Crop consultant Mark Nemec, MJN Consulting Service, Hewitt, Texas, received the Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award today, Dec. 11, at the 36^th annual Texas Plant Protection Conference in Bryan-College Station, Texas.

Nemec has been independently scouting Texas fields for the last 30 years, from Waco to Navasota to Comanche. But he’s been around the industry since birth. He’s a second-generation consultant, growing up under the tutelage of his father and international crop consultant, the late Stanley Nemec. 

Hewitt, Texas, crop consultant, Mark Nemec, receives the Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award. (Photo by Shelley E. Huguley)

TPPA recognized Mark, who was accompanied by his wife Carol and daughter Cassidy Nemec of College Station, for his contributions to the industry and his leadership and service within the association.

“It humbles me to think that people think of me that way,” Mark told Farm Press. “I'm just out here in the field and then somebody nominates me for a big award like this. It really means a lot.”

The Norman Borlaug award, which is presented annually, is TPPA’s most prestigious award. It’s in honor of Dr. Norman Borlaug, “the father of the Green Revolution,” for his groundbreaking work in breeding plants adaptable to a wide range of climatic conditions.

Nemec, who joined TPPA 30 years ago, rarely misses a conference. He values the information presented, along with the networking.

Related:Mark Nemec: From swimming barditches to scouting crops

Producer praise

Farm Press reached out to some of Nemec’s farmers and colleagues. Here’s what they had to say:

“We’ve always had a Nemec on this farm,” said Snook, Texas, producer Jay Wilder. Stanley first consulted with Wilder’s grandfather, Mr. Porter, and then with Wilder’s father Joe. Mark took over 22 years ago. A Nemec has been checking their fields for over 50 years.

“We’ve always had a Nemec on this farm,” said Jay Wilder, a Snook, Texas, producer. From left, Wilder, Mark, Cassidy and Carol Nemec. (Photo by Shelley E. Huguley)

Wilder credits Mark for helping him, his dad, and his two sons make decisions. “Whether it’s varieties on any crop or fertilizer or herbicide recommendations, we lean on him. And I do that because he works such a big area, from Waco to Navasota, so he sees everything, including what other farmers may do differently that works well. He just has a knowledge we don’t have that he has seen in practice somewhere along the way.”

Terry Westerfeld, a Moody, Texas, producer, describes Mark, “as honest as the day is long. He'd show up, especially in the older days before boll weevil eradication, and he'd have a paper in his front pocket. I’d say, ‘Oh crud,' because, he'd have what he wanted us to spray (on that paper). I’d say, ‘Well, looks like we've got to spray again.’

“Every once in a while, he’d show up without anything in his pocket, and I'd say, ‘Well, I guess you're just coming to visit today.’ He’d say, ‘Yeah, but I'm thinking about spraying.’”

Related:Farm assistance options if no farm bill, January deadlines important

Westerfeld, who retired last year but still helps his son, Todd, says they have relied on Mark for a variety of tasks over the last 30 years. Terry praises his work ethic and knowledge, and how well he understands the needs of each farm and farmer.

Todd concurs. “He’s amazing. He’s been working with our family for quite some time now.”

From left, Cassidy Nemec, Terry Westerfeld, Mark Nemec, and Todd Westerfeld. It was planting day on the Westerfeld farm. Mark and Cassidy had stopped by to check seed depth. (Photo by Carol Nemec)

When it comes to cotton production, Todd credits Mark for helping them make a crop. “Anybody that grows cotton knows how difficult it is to manage it, to keep an eye on pests,” he says. “He's our righthand man when it comes to, ‘Should we spray?’”

Todd admits that even if he tried to manage the cotton himself, he can’t manage it to the level Mark does. “It's money well spent and just a great relationship with their whole family.”

If Todd has a question, he first calls his dad and then Mark. “He's the guy I trust most because he's not selling anything. He's not pushing anything. He's going to tell me what he thinks is best for my operation,” Todd says. “He's not going to sugarcoat it. He's not going to lay it on you. He gives you what you need to do and the best opportunity to be successful, which is all you can ask for.”

Related:November WASDE no holiday for cotton

John Perryman, another Moody, producer, who Mark has also consulted with for the last 30 years, says Mark’s a big believer in IPM. “He counts the beneficials just as hard as he counts the bad ones,” Perryman said. “If you see honeydew from aphids, he’d say, ‘Well, right now that’s kind of drawing the beneficials. That’s their ice cream to eat. If they get too bad, then we want to spray so they’ll quit eating the ice cream and eat something else.’”

Perryman, who farms with his son Wes, said Mark treats their crops like his own. “If he’s adamant about a particular thing that needs to be done, you better get it done. It’s not optional,” John said. “He’s not a spray-at-all-costs kind of guy. But if it needs it, we better do it.

"He worries about our crops like they’re his own.”

Colleague praise

Justin Chopelas, JWC Consulting, Odem, said he’s always admired Mark for being a second-generation crop consultant, including his two sisters. “He’s always one of those guys I go to for information about things that are out of the norm. He’s seen a lot of things that I haven’t, which is saying a lot. But he’s the person I can count on if I have a difficult situation or a random happenstance.”

Longtime friends and consultants, Mark Nemec, MJN Consulting Service, Hewitt, and Justin Chopelas, JWC Consulting, Odem. (Photo by Shelley E. Huguley)

He’s also struck by how Mark covers such a large territory. “He’s so spread out. He’s had to adapt and overcome the urban sprawl in his area, the Blacklands. He’s had to go further south towards Navasota and farther north and west. I think he’s even checked crops in Comanche. That’s a huge area to cover. And to stay on schedule to cover that kind of area is a challenge.”

Tony Driver, Syngenta Crop Protection agronomist and 2021 Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement honoree, Crawford, describes Mark as hard-working, dedicated, an innovator, client-driven, family-focused and a steward of the environment.

“He attends annual meetings to learn all he can to help his growers,” Driver said. “He does research and demonstration projects year-round to help his growers make the best crops they can.

“He is well respected by the industry and university agriculturists.”

Retired Louisiana crop consultant Grady Coburn praised Mark for his consulting approach. “He does insect work, disease control, and plant growth management. He does the whole ticket with them on the crops he works,” Coburn said. “He’s devoted to his clientele and does everything he can to make them produce a good crop. He treats their crops like his own.”

Hank Jones, RHJ Ag Services, Winnsboro, La., describes Mark as “exemplary.”

“Although we work in different states and only visit at industry and professional meetings, I clearly see that Mark is not just a devoted man to his consulting business, but more importantly, his family.   

A family affair: The Nemecs at the 2024 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, Fort Worth. They attend many meetings as a family. (Photo by Shelley E. Huguley)

“Mark deservedly has earned a notable reputation as one of the best cotton consultants in America," Jones added. "This is a distinguished accomplishment given Central Texas is not considered a prominent cotton-growing region in America.”

Aside from Mark’s professional accomplishments, Jones admires his character. “In battling some recent health issues, Mark conveyed the best outlook and attitude. It is also not lost on me to consider Mark's, and possibly Aunt Lori's (Mark’s sister), influence on Cassidy. Her career as an ag journalist is reflective of a genuine love of ag passed through several generations of Nemecs.”