Jim Wells County AgriLife Extension hires economic development agent to boost economy

KRIS 6 News announced on Feb. 14 that the Jim Wells County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has hired a new economic development agent intended to support local economic growth and community development. The station’s announcement names the creation of the role as a step to boost the county economy; however, the county and AgriLife online staff rosters reviewed today do not yet list an economic development agent or provide a name for the hire.

County directory listings for the Jim Wells County AgriLife office continue to show established staff at the courthouse office at 200 N. Almond Street, Ste. B-110 in Alice. Rogelio (Roger) Mercado is listed as County Extension Agent - Agriculture and Natural Resources and county coordinator, with contact rogelio.mercado@ag.tamu.edu and main office line 361-668-5705 (press 7 listed on one directory image). Other listed staff include Mary Salinas, office manager; Barbie Wymore, County Extension Agent - 4-H and Youth Development; Teresa Lopez, County Extension Agent - 4-H and Youth Development (teresa.lopez@ag.tamu.edu); Brittney Buendel, administrative assistant (brittney.buendel@ag.tamu.edu); and Angelica Torres, Extension Agent - Health. The Jim Wells AgriLife office email is listed as jim-wells-tx@tamu.edu and office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Statewide context for staffing changes is available in an AgriLife Today item dated Feb. 13, 2026 by Kay Ledbetter: "AgriLife Extension adds six new county agents across Texas. Agents provide county-level agriculture, natural resources, youth, family and community health programming." That statewide hiring round underscores how county-level agent roles are used to deliver science-based education in all 254 Texas counties, but the AgriLife Today excerpt provided does not explicitly list Jim Wells County among the six named hires.

Local agriculture and workforce needs illustrate why a dedicated economic development agent could matter for Jim Wells County. SouthTexas TAMU materials show local producers farm approximately 80,000 acres of row crops each year and have faced drought, insect pests, disease, rising production costs, declining commodity markets and a rapid increase in field technologies such as drones and mapping sensors over the last 10 years. AgriLife programming in the county already includes Beef 706, whose participants "learned that the economics in beef cattle production are not always profitable across all segments of the industry," and 4-H youth activities such as the Food Challenge and the Jim Wells County Ag Fair.

Sponsors and partners listed on county program pages that an economic development agent might work with include Jim Wells County Farm Bureau; USDA-NRCS; Nueces River Authority; Tomas Ranch; Boggan Family; Edelen Family; Nesloney Farms; Tymrak Farms; Cadena Farms; WB Cattle Company; and the Texas Department of Agriculture.

As of Feb. 15, 2026, the only explicit attribution for the new economic development agent hire is the KRIS 6 announcement on Feb. 14; the public AgriLifePeople directory and Jim Wells County pages reviewed here do not provide a name, start date, or job listing for that title. The Jim Wells County AgriLife office can be reached at 361-668-5705, fax 361-668-2802, or by mail at P.O. Box 1370, Alice TX 78333-1370 for confirmation. The county page carries the image caption that reads, "Jim Wells County is a great place to spend the future.