Speaker :  Dallas County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Matt Orwat

Matt Orwat, of Fort Worth, earned his bachelor’s at the University of Texas at Arlington and his master’s in horticulture at Texas A&M. He worked with the rose breeding and genetics program and was a teaching assistant. He completed an internship with AgriLife Extension in Tarrant and Denton counties before starting his career as an Extension agent with the University of Florida IFAS Extension in Washington County. Growing fruit trees and vegetables with his father and helping his grandfather in his orchard and pecan grove helped him develop a love for growing vegetables, fruits and roses. Orwat said there are many untapped niche markets for small farms in urban areas, and he aims to help enterprising agricultural entrepreneurs find those and develop sustainable urban crop production through the outreach of AgriLife Extension.

Social time and refreshments at 2:30 p.m. Meeting at 3 p.m.