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Williamson County extension agent receives peanut awardTexas Robert Whitney of Williamson County received the Outstanding Peanut County Extension Agent Award at the annual Texas County Agricultural Agent Association meeting in San Antonio, Texas on July 20. The award is sponsored by the Texas Peanut Producers Board and comes with a $300 check to the recipient. Whitney has been a county extension agent for 26 years, spending 17 of those years in Comanche County and a year in Iraq where he implemented a training program for Iraq extension professionals. Whitney's time spent with producers in Comanche County proved very beneficial for the Texas economy. For many of those 17 years, the county led the state, ranked No. 2 in the nation, in peanut production. "Robert has dedicated much of his time to the peanut producers in Texas," said Shelly Nutt, executive director for the TPPB. "It's important to have individuals in our industry who make a difference on a county level by helping producers grow the best crop possible." Whitney currently serves as a Level IV County Extension Agent in Williamson County. He plans and coordinates county and area-wide agricultural education and research demonstrations, which provide growers with a wealth of cutting edge knowledge in regards to peanut management. Whitney also coordinates 100 volunteers in the Master Gardener program that includes training in horticulture. In addition to his work in Texas, Whitney's involvement in Iraq extends his work as an international agriculture consultant to the poor, which emphasizes on developing agriculture training centers and extension outreach to tribal people in China, Honduras, Guatemala and Copan Ruinas.
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