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 Five
Men and Their Contributions to Alabama Farming Honored in February
AUBURN,
Ala.
— Five
men who have made significant contributions to
Alabama
agriculture will be honored by the Auburn University (AU) Agricultural
Alumni Association during its annual banquet and awards program in
February.
Three of the
honorees—Tom Beaty, Cecil Lane and Bryson James—will be inducted into
the association’s Agricultural Hall of Honor, while Benjamin Duggar
and Troy Patterson will be honored posthumously with the association’s
2004 Pioneer Awards.
Beaty, a Coosa
County native who now lives in Auburn, founded Universal Blanchers in
Blakely,
Ga., in
1978. The company, which prepares peanuts for further processing into
candy and other food products, has been a key influence in the
development of the peanut industry in the Southeast. Beaty’s more than
40 years of work in the industry have led to improved profits for
peanut farmers and to safer, more affordable peanut-based foodstuffs
for consumers.
Lane, a resident
of Benton in Lowndes County, is a charter member of the Alabama
Livestock Hall of Fame and a long-time member of the Alabama
Cattlemen’s Association, where he has held numerous positions. Lane,
who owned Lane Cattle Company until his retirement in 2002, has
devoted much of his life to the study, development and growth of the
beef cattle industry.
James, a Florence
native and now a resident of McMinnville, Tenn., has been active in
the nursery industry for many years. James is a former professor and
director of the University of Florida’s Agricultural Research Center
in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and is former co-owner of Cardwell Orchards
in
Tennessee.
Currently, he is a consulting horticulturist and also serves as
director of horticultural research for the Southern Nursery
Association.
Patterson, a
native of Mississippi who joined the AU animal science faculty in
1957, was a much-revered professor and scientist who pioneered
research on crossbred beef cattle for Alabama and the Southeast. He
also helped establish the Alabama Beef Cattle Improvement Association
and statewide performance testing programs for beef bulls and was a
member of the Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame. Patterson retired from
Auburn University in 1986 but remained active in the Auburn community
until his death in 2002.
Duggar, a native
of Hale County’s Gallion community, was a botanist who earned his
master’s degree from Auburn in 1892. During his career, Duggar taught
at Harvard, Radcliffe and Cornell universities and at the University
of Wisconsin and worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the
State of Illinois. Nationally recognized as an exceptional plant
pathologist, Duggar retired from academia in 1943 and went on to work
for Lederle Laboratories, a division of American Cyanamid Company,
where he helped isolate an organism that produced the antibiotic
aureomycin. He died in 1956.
All five men will
be honored during the Ag Alumni Association’s annual banquet Tuesday,
Feb. 17, at the AU Hotel and
Dixon
Conference
Center. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m.; the banquet begins at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $30 per person and can be reserved by sending a check to
the Ag Alumni Association, 107 Comer Hall, Auburn University, Ala.,
36849-5401. For more information on the banquet or the awards,
contact Martha Patterson at 334-844-3595.
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