Dr. Mario Villarino began as the new Hopkins County Agricultural
Extension Agent, on September 17th.
Meet Hopkins County's New
Agricultural Extension Agent
by: Bobby McDonald
Hopkins County has a new Agricultural Extension Agent, Dr. Mario Villarino, who replaces Larry Spradlin, who retired in the Spring of 2009. Mario comes to Hopkins County with an extensive background in agriculture and offers a variety of goals and programs that he hopes to implement in the area.
"I grew up on a beef cattle ranch in Mexico," states Villarino. "I'm still involved in my family's 10,000 acre ranch in the Yucatan Peninsula, that is devoted to beef cattle. We raise Brahman cattle there and have always been involved in research for the best management practices."
Mario attended primary, high school and college in Mexico, where he became a doctor of veterinary medicine. Then, he became associated with Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine, in College Station, where he conducted extensive research and received his PhD. in Veterinary Medicine in 2000. He has ten years experience with the Texas A&M University Extension Service and looks forward to getting started in Hopkins County. He has previously worked as a Dairy Cattle Extension Specialist and most recently was an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University-Commerce in the Equine Science Department.
"Hopkins County offers a wide array of opportunities, with its diversified agriculture," denotes Mario. "And, my wife, Leah Larson, who is also a veterinarian, and I liked the people and opportunities here to contribute and raise our family. We have two children, Joel, age 6, and Alexis, age 3."
"Education is the key to agricultural production and even more vital today, to make operations cash flow and keep abreast of the technological developments that are available," continues Mario. "And, agriculture needs to get the word out that they are the most environmentally friendly industry in the world. Agriculture depends on the land to produce their livelihood and thus must be good stewards of the land and environmentally friendly, to maintain their business!"
"We need to educate the public to the many, many ways that we contribute to the quality of the environment and make certain that our message is heard!" states Villarino.
Mario feels that the Extension Service is one of the greatest tools of dispersing information to agriculturalists and serves as the key between the research that is being conducted and the producer who needs the information to adapt to their business. He has quickly learned that Hopkins County has a number of what he terms "Night Farmers," who have other jobs, but come home every night to feed livestock, tend to hay crops, and grow forage, as well as other crops. "It's important that we develop training programs that will fit the schedules of these individuals and make it a worthwhile endeavor for them to attend," expresses Mario. "I hope to offer some Beef Cattle Training Programs, and possibly use some programs that I've already used in breaking down language barriers with some of the local Hispanic workers. My being bilingual will be an asset in some of these classes and offers help to both producers and workers!"
Dr. Mario Villarino will be the featured speaker at this month's Hopkins County Ag Worker's Breakfast, that will be held at 6:30 a.m., Thursday, October 1st, at the Ag Building in Buford Park, and he invites everyone to come out and hear his program and get acquainted.
Also, the Ag Worker's Hay Show is scheduled for November 5th, with samples due in the Hopkins County Extension Office by 4:00 p.m., October 16th, to be included in this year's show. The hay show offers an opportunity for local producers to get protein and nutrient analysis on their hay crop and to compare it with other producers in the county, as they compete for prizes.
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