Four men with ties to UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are being recognized for helping advance the agricultural field.
Two UF alumni are part of the group that will be inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame today at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
For 37 years, the hall of fame committee, made up of people in the agricultural industry, selects individuals who have helped advance the field, said Ray Hodge, the president of the hall’s board of directors. Bernie Lester, Eugene Badger, Joe Marlin Hilliard and William Cook will become hall of fame members.
Recognition in the hall of fame is the agricultural community’s highest honor, wrote Elaine Turner, the dean of UF’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, in an email.
“This year’s inductees have made immense contributions to Florida’s agriculture industry,” she said. “We are proud to count these leaders among our alumni and friends.”
Lester, 78, and Badger, 88, graduated from UF’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and were members of UF’s chapter of Alpha Gamma Rho, Hodge said.
Cook, 86, was the president of the Florida Forestry Association and helped fund UF’s School of Forest Resources and Conservation, according to the hall of fame’s website.
Hilliard, 75, a private rancher, said he’s worked with the institute’s Southwest Florida Research and Education Center to help reduce phosphorus in the state’s water. He’s also done research with Lester throughout the years.
“We hope the work we did 30 years ago benefits the future generation and farmers today,” he said.
Hilliard, who runs his family’s ranch, which was founded in 1906, said he’s privileged to be included in the hall of fame.
“I spent a lifetime of farming and ranching, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it,” he said.
