December 5, 1995
Florida Agricultural Hall Of Fame Honors Five In 1996
A tropical fruit producer, a cattle breeder, a swine exporter, a citrus grov:er, and a former Florida governor have been selected for induction into the Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame this winter. The agricultural community's highest award is being bestowed on: Neal Palmer "Pal" Brooks of Homestead; Snead Young Mathews Davis of Jacksonville; Henry Gatrell (deceased) formerly of Reddick; Barnette E."Barnei' Greene, Jr., of Vero Beach; and former Gov. Wayne Mixson of Tallahassee.
"Each of these distinguished individuals has devoted his or her life to promoting Florida agriculture/ said Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame President Bob Morris. "Their struggles and achievements have earned them a place of honor beside the 60 people already inducted into the Ag Hall of Fame."
The induction ceremonies will be Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the Florida State Expo Park in Tampa. The event begins at 6 p.m. with a reception and the banquet and ceremony start at 7 P.M. Tickets are $30 per person and are available by calling Chuck Smith at 813-628-4551.
Inductees:
Neal Palmer "Pal" Brooks
A Miami native, Pal Brooks is president of J.R. Brooks and Son, Inc., a $60 million business that is the nation's leading producer of tropical fruit. His peers describe him as someone who runs his tropical fruit business with lithe mind of a true businessman, but the heart of a grower."
A University of Florida graduate with a degree in agricultural economics, Brooks went into the family produce business in 1961 and bought the business from his father in 1967. Critical to his success was his passion for applied research. His drive to be on the cutting edge resulted in numerous research and agricultural experiments over the last 30years. He waS the first to use the hydro-cooler on avocados, an innovation. that radically changed the avocado business by allowing growers and retailers to sell a better quality product with a longer shelf-life. Within the mango industry, he was the first to use a hot water treatment for anthracnose.
In South Florida, Brooks is known for his devotion to the Homestead community where he serves on the Boards of Directors for the Community Bank of Homestead and the Dade County Farm Bureau. He is a past president of the Florida Mango Forum and the Florida Lime and Avocado Committee. He currently serves as a member of the Lime and Avocado Committee's Executive Committee, the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association's Executive Committee and on the Board of Trustees for the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Assodation's Self-Insurers' Fund. He is also a member of the Dade Partners of the Dade County Public School System and of the University of Florida's SHARE program.
Throughout his 30 years in the specialty fruit industry, Brooks has weathered many storms, the most recent being Hurricane Andrew, which devastated Homestead and his company. Despite these losses, he brought Brooks Tropicals back into full operation in less than two years and it remains a major employer in South Florida.
For his agricultural achievements, Brooks has been recognized as the U,S. Jaycees National Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year in 1974, The Grower magazine's "Grower of the Year" in 1986 and as the Dade County Grower and Packer of the Year in 1988. He has also won the Ford Motor (0.'5 Farm Efficiency A ward.
Snead Young Mathews Davis
Born in Georgia and raised on a farm, Snead Davis came to Florida as a young bride in the 1930s. She and her husband, Thomas Mathews, bought a frontier ranch near Alachua and developed it into the Santa Fe River Ranch where they established the first herd of registered Hereford ca ttle in Florida. During this time, Davis led efforts to modernize the Florida livestock industry through the use of sound, pure~bred cattle, universal health practices and state-of-the-art breeding programs.
Following her first husband's death in 1947, she married A.D. Davis, the founder and president of Winn Dixie Stores. Together they further developed the purebred cattle business at Santa Fe River Ranch and expanded their ranching interests in Wyoming and Colorado. Nationally recognized throughout the cattle industry, they laid the foundation that was to become Wihn Dixie's trademark: tIThe Beef People."
Davis turned her full attention to running Santa Fe River Ranch after her divorce in 1968. When she dispersed her herd in 1990, it was recognized as one of the leading foundation herds of Polled Herefords in the nation. A Polled Hereford breeder since the 19305, she established one of the nation's leading foundation herds ut her Santa Fe River Ranch and was the first woman to be inducted into the American Polled Hereford Association's Hall of Fame and the first won"lan to judge at the American Royal in Kansas City. The U.s. Department of State asked her to tour China as a representative of the beef cattle industry.
An honorary University of Florida alumna, Davis (who holds a teaching certificate from what is now Valdosta State University in Georgia) has served On the University of Florida Foundation's Board of Directors and as Vice Chairman of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences SHARE Council. Her major gifts to the UF/IFAS Animal Science Department are helping to develop a hands-on teaching program and to advance research on the interactions of beef cattle, wetlands and wildlife, a research priority of the Florida Cattlemen's Association. She recently gave more than $1 million to the UF/IFAS to further her lifelong efforts to add to the education of young people and to find new and innovative ways to advance Florida's cattle and ,agriculture industries.
An avid outdoorsman, Davis is widely respected for her endurance, energy and her skills with a rifle, shotgun and fly rod.
Henry Gatrell
Born in Fairfield at the turn of the century as the son of a town doctor, Henry Gatrell was expected to pursue a career in medicine. Instead, he chose to make agriculture his lifelong vocation and became the largest swine exporter in the United States. Gatrell graduated from Reddick High School and attended Tulane University. He was the owner and operator of a ZOO-acre general farm in his hometown where he raised purebred Duroc swine.
Following World War lIt Gatrell initiated and organized swine exhibits at the Florida State Fair and other state fairs. In the early 19409, Gatrell's Duree Farm began a thriving swine export business by shipping their purebred stock to Central and South America by air.
Gatrell is credited with the donations that started the swine breeding herds at the University of Florida and Florida A&M University. Throughout his career, he was devoted to agricultural youth programs with swine projects in the United States and fourteen foreign countries. He invited many 4-H and FFA livestock judging teams to practice on his farm and hosted many agricultural tour groups from the U.s. and Latin America.
Far-sighted in his concern for the improvement of the swine industry, he produced the first certified boar in Florida and was instrumental in the development of the Swine Evaluation Center in Live Oak. The center benefitted Florida's swine industry by identifying sires that dramatically improved the quality of the swine population. Gatrell served as an advisor to this center until his death.
Gatrell was a leader of tl)e committee created to eradicate hog cholera in Florida in the 19605 and 19705. He served as an industry advisor to Commissioners of Agriculture Nathan Mayo and Doyle Conner. On the local and state level, Gatrell was active in many agricultural and civic organizations. He was active in the Fairfield Presbyterian Church and served on Florida's International Trade Council. He served on the Marion County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Committee for 20 years and also served on the Marion County Extension Swine Advisory Committee. As part of the Advisory Committee, he was influential in raising funds for a new Marion County Agricultur(il Center. He was a director of the Florida Swine Association and a Director for the Sbutheastern Duroc Congress.
His contributions to the swine industry were recognized when he was chosen in 1956 to be the first recipient of the Florida Outstanding Swine Producer A ward from the Florida Swine Association. The Future Farmers of America bestowed its State Farmer's Degree on him in 1959 and in 1971, he was recognized for his contributions to Florida Agriculture by the Florida Association of County Agricultural Agents.
Gatrell died March 14, 1973. He was 73.
Barnette E. "Barney" Greene Jr.
Born in Orlando in 1922, Barnette E. "BarneyU Greene, Jr., is credited with introducing a new cattle breed to Florida and for expanding the Florida grapefruit market by involving Ocean Spray, Inc., in the Indian River dtrus production area. As President of Greene's Citrus Management, Inc., and as owner and producer of Bar-G- Bar Ranch, Inc., Greene is a well. known cattle rancher and citrus grower in Vero Beach.
He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Following the war, he graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in agriculture. Greene introduced a new cattle breed, the Romana Red, to the United States. This strain, originally developed in the Dominican Republic, is accustomed to sub-tropical conditions and has been successfully cross-bred with Limousin and Brahma strains. It is still being bred in Florida.
A long-time supporter of the University of Florida, he has made major contributions to the University of Florida Agricultural Research and Education Center at Fort Pierce. Known for his vision and business acumen, Green was instrumental in the late 1970s when Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc" bought a grapefruit processing plant in the Vero Beach area. Greene later served on the Board of Directors for Ocean Spray for 15 years.
In 1981, he led a group of citrus growers to purchase some property owned by Ashland Oil Co. in St. Lucie County and served as the first Chairman of the Board of what became the Orange A venue Citrus Growers, Inc., a state-of-the-art, environmentally-sensitive drainage district for 12,000 acres of citrus groves. In 1988, he and another Indian River citrus grower contributed $50,000 to provide scientific equipment to the Citrus Virology Laboratory at the University of Florida's Agricultural Research and Education Center at F~rt Pierce. In 1992, he donated another $50,000 to help construct a new building at the Agricultural Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce. This facility provides logistical support for field plot research and citrus, vege~able and forage crop research programs.
Greene has been a generous supporter of agricultural youth organizations and of his community and church. He is a long-time suppqrter of the Future Farmers of America and 4-H. He has served as a distinguished member of many community and agricultural advisory boards such as the United Way, SHARE, American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
He is a founding member of the Florida Limousi,n Breeders Association and serves on its Board of Directors. He is a founding director of Indian River National Bank, a locally-owned community bank. He also serves on the Board of the Indian River Farm Bureau. He serves on the University of Florida's and Florida Southern College's President's Councils. He served as a national director for the North American Limousin Foundation from 1976 to 1979.
Greene also established the Greene Academy on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. This high school teaches agricultural fundamentals and was created to help the islanders feed themselves and to develop their self-esteem. He has established many scholarship programs for youth.
Gov. Wayne Mixson
An Alabama native, Wayne Mixson is a lifelong farmer. His leadership ability was recognized early and as president of his local county Farm Bureau, he worked tirelessly to get telephones installed in the rural area and to eradicate hog cholera from Florida. After serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II, Mixson graduated with honors from the University of Florida. His agricultural leadership won him the job of Director of Organization for Florida Farm Bureau and as Director of Field Services for the Southern Region for the American Farm Bureau, the nationls largest general farm association.
Mixson's career as a statesman began with his election to the Florida House of Representatives in 1967. As chairman of the House Agriculture Committee for 8 years, and one of the few full-time farmers in the House of Representatives, he passed hundreds of measures affecting every segment of agriculture during the 11 years he served in the House. As chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee, he helped finance agricultural programs. Among the major legislation he sponsored was the bill establishing the Veterinarian College at the University of Florida.
Mixson served as Lt. Governor under Governor Bob Graham from 1979 through 1986. Following Graham's resignation upon his election to the U.S. Senate, Mixson served briefly as Florida's governor in 1987.
For his agricultural contributions, Mixson has been honored with special awards from nearly every agricultural organization in Florida, including being named the IIMan of the Year in Florida Agriculturell by Progres'sive Farmer in 1974 and being selected asa University of Florida Distinguished Alumnus in 1984. He served as chairman for a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences campaign that raised $42 million from 1989 to 1993. In addition, he has served as Chairman of the: Florida Tax Revision Commission, Florida PRIDE, Florida Democratic Party Platform Committee; and, co-chairman of Florida No Casinos, Inc.
He has served on the Florida Property Rights Commission and on the University of Florida Leadership Gifts Committee. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 to serve as a Special Ambassador to Equador and he is a founder of the Florida Association of Voluntary Agencies for Caribbean Action.
