Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam and the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame Foundation announced six honorees who will be inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame for 2015.
“Each of these men left an indelible mark on the history of Florida agriculture,” Putnam said. “Not only are they leaders in their respective fields, but they’ve also influenced agriculture industries in other parts of the world. I’m proud to honor these Floridians for their contributions.”
The honorees are:
Edward D. Duda, Ferdinand S. Duda and Joseph A. Duda
The trio of Oviedo represent their family’s collective ownership in the agriculture and real estate business known as A. Duda & Sons as president, CEO and chairman of the board, respectively. The company was one of the first to minimize the use of pesticides, including crop rotation and field flooding. Best management practices implemented include micro-jet irrigation and water retention systems to conserve and reuse water. The three men have been involved in dozens of boards and associations over five decades. During their leadership, the company continued to diversify its agriculture commodities and established a celery breeding program that is considered the world’s largest and most prolific.
Wilson of Frostproof was president of the Latt Maxcy Corp. and owner of Crooked Lake Ranch for more than three decades. The well-known citrus grower and cattle rancher was a two-term president of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association and a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the National Cattlemen’s Association, among many other boards and associations. He was the largest Polled Hereford cattle breeder in Florida. As Chairman of the Board of Citizen’s Bank and Trust in Polk County for almost four decades, he assisted many agricultural business owners. He also volunteered his time for FFA and 4-H to help the younger generation prepare for the challenges facing farmers of the future. He served his country in the United States Navy during World War II. He was a leader and role model until his death in 2008.
Whisenant of Parrish is a pioneer of Florida agriculture. He was the first to use integrated pest management, among the first to utilize micro-irrigation and has worked with Mobile Irrigation Labs to improve irrigation techniques. He is the inventor of the Earthbox, a self-contained system for growing almost any crop with less water and less impact on the environment. The system has spread across the globe, where international organizations use the Earthbox to provide an effective way to teach families how to grow nutritious food with minimal input. The box has been used in Italy with commercial farmers and in Ghana as a research project with the World Food Bank. Whisenant is committed to conservation, and his farm is used as a regular tour stop for members of the public, politicians, environmentalists and regulators to observe soil and water conservation practices and research.
Warnick of Gainesville is a leading reproductive physiologist at the University of Florida who transformed the cattle industry through his research on reproduction and by implementing new breeding techniques. He co-authored three books and more than 300 scientific publications on scientific research to improve beef cattle in Florida and throughout Central and South America. From 1942-45, he served the country with the United Stated Air Force. He became a professor at the University of Florida in 1953 and was named a Professor Emeritus in 1990 after teaching there for almost four decades. In his 90s, he is still active at the university and continues to educate the next generation of Florida cattle ranchers.
Honorees are inducted annually during a ceremony held each February at the Florida State Fair in Tampa.