The Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame will welcome two new inductees at a ceremony Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. in the UGA Hotel and Conference Center. Claud Adams, known as Georgia’s father of 4-H, and Louis Boyd, a leading animal scientist, were selected by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association awards committee.
“In this day of rapid progress and change, it is more important than ever to preserve Georgia’s rich agricultural history,” said Juli Fields, director of alumni relations for the college. “The 2013 inductees have contributed in extraordinary ways to agriculture in Georgia. They serve as excellent examples of how one individual can make a significant and profound impact on the lives of Georgia’s citizens.”
Adams organized the Boy’s Corn Clubs in Newton County in 1904. These Corn Clubs are widely known as the predecessors of Georgia 4-H, making Adams the father of 4-H in Georgia. In 1913, the Girl’s Tomato Canning Club, an offshoot of the boy’s agricultural clubs, was created.
“His effort to teach 151 boys how to grow a better crop of corn was the beginning of the 4-H program in Georgia,” said Arch Smith, state 4-H leader and director of 4-H. “These young students carried back to their parents the message of better agricultural practices, which improved farm production methods in the early 1900s.”
Adams extended his impact on the agricultural community when he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1926. He served on agriculture and education committees and, in 1932, he was elected commissioner of agriculture.
He was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame in 2002.
Boyd was a champion of the animal sciences at UGA in the 1960s and 1970s. He merged the CAES animal science and dairy science departments and brought in new sources of external funding to strengthen the department and operations at UGA Experiment Stations across the state.
When Boyd retired from UGA in 1992, he was asked to develop and lead the statewide Advisory Board for Agricultural Experiment Stations in Georgia.
This board later merged with the Extension Advisory Council, forming the CAES Advisory Council.
