July 11, 2024

"The road to entrepreneurship success is rarely smooth sailing," offered Heather Salopek '11, owner of Legacy Pecans, during the 2024 Texas Farm Credit Entrepreneurial Dreams Symposium. Salopek is an AGEC 425 "Survivor" who entered the Dianne and M. Edward Rister '74 Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program during the 2013-2014 academic year as a Master of Agriculture graduate student in horticulture.

Entrepreneur and AGEC 425 "Survivor" Heather Salopek

Salopek is a fourth-generation farmer’s daughter from Las Cruces, New Mexico. Looking for a better life and more opportunities, her great-grandfather came to the U.S., and laid down the roots where her dad and uncles built the pecan farm that is now run by her brothers and cousins. The Salopek family has pecan trees stretching over 6,000 acres in New Mexico.

Desiring to create a position and legacy for herself in the pecan industry, Salopek started Legacy Pecans with a business plan and new knowledge and skills she gained from her Horticulture degrees earned at Texas A&M and feedback from mentors in the industry with whom she was engaged in the Rister '74 Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program. With her entrepreneurial mindset and a determination and drive for success, Salopek started her entrepreneurial journey in 2014. "I wanted to create something that made an impact and provided me with a flexible lifestyle where my family could be my priority," Salopek shared. "I knew I wanted to be involved in the pecan industry, but I also knew that my talents were not utilized on a tractor. So that’s how I got involved in value-added production and marketing."

Located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Legacy Pecans is celebrating its tenth anniversary this month. Today, it is a wholesale, e-commerce, and corporate gifting company that sells pecan products all across the United States and Canada. However, it started off as Salopek's AGEC 424-AGEC 425 business enterprise project. After graduating with her Master of Agriculture degree in May 2014, Salopek formed an LLC, launched a website, and started selling products by July 1 of that year. When COVID hit in 2020, Salopek was forced to close the doors of her retail store with products on its shelves, employees to pay, and rent due. She had to make a quick pivot in her business model. Salopek added, "As with anything in life, you have the power to turn a challenge into an opportunity by simply shifting your minds, mindset and perspective around the situation." Earlier this year, Salopek decided to close her retail, brick-and-mortar store, allowing her to free up time and resources to focus on her profit-generating streams of her business, as well as other initiatives she is pursuing, including real estate.

"Entrepreneurship is not just about ideas. It is about relationships." -- Heather Salopek '11, '14

Salopek has gained recognition for her entrepreneurial spirit. In 2017, the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences recognized Salopek's leadership, career growth, and community support when it awarded her with the Outstanding Early Career Alumni Award. Two years later, Salopek was recognized during the Rister '74 Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program's 2019 Texas Farm Credit Entrepreneurial Dreams Symposium as Outstanding Entrepreneur - Early Career.

2017: Dean Mark Hussey presents Heather Salopek with the COALS Outstanding Alumni Early Career Award.
2019: Heather Salopek stands with mentors Steve Cooper (left), Shirley Swinbank, Joe Swinbank, and Dr. Ed Rister, as she receives the Outstanding Entrepreneur - Early Career Award during the annual symposium.

Salopek stays involved with the Rister '74 Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program. She consistently mentors students in the program, supporting the program generously by sharing her time. She also served as a Prof-for-a-Day for students in AGEC 424-425 during the fall of 2020.

Heather Salopek speaks at podium

Salopek returned to Aggieland in April during this year's 2024 Texas Farm Credit Entrepreneurial Dreams Symposium to share her entrepreneurial journey. Dr. Ed Rister, director and professor, Rister '74 Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program, said, "I asked Heather to share an update with the students, mentors, and partners of our program because I knew she had an interesting story to share that speaks to the resiliency of entrepreneurs. She has pivoted seamlessly, or so it seems, with a dignity and optimism as she has faced challenges and obstacles." Watch her story here.

Congratulations to Heather and Legacy Pecans for their 10th anniversary this month!

Dare to Soar, Heather, and Keep Soaring!