Agriculture is in Shane Sklar’s blood. His grandfather Ira Sklar farmed when he came back from World War II, on land his own father had purchased for farming.
He is an Edna High School graduate with a degree in Agricultural Business from Sam Houston State University, but even when he was off in school, summers were spent on the farm.
He spent some time in other professions - the oilfield, working for a United States Congressman, working in the cattle industry. He was Executive Director of the Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Texas, up until he came back to Edna.
“In 2016”, he said, “I made the decision to leave the oilfield work behind and started farming my first 250 acres of land. This marked the beginning of El Toro Farms.”
The decision was based on several factors, not the least of which was the fact that he and his wife Jill, who was recently re-elected as County Judge, wanted to raise their three children in the area, and travel less.
Today, El Toro Farms has grown to a dozen times its original acreage, growing corn and cotton in Jackson County.
“I love being part of a relatively small part of our population that raises food and fiber,” he said. “There are many jobs in society related to agriculture, but few that actually get to the basics: planting, growing and harvesting crops. In particular, this time of year is my favorite. I love planting corn and cotton-watching it start popping up in rows. I get more excitement and gratification from that than harvesting the crop itself.”
Farming comes with its challenges - rising overhead costs, the occasional late freeze, pests - but overall Sklar loves what he does. He loves that no two days are the same, and that he gets to be part of the industry in which he grew up.
Sklar also runs a corn seed sales business called Sklar Seed, is the President- Elect of the Sam Houston State University Alumni Association, and he serves as a lector at St. Agnes Catholic Church.
He and Jill have three children who attend Edna ISD, all of whom are active in school and community activities
