BENJAMIN – Jerry Coplen has been hired as the new Texas AgriLife Extension Service agriculture and natural resources agent for Knox County.
Jerry Coplen has been hired as the new agriculture and natural resources agent for the Texas AgriLIfe Extension Service in Knox County. (Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo)
Coplen, a native of nearby Aspermont, said the move into the county agent position, which began Feb. 14, was just “following a natural love of agriculture.”
“It is a pleasure to have Jerry join AgriLife Extension as the agriculture and natural resources county agent in Knox County,” said Donald Kelm, AgriLife Extension district administrator in Stephenville. “He is a product of the Texas 4-H program and a former Gold Star recipient. I feel he will be a benefit to the Knox County program with his strong background in agriculture and 4-H.”
Coplen earned a bachelor’s degree in animal production in 1993 from Texas Tech University and has primarily been working in the agriculture construction business since that time.
“I’m an agriculture guy,” Coplen said. “This is what my family did and that’s what appeals to me. I like the Extension Service and the educational part of it. Continued education is something we need to pursue and push, not just for kids, but for everybody.
“Besides water, there’s nothing more important than the food we eat and sometimes we lose sight of that,” he said. “We need to push that and I think I can help spread that message.”
While the agriculture base in Knox County is primarily cotton, wheat and cattle, Coplen said he knows that at one time vegetable production was stronger and this could be a possible expansion area once again.
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