Edwards, Murray H.

Head shot of suited businessman (Murray Edwards) smiling against grey backdrop
Name: 
Edwards, Murray H.
Title: 
Serial Agribusiness Entrepreneur
Texas A&M Class: 
1973
Inducted: 
2004

Biography:

A successful rural entrepreneur and enthusiastic contributor to enrichment activities for teaching and outreach is Murray H. Edwards, who received his Bachelor of Science summa cum laude in agricultural economics from Texas A&M in 1973.  Completing his undergraduate degree in only three years, he continued studies at the Harvard Business School, completing an MBA in 1975.  

Between high school and entering Texas A&M, Mr. Edwards served a year as Texas State FFA President, a meritorious accomplishment in itself.  While at A&M, he was active in student government, served as President of the Agricultural Economics Club, and also won the American Agricultural Economics Association Undergraduate Speech Contest.  He also was named an Outstanding Senior in the College of Agriculture. 

With an interest in agribusiness, Mr. Edwards and associates began a start-up irrigation company in California after his graduation from Harvard.  The company grew by acquiring seven irrigation companies throughout the San Joaquin Valley.  He sold his interest in the company in 1981 and moved back to Texas where he acquired the majority interest and became president of Alderman-Cave Feeds in Winters. Since 1981, he has purchased, sold, and managed various agribusinesses including feed and pet food manufacturing businesses (Alderman-Cave Feeds & Bluebonnet Feeds), a cattle-feeding operation (Abilene Cattle Feeders), grain elevators (West Texas Grain Elevators), and an agricultural commodity-trading business (Cape and Son).  His non-agribusiness pursuits include Innovation Event Management, which produces conventions, convocations, trade and consumer shows throughout the U.S., and Sweetwater Switching Company, a rail transloading operation serving the Permian Basin. 

Currently, Mr. Edwards maintains ownership and board membership in several private agribusiness companies in Texas, California, and Idaho.  He also serves as a director of First Financial BankShares (stock symbol FFIN), chairing the Directors’ Loan Committee and serving on the Executive and Audit Committees.

Murray Edwards continues to network with many of his classmates, making frequent contributions to the department and to the Agriculture Program.  He often serves as a mentor to students preparing term projects and has provided seminars to the undergraduate and graduate students.  In doing so, he is an avid advocate for entrepreneurship and Aggie ingenuity.  In addition to assisting the teaching program, he supports numerous Extension outreach activities including the Master Marketer Program, the Tomorrow’s Top Ag Producer Program (TTAP) and The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers (TEPAP).  

Mr. Edwards and his wife, Kathi, live in Clyde.  They have three children, Rachel ‘00 (and son-in-law Chris ‘97), John-Morris ’03 (and daughter-in-law Aubrey), and Lincoln ’07 (and daughter-in-law Marjorie).

Click Below for Video Interview: 
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Transcript - Murray Edwards Interview.pdf162.85 KB