Table of Contents

 

Features

Agriculture: We Can Sustain It

Socializing Agriculture

Painter of Quiet Places

An Apple a Day

Sustaining the Four Sixes

Hitting Pay Dirt

 

The New Face of Agriculture

The Winds of Change

Avatars Animate Agriculture

Professors in Training

Going Green

Saving Lives One Plan at a Time

 

Protecting Our Food

Quality Cells, Consumer Buys

Tech's New Mate

Micro ZAP

Food Saftey in Mexico

 

Expanding Opportunities

No Bits About It

The Family Farm Fire Man

Around the World with CASNR

Live From Texas Tech

 

Looking Forward

Getting Schooled

A Cotton Senstaion

Living and Learning

More Than a Trophy

 

Online Exclusives

Alumni Lance Barnett: Unpeeled

Agricultural Education and CommunicationDepartment Shines in 2010

CSI: Classroom Soil Investigation

Facing Nature

GINuine

Healing Hooves

Parking and Partying in Style

Raider Red Meats

Standing TALL

Tech Takes Flight

West Texas Cotton Goes Global

 

 

 

 

Standing TALL

By Lindsay Ornbaun

 

Coworker, friend, mother and wife are titles many are privileged to have. For one woman, that was only the beginning. Today, Tanya Foerster is humble in claiming her prestigious new role as an advocate for the future of agriculture.   


Tanya Foerster was raised on a cattle ranch outside of Logan, N.M.  She graduated from Texas Tech University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural communications.
Tanya Foerster said her degree helped her get her job. She also said several of her professors from college are still at Texas Tech, and they have been a great network for her when she needs advice or recommendations. Tanya Foerster’s eagerness to succeed led her to a 12-year career as the director of advertising at Capital Farm Credit.


Tanya Foerster stayed busy outside of her home and work by getting involved. She began by volunteering as the co-chair of Ag in the Bag eight years ago.


Lynn Simmons, chair of Ag in the Bag, has worked with Tanya Foerster on the program for eight years. Simmons said she enjoys working with Tanya, and her attitude and will to get things done is what has gotten her where she is today.


“I know she is going to take care of her stuff, and I take care of mine,” said Simmons. “Her leadership ability is second to none.”


What Tanya Foerster did not know was her eagerness to get involved would eventually lead her to a much greater role as an advocate.


Tanya Foerster has a lot to keep up with including her role as a wife and mother of five, work, organizations and volunteering. One of her newest accomplishments is being a part of the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership program.


The TALL program is a prestigious two-year program dedicated to further educating men and women of Texas. Their mission is to educate leaders who will help promote and enhance the agriculture industry. 


Tanya Foerster said she found out about the TALL program from TALL alumni and through her job with Capital Farm Credit.


“After reading more about the program,” Tanya Foerster said, “I knew that getting into TALL was definitely on my bucket list.”


Tanya Foerster said in order to start the application process, she first had to be nominated by a TALL alumni or Texas Agrilife Extension personnel. She then had to complete the application and have four recommendations.


Tanya Foerster said she was officially accepted into the TALL program in May 2010 and began serving as a member in July.


“TALL was a really big goal in my life, and I got in,” Tanya Foerster said. “I made the class, there were more than 300 applications, 63 people got an interview, and they only took 26 across the whole state.”


Tanya Foerster’s husband, Anthony Foerster, said his wife is extremely proud of being accepted into the TALL program. He said Tanya has plenty to offer.


“I think she has strong leadership skills,”  Anthony Foerster said. “If it is something she has knowledge in, she definitely takes a leadership role. If it is something she doesn’t know much about, she is more of a listener and offers the skills she has to help in any way she can.”


Tanya Foerster is excited to be one of the newest members of the TALL program. She said as a member she will get to take week-long trips to different parts of Texas as well as traveling to Washington D.C., New York, Mexico and India. Each trip allows the members of the TALL program to learn about different aspects of agriculture.


“After attending our first session,” Tanya Foerster said, “I truly understood the prestige in which the TALL program exudes. I am honored to have the support of my company, my peers and my family to be able to have this incredible opportunity.”


Tanya Foerster has mastered the definition of prioritizing which has lead her to success.  However, it is her character that makes her a likable person that many regard as a great advocate for agriculture.