Marvin Gregory began working the land of Texas as a youngster, buying his first calf from his grandfather when he was about 5 years old. The $15 he paid for the Jersey heifer was made from saving his $1 per month salary for helping out around his grandfather's dairy, where hand milking was the state-of-the-art technology at the time.
Born October 12, 1938, in the Gafford Chapel community just outside Sulphur Springs, Gregory has stuck to his Hopkins County roots and built a 900-acre dairy with an entrepreneurial spirit and energy that's termed "remarkable" by many of his peers.

Businessman at 15

         This spirit and energy took him away from farm life for a few years when his father sold their dairy in 1948. Gregory decided to use the advantages of living in the city of Sulphur Springs to launch a welding enterprise. At 15, he opened his shop and within two years had built a steady clientele while still attending high school. But the lure of the country drew him back to the dairy business.
At 18, he married and then began working for a local dairyman for "half the profit and half the increase." The calves and money he acquired through this led to his purchase of the dairy in 1960. He doubled his efforts to save money through work as a lathe operator at Rockwell International, milking in the mornings and pulling his shift as a machinist in the evening.
Within a couple of years, Gregory's dairy business had achieved success. His stewardship of the land was quickly recognized with a District Soil Conservation Award in 1965.
         "I've always tried to keep the land and the animals in the front of my mind," he said. "What most farmers understand is that taking care of the land is what most of us do. All the regulations are for the people who are trying to get away with something."

Leadership roles

         His leadership qualities have been recognized and further enhanced by the community with appointment to several boards through the years. Gregory has voluntarily served as a director for the Gafford Chapel Water Supply Corp.; chairman of the Hopkins County Appraisal Review Board; vice-president of the Texas Simmental/Simbrah Association; and chairman of the Gafford Chapel Cemetery Association. He has served on various agriculture-related boards including the Dairy Herd Improvement Association and the Northeast Texas Simmental Association, of which he was a charter member. He has been a member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. He has been a member of Texas Farm Bureau as well as Texas Farmers Union. He now serves on the Executive Board of Texas Farmers Union.
         With this background and his concern that family farms are dying, Gregory began lobbying efforts in the Texas Legislature and the U. S. Congress. He has served as a consultant to farmers in other states, helping them to pass legislation beneficial to farmers.
         In 1961, tragedy struck when Gregory's father, brother and nephew were killed in a vehicle-train crash. Gregory's 2-year-old son, Mark, was injured in the accident but recovered fully.
         His father had rebuilt his own dairy operation, and after his death, Gregory bought his mother's interest in the cattle and leased the family land.
He consolidated the two operations in 1961. In 1964, he purchased the land from his mother. He followed that in 1967 with the purchase of 150 acres and began stocking beef cattle. In 1970, he acquired another 250 acres and diversified his business by developing a pure-bred beef operation.

Continuing commitment to youth

         During the 1970s when his business was growing markedly, Gregory began working with the youth of the county, helping them with their Club Calf sales in the show market and working with the Future Farmers of America organization. The Club Calf marketing led Gregory and the young farmers through the state of Texas and the rest of the United States.
         "I've always really tried to help young people get even more interested in the farming business," Gregory said. "They're our future, and we need to encourage them." Gregory's children, Beverly, Judd, Mark and Britt, were the catalysts for his increased involvement in youth activities.
         Other community involvement has ranged from serving on the board of the United Way and the Chamber of Commerce to coaching Little League.
         During the late 70s, Texas A & M University requested Gregory's help in improving their dairy program.

Diversification

         Another family member's accident in 1978 curtailed almost all of Gregory's diversification efforts for almost a year. His youngest son, Britt, was severely injured in a car accident. He was hospitalized for six months and spent years recuperating. He died in 1992.
         Gregory resumed his diversification in the 1980s, adding a large herd of Simmental. This step paved the way for marketing his bulls throughout the United States and Mexico. During the same period, he developed one of the leading registered Holstein herds in the state.
         In 1989, he purchased an additional tract of about 200 acres of land, bringing his total land holdings to approximately 900 acres.
         During this time, Gregory's family life changed. He and his first wife divorced in 1988.

Political clout

         The dairy industry throughout the country began to fall apart in 1990. Gregory took his political clout and concerns to Washington, D. C. in 1991 and met a chilly response from the Republican Party, which he had volunteered for during the preceding six years. He discovered that the Republican Party had no interest in the commodity programs which stabilize the rural communities, so he returned to Texas and worked to unseat all the Republicans he'd helped elect. The disinterested congressmen, along with lackluster state Republican legislators, set Gregory on a path to change the leadership. He phoned the National Democratic Headquarters and signed up as a volunteer.
         He traveled thousands of miles in 1991 helping organize and motivate fellow dairy and beef operators throughout Texas and 19 other states to unseat George Bush. The Clinton/Gore ticket drafted Gregory to participate in news conference "fly-ins" throughout Texas. The Texas Democratic Party used Gregory to further promote Clinton's election and help the state's Democratic Party.

Appointed to Texas Agricultural Finance Authority

         Gov. Ann Richards gave her nod to Gregory in 1992 with an appointment to the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority Board, which oversees the diversification efforts that were begun during the years that Jim Hightower oversaw the Texas Department of Agriculture. Working with the TAFA board, Gregory decided the system was flawed. He worked within the Texas Legislature changing the numbers of board members from four to seven, making it more responsive to the taxpayers.
         Through his dealings with the present agriculture commissioner, Gregory found that the department lacked the needed wisdom from a farmer. He decided in January 1993 to run the race for the helm of the Agriculture Department.

Covering the state

         Even though he had no opponent in the primary, "I campaigned like I had one." He's put about 100,000 miles on his truck campaigning in more than 65 percent of Texas' 254 counties.
         Gregory has put the same energy into grass roots campaigning as he has in business. "I really enjoy being on the road and visiting with all these people. I'm determined to be a state candidate who is out there working with the people in the rural as well as the urban areas," he said. "The only bad part is missing my family."
         Gregory married Cindy Pierce in 1989, and they have a son, Andrew. They are expecting their second child in June.
Gregory and his family attend Gafford Chapel Methodist Church, which his family helped establish in 1876.