UF/IFAS awards long-time local farmers with NFREC Hall of Fame Award

LIVE OAK, Fla.---Long-time local farmers, George and Betty Poucher were presented with the 2006 NFREC Hall of Fame Award by the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ (UF/IFAS) North Florida Research and Education Center in Suwannee Valley (NFREC-SV).

Previously major swine producers in the area, the Pouchers currently have a poultry and cattle operation in Suwannee County.  When the swine industry was in need of organization, Mr. Poucher was a founding father of the North Florida Regional Swine Producers Association, which helped to mentor small producers through educational activities. 

Mr. Poucher, who is the President of the Suwannee County Farm Bureau, on the Board of Directors of the local Electric Cooperative and Suwannee County Cattlemen’s Association, has been as a member of the UF/IFAS Suwannee County Extension Advisory Committee for several years. 

The Pouchers also served for many years in the 1960s and 1970s as 4-H club leaders in Suwannee County.   They were also selected as the Citizens of the Year in February 2005 by the Suwannee County Chamber of Commerce for their efforts in promoting agriculture locally and statewide.

“The Pouchers have led and supported the agricultural industry in the Suwannee Valley for decades resulting in a lasting positive impact in those rural communities,” said Bob Hochmuth, a UF/IFAS multi-county agent based at the NFREC-SV.  “Today, along with their own farming endeavors, they focus on teaching the youth of the region about the importance of agriculture to the area.”

Education is the fertilizer that the Pouchers have used to help their efforts to promote agriculture grow.  Mr. Poucher has been a major advocate for bringing the youth of Suwannee County to the NFREC-SV to learn about agriculture.  He has led the development of a strong partnership between the Florida Farm Bureau, UF/IFAS County Extension, the NFREC-SV, and area farmers to provide major youth education programs, including Suwannee County Farm Safety Days, Suwannee County Youth Ag Day, and Fall Festival, that impact hundreds of youth in Suwannee County annually. 

Although the Pouchers lead in a quiet, steady manner, never seeking recognition, the NFREC-SV could not miss the opportunity to distinguish a couple so deserving of a NFREC Hall of Fame Award.  They are still one of the most active farming families in the region around Suwannee County. 

The NFREC-SV serves the diverse agricultural interests in the region including vegetables, fruit crops, protected culture, forestry, tobacco and other forage crops.  For more information about the NFREC-SV visit http://nfrec-sv.ifas.ufl.edu.