Darren Turley
A lifelong involvement with the dairy industry – from growing up on a farm to serving in leadership roles on a number of dairy industry committees – prepared second-generation dairyman Darren Turley to lead the Texas Association of Dairymen (TAD), the advocate and unified voice for the dairy industry in Texas since 1991. Turley was named executive director of TAD in December 2010. Previously, he served as assistant director for more than a year. Turley also furthers the dairy industry in Texas through service on a number of committees and organizations. He is past chairman of the Texas Agriculture Council and has sit on the executive committee and is the past legislative committee chairman for the Texas Agricultural Cooperative Council.
Turley participated in Class XII of the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership (TALL) Program, a two-year program by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service designed to build future leaders in Texas agriculture. He is a graduate of the Texas Farm Bureau AgLead Program, a two-year program to improve personal and professional leadership skills of Texas agricultural producers. Turley has been recognized by the Texas Farm Bureau with its Excellence in Agriculture Award. Turley’s extensive dairy industry leadership also includes past chairman of the Texas Farm Bureau Young Farmer & Rancher Committee and past chairmanships of young farmer programs for the National Milk Producers, Dairy Farmers of America, and Associated Milk Producers Inc.
Turley, a native of Dublin, Texas, graduated from Dublin High School. He graduated from Tarleton State University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and returned to Dublin to work on the family dairy farm and eventually owned his own dairy operation.
Turley is a world and national champion drug free powerlifter who holds many, state, national and world records. He and wife Deanna live in Dublin and have two daughters and one grandson. They are members of the First Baptist Church of Dublin.