1980 Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame
Inductees
Edwin Hall “Ed” Finlayson, Greenville farmer and
county agent, discovered, named and introduced Pensacola
Bahia grass that now covers over five million acres of
southern pasture land.
Thomas Gilbert Lee, revered Orlando dairyman, has
worked diligently and unselfishly to enhance the overall
quality of the state’s dairy industry.
Nathan Mayo, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture from
November 1, 1923, to April 14, 1960, was responsible for
much of the state’s growth from 1923 until his death in
office. Mayo served Florida with great ability, efficiency
and devotion.
Henry Oscar Partin, Osceola County cattleman,
introduced the Brahman breed to the state and was the
founding father of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association.
Hoyle Pounds, farm implement pioneer, ushered in the
age of mechanization on the Florida farm in the 1920’s by
becoming the first person to put rubber tires on a tractor.
Egbert Norman Reasoner, world-famed horticulturist,
brought more than a thousand varieties of plants, trees,
shrubs, vines and citrus from around the world to this
state and will long be remembered for his introduction of
the pink grapefruit.
