Business and Finance Division

Agribusiness, Land & Minerals Department

What We Do:

Agribusiness operates and manages over 141,000 acres located in 47 counties in Texas. Employing approximately 300 employees and utilizing over 6,000 offenders. Production is diversified and ranges from 24 varieties of edible crops to a cow and heifer herd in excess of 10,000 head. In addition to production enterprises, the department manages a packing plant, beef processing plant, vegetable canning plant, two feedmills, two cotton gins and an alfalfa dehydrator.

Offenders are an integral part of the labor force and are used in many capacities on the farm level. Job duties range from clerks in the farm and shop offices, tractor and heavy equipment operators, to line squad members that clean fence rows and drainage ditches and harvest crops. Jobs in various agriculture programs such as the packing plant, beef processing plant, canning plant and feedmills allow the offender to obtain a skill and acquire experience that can eventually be used in the outside world.

Agribusiness works with the Texas Association of Second Harvest Food Banks. Through this partnership TDCJ participates in various programs to help feed the hungry and provide assistance to communities throughout the state.

Our Philosophy:

Agribusiness will be responsive to the needs of the agency and perform those agriculture functions that will be of true value to the State of Texas. Agribusiness will strive to be a good steward of state resources, diligent in the performance of agricultural duties, honest in dealings with others and ethical in all actions and deeds. Agribusiness will continually strive to improve operations through the use of effective communications, planning, coordination and teamwork.

Our Goals:

Produce as much as possible of the food and fiber requirements of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at long-term economical levels
Provide on-unit support of security and transportation functions
Provide revenue from sales of surplus agricultural production
Utilize available offender labor to reduce cost of operations
Provide offenders the opportunity for job skills and work-ethic training during rehabilitation to increase employment opportunities after release

Contact Information

Matt Demny, Director
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Agribusiness, Land & Minerals Department
2405 Avenue I, Suite E
Huntsville, TX 77340
(936) 437-5400
agribusiness@tdcj.state.tx.us