More than 450 Florida Farm Bureau Federation leaders from across the state gathered in Orlando for the 67th annual meeting last week.
The Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award was presented to Orange County cattle producer Bobby Beagles and the late Suwannee County farmer George Poucher.
Larry and Jenny Black of Polk County couple were selected as the winners of Florida Farm Bureau’s Achievement Award, formerly known as the Outstanding Young Farmer and Rancher competition.
Scott and Sarah Joe Thomas, a Marion County couple, were chosen as the top winners of the Excellence in Agriculture competition, for farmers and ranchers who are under the age of 35 and do not derive the majority of their income from an owned farm operation.
Keith Shiver of Lafayette County won the Young Farmer & Rancher Discussion Meet. Shiver runs a dairy farm and serves on the board of directors for his county Farm Bureau.
James Snively, a Certified Crop Advisor for Southern Gardens Citrus, Inc. in Clewiston, is the 2008 winner of the Florida Excellence in Crop Advising Award