Agricultural Leaders Inducted into Auburn's Hall of Honor

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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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu

01/26/04

For immediate release