Resident earns spot in TTU Accelerator program

By Melissa McCaghren

Slatonite GM

Cory Roof loves his fresh vegetables.

That said, there are 58 counties in Texas that are considered food deserts.

A total of 54 of those counties are in West Texas.

“When I first went into food production as a career, it was kind of always needling me, kind of in the back of the mind, and really when COVID came it seemed like the opportunity to make a big leap or kind of make a commitment,” he said of the business he was creating.

He also loved growing his own plants, sort of a patio gardener, even when he worked as an insurance salesman.

When he and his wife Jamie left Los Angeles, Roof had the opportunity to choose a different career path, which lead him to studying plant science and getting a job with Plenty Farms and building a hydroponics farm, Tigris.

Now, he’s creating one of his own for Slaton.

Roof was one of 10 people who was accepted into the Texas Tech University Accelerator Program for his local hydroponic farm, Ogallala Greens.

The program comes with a $25,000 grant and a year-long mentorship program.

Roof said he was excited for the benefits that will come with the project, which will help him boost the business side of the farm.

For more information, please read the Thursday edition of The Slatonite.