“Pete” Clemons is a famed former rodeo star, a successful citrus grower and rancher, and the owner/operator of Florida’s premier cattle market, the Okeechobee Livestock Market.  Highly regarded for his friendliness, honesty, and genuine desire to help people, Clemons is considered by many to be the best-known and best-loved cattleman in the state. Clemons was...

Buster Longino lives by a strong code of ethics. He believes in doing the right thing by other people, by other living creatures, and by the land itself. Longino is a cattleman, a citrus grower, a forester, and a conservationist. Throughout his long career, he has demonstrated that agriculture and natural resource conservation are not...

Lillie “Belle” Jeffords was one of Florida agriculture’s most beloved and effective ambassadors. She was totally committed to the advancement of Florida’s cattle industry and had the energy, enthusiasm, and natural leadership skills to make good things happen for Florida’s farmers and ranchers. Dynamic, tenacious, and downright feisty, Jeffords fought fiercely to protect and preserve...

Dudley Adelbert Putnam gave his leadership and support to Florida’s agriculture throughout his life. As a pioneering citrus grower and cattle rancher in Central Florida, he was active in a variety of efforts having long-term positive effects on the industry. Putnam personified the traits that have made Florida’s farmers and ranchers among the best in...

Born on May 9, 1939, Jo Ann Doke Smith grew up in Alachua County in a pioneer Florida farming and ranching family. She is a fourth-generation Floridian and has been a champion of agriculture throughout her entire career. Smith began her working life as an accountant and office manager in the family business, Smith Brothers...

A successful citrus grower, rancher and aquaculturist, Frank “Sonny” Williamson Jr. is among Florida’s most progressive farmers. He is arguably Florida’s — and the nation’s — premier agro-ecologist. A visionary leader, Williamson understands that farmers must protect and preserve the natural environment in order to sustain their industry. For the last 25 years he has...

Fred Y. Montsdeoca spent the last four decades in service to Florida agriculture through his businesses: Dixie Lime Products, Inc., and Montsdeoca Ranch, Inc. Montsdeoca was born into an agricultural lifestyle shaped by his father, who was a Florida Agricultural Extension Agent in Glades and Okeechobee counties from 1930-1971, working with the Seminole Indian tribe...