Agricultural News
Oklahoma State University Food and Ag Products Center Receives Generous Gift
Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:56:55 CDT
If there is one thing Virgil and Marge Jurgensmeyer of Miami, Okla., understand well, it's the importance of giving back.
The Jurgensmeyers generously made a $250,000 gift to Oklahoma State University's Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center to create the Virgil and Marge Jurgensmeyer Endowed Professorship in Food Product Development.
Virgil, chief executive officer of J-M Farms and one of the founding members of the FAPC, has served in a leadership role with the center from inception to date.
"As we grew older, Marge and I looked at what we were going to do with our money to help others," Virgil said. "Agriculture has been good to us; Oklahoma has been good to us and is home to us. It's a good feeling to be able to do this."
Virgil said his concern throughout his years of involvement with the FAPC has been the funding of the facility.
"The FAPC needs sources of funding down the road," he said. "Marge and I came to a conclusion that this would be a good place to put our earnings."
Leading the Way
The $250,000 gift will be matched by the generosity of T. Boone Pickens' 2008 chair and professorship match as part of the $1 billion Branding Success campaign. The state legislature previously committed to matching Pickens' portion, resulting in a total impact of $750,000.
The FAPC is fortunate to have supporters like the Jurgensmeyers who understand the importance of the center's mission and adding value to Oklahoma, said Chuck Willoughby, FAPC business and marketing relations manager.
"We are truly thankful to the Jurgensmeyers for their support and doing something meaningful to provide funds to the center in addition to the current appropriations," Willoughby said. "It is their hope and ours that other industry leaders will follow their example and provide additional endowments to the FAPC."
Down to Business
Virgil is an innovative agricultural business owner of a mushroom production, processing, packaging and shipping facility. J-M Farms, which employs 550 workers and services nine states, has been a successful Oklahoma business since 1979.
J-M Farms produces 22 million pounds of mushrooms per year and does $35 million in annual business sales.
J-M Farms products include sliced and whole mushrooms. The company also has extended its innovation skills to the conversion of mushroom production waste to a valuable compost and soil enhancer.
Although the business is focused on fresh products, J-M Farms produces a breaded mushroom product available in the market and also dried products used in foodservice.
"FAPC helped us develop the dry line of products and the formulation of the breaded product," Virgil said. "The FAPC is such a valuable resource. We never know when we might need to seek assistance from the FAPC."
Business of Heart
J-M Farms is not just a business to the Jurgensmeyers. It's a family business.
Virgil and Marge grew up together in their hometown of St. Elizabeth, Mo. They have been married for 59 years and have 3 boys, Pat, Terry and Curtis.
Virgil is proud to say that his whole family has been involved in the mushroom business or some form of a J-M Farms diversified business.
Although Virgil is still active in the business, Marge retired three years ago after working in payroll and accounts payable for 18 years. Currently, Pat and Curtis run the mushroom business, and Terry oversees the diversified companies.
Education and Knowledge
The Jurgensmeyers are no stranger to education. Both Virgil and Marge received undergraduate degrees in education from the University of Missouri. Before entering the mushroom industry, Virgil was a secondary education teacher and principal, and Marge was a home economics teacher.
"We believe in education," Virgil said. "We also believe the FAPC is a great way to help young businesses."
Virgil's experience and knowledge of being in the mushroom business for 40 years has made him tremendously valuable to the FAPC while serving on FAPC's Industry Advisory Committee as an advisor, decision maker, mentor and coach, said Roy Escoubas, FAPC director.
"Virgil has always been sensitive to the immediate issues and in the long-term planning of the FAPC," Escoubas said. "He believes in value-added processing and what value-added processing can do to expand the Oklahoma economy. Virgil is a tireless supporter of the FAPC."
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