of Bedias with the 2023 Innovation of Ag Business Award. They are a new 2023 Chamber partner. Owners Justin and Amber Smith helped provide jobs locally, have reintroduced a farmer’s market and brought ag supplies to the Bedias area. They also recognize the need for local vendors.

“One of the things we did this year is we asked our board members to nominate someone who they thought made the biggest steps toward ag business,” said Ybarra. “Making the biggest steps to making sure our markets, our vendors and our small farms to get out there and sale their products.” Justin Smith said he grew up on an 80-acre ranch in Centerville and wanted out of the country life, so he went to college in Chicago. “I quickly realized Chicago, big cities, is not all it’s cracked up to be,” said Justin. When he and his wife began having children they decided to relocate back to the country.

“This is where we wanted to be,” said Justin. “In a small town, a small community, with people we know that when there is an issue, we have somebody we can rely on. We have friends in the area, we have family. That is really what agriculture is, it’s all about friends and family. It’s about making those connections.”

Justin said the goal is to build Bedias any way they can. He said they allow small farms to set up once a month at the farmer’s market. Those farmers may not have large agricultural production, but they can set up and sale eggs, crops etc. “We want to do what we can to really focus on building back up the community.”

Several people also spoke during the breakfast including Ryan Fritsch of Fritsch Cattle Company in Washington County. Fritsch spoke about the importance of trading locally. He shared a story about a pair of farmers that bought and sold a donkey between themselves for years.

Fritsch used the analysis to stress buying and selling locally. He said he purchases hundreds of head of cattle from Mid-Tex and Navasota Livestock Auction each week and stated both auctions offer great livestock.

A question-and-answer session was also held with a panel including Fritsch, Navasota Livestock owner, Greg Goudeau and Mid-Tex owner, John Atkinson. The panel answered questions on an array of topics including development and how it affects ag business, cattle insurance and protecting the right to farm.

The next large event for Navasota Grimes County Chamber of Commerce is the State of the City event, Jan. 10, 2024. For more information visit, www.navasotagrimeschamber.com.