Meet Austin

Agricultural Scientist. Business Owner. True Texan.

The Wise Choice for Texas Agriculture Commissioner.

THE ROOTS

Humble Beginnings

"Texas Agriculture isn't just about owning the land. It's about working it."

Austin R. Kelly’s roots in Texas agriculture run deep—not through a deed, but through sweat. Born and raised in Comanche County, the same red dirt as the current incumbent, Austin comes from the working-class backbone of the industry.

Raised in a rural, working-class home, Austin saw firsthand that the agricultural economy relies as much on the families in the processing plants as it does on the families in the big ranch houses. Austin grew up knowing that nothing comes for free.

Austin didn't inherit a ranch; he had to earn his place in the industry. His entry into agriculture started with sweat and manual labor—showing livestock, building fence and pens, starting a landscaping business, working in the summers on a small farm, and learning from everyone he worked around about every aspect of agriculture and its importance on our life.

THE LEADERSHIP

Proven Experience, Building Business, & Training the Next Generation

Austin is not a career politician. He is an entrepreneur and an educator who has spent his career building things from the ground up.

Small Business Owner: Currently, Austin is a full-time consultant running ARK Ecological Consulting. This successful independent firm helps landowners across the state—from the Piney Woods to the Trans-Pecos—manage their natural resources. He understands the burden of regulation because he files the paperwork himself.
Training the Future: Austin served as a lecturer at Texas A&M University for many years, where he taught rangeland, botany, and ecology classes. He also served as the Head Coach of the Texas A&M Plant Identification Team, mentoring students to become state champions and equipping the next generation of ranchers and range scientists with the skills they need to succeed.
Statewide Influence: Austin was elected by his peers to serve on the Board of Directors for the Texas Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration, where he helps shape the standards for how we restore and manage Texas lands.He is also very active in the Texas Brigades and previously with the Wildlife Conservation Camp and the Youth Range Workshop.

THE SCIENCE EXPERIENCE

The "Agricultural Credentials"

Real Research. Real Ranching Results.

While the politicians talk, Austin does the work. He is a working scientist currently finishing his PhD dissertation, and a Certified Prescribed Burn Manager licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture.

For the last few years, Austin was a key researcher on the USDA-NIFA "Prairie Project," a major federal initiative focused on the Hill Country and Edwards Plateau. His work directly addressed the bottom line for Texas ranchers:

Multi-Species Grazing: Developing economic models that prove running cattle, goats, and sheep together maximizes profit and land health.
Prescribed Fire: Using fire as a safe, cost-effective tool to clear brush and restore forage—a right he fights to protect.
The Water Cycle: Researching how invasive brush steals groundwater from our aquifers and how strategic clearing brings it back.

THE MISSION

The Wise Choice

Texas Agriculture is at a crossroads. We face dwindling water supplies, aggressive invasive species, and a government that seems more interested in getting in the way than helping out.

We don't need another politician who sees the Ag Department as a stepping stone. We need a leader who understands the science, the business, and the labor of agriculture.

Austin R. Kelly is running for Commissioner of Agriculture to bring logic, science, and liberty back to the agency.

MY PHILOSOPHY

What It Means to Be a Libertarian: An Ecological View

My time in the field has taught me that nature flourishes when it has the freedom to grow, not when it is choked by overgrowth. I see a direct parallel in our government. My political beliefs aren't just theoretical; they are grounded in the same logic I apply to ecology—removing the excess so the individual can thrive.

Most people don't truly know what a Libertarian is. At its simplest, Libertarianism means we strive for personal freedom and individual liberty. But in a governmental sense, there is more to it than that.

Almost everyone distrusts the government at some point. Usually, this distrust aligns with the political cycle: if you are a Republican, you likely distrust the government when a Democrat is in power, disliking their policies and feeling they have too much control. Conversely, if you are a Democrat during a Republican administration, you feel the exact same way—you distrust their actions, think they are overreaching, and want them limited.

This is the common ground: Limitations.

The problem we face today is that our government expands its power every single year rather than reigning it in. I see a direct parallel between this government overreach and the ecological challenges we face in Texas, specifically the encroachment of woody plants on our rangelands. Just as invasive brush creeps in year after year, choking out the native ecosystem until no pristine land remains, government power expands relentlessly. If we do not push back, it will consume everything.

To be a Libertarian is to fight that power. It is to demand a reduction in the scope of government. It is to champion free-market economies and social and individual freedom. It is about stopping the government from controlling so much of our lives so that we can live freely, without fear of who wins the next election.

Less government power = more individual liberty.

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