The Agriculture Institute of Florida, founded more than 40 years ago to raise the profile of Florida agriculture among elected officials and consumers, has changed its name to Agriculture Communicators of Florida.
The organization’s mission remains “to educate, encourage and empower individuals and organizations to communicate more effectively on behalf of Florida agriculture.” Members are a diverse mix of communications professionals, commodity producers, and individuals from agricultural associations and agriculture-related businesses.
The new name is being rolled out to coincide with the Candidates Forum on Oct. 4, held every four years along with Farm Credit. The forum brings together agricultural leaders and candidates for U.S. Senate, Florida governor, agriculture commissioner and other Cabinet posts to discuss issues critical to our state and industry.
“Our new name clearly reflects our membership and our mission,” said Tory Moore, president of Agriculture Communicators of Florida. “Our goal is to provide valuable networking and education opportunities for those in our industry who communicate about the critical contribution of Florida agriculture to our economy and quality of life.”
The group also engages in a number of initiatives to inform and educate the public, elected officials and agriculture stakeholders. In recent years it has worked with the University of Florida/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education to present valuable research on a variety of topics. The group’s charitable foundation also partnered with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to host educational farm tours for Congressional staffers.
The organization dates to the 1970s, when industry leaders founded the Agribusiness Institute of Florida to increase public awareness of the importance of agriculture in Florida.