Pat Cockrell is a former agriculture teacher and a longtime leader of the Florida Farm Bureau.  Through his work with the public schools and the Farm Bureau and his volunteer efforts with 4-H and FFA, he has proven himself to be a tireless champion of agriculture, especially agricultural research and education. Born in 1946 in...

Richard Kelly has made it his lifelong mission to honor the agricultural wisdom of the past while training the industry’s future leaders. He began his career as a high school agriculture teacher, went on to head up the state FFA program, and became an important adviser to Florida Agriculture Commissioner Doyle Conner. But agriculture was...

Dr. Alto Straughn’s career in agricultural research, education, and commercial farming spans more than 50 years and has benefited both Florida agriculture and consumers.  He is among Florida’s most progressive watermelon farmers, and his work with southern highbush blueberries helped launch a $40 million-a-year industry. Born in 1934 in Walton County, Straughn grew up farming,...

For more than six decades, Copeland “Cope” Newbern has served Florida agriculture by pursuing one goal: the betterment of Florida agriculture through quality research and education. A 1933 graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, Newbern started working as a vocational ag teacher and high school football coach. He established...

Dr. J. Wayne Reitz The late Dr. J. Wayne Reitz was an agricultural economist, teacher, university administrator, and international consultant during his long and distinguished career. He was a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Florida for 10 years before working for the United Growers and Shippers Association in Orlando. While with the...

Dr. Marshall O. Watkins’ contributions to agriculture span seven decades. As the dean and director of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Watkins utilized the latest in scientific information and supported advanced graduate work for county agents. He was committed to a strong program of continuing professional improvement that kept the extension system up-to-date with rapidly...

Dr. Julia Morton and her husband Kendal Morton worked for years creating a living encyclopedia of edible plants. They collected and tested tropical fruits in the Bahamas and in Florida. They later wrote “Fifty Tropical Fruits of Nassau,” which served as a springboard to establish the Morton Collectanea as a research center at the University...