South Florida Vegetable Farming Innovator Roger Hatton Passes Away at 77
May 18, 2022 When discussing top farming influencers in South Florida, no doubt R.C. Hatton Farms will enter the conversation. The longtime, diversified vegetable growing operation based in Pahokee recently lost one of its original leaders. Roger Hatton passed away on May 6. He was 77.
Hatton grew up in Pahokee, surrounded by agriculture. His father founded R.C. Hatton Farms in 1932, which was then incorporated by Roger in 1964. This helped set off marked expansion for the operation, which initially produced sweet corn and green beans on several hundred acres to its present size of around 12,000 acres.
Cabbage and sugarcane are now also part of its crop portfolio. In addition to its home base in South Florida, R.C. Hatton has been growing sweet corn and green beans in South Georgia since 2004.
A portion of the published obituary describes Roger Hatton as: “a stalwart farmer, business innovator, people-builder, and change-maker in South Florida and South Georgia. He and his sister, Carol, grew the business substantially during the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years, Roger and business partner Paul Allen formed new ventures: Performance NAPA Auto & Truck Parts and Performance Packaging.”
A memorial service will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, May 21 at First United Methodist Church in Clewiston, FL.
For details about inquiries and donations, see the full obituary notice at milwardfuneral.com.
If you have any thoughts and/or fond memories of Roger Hatton, please leave a reader comment below.
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