LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) - Four new members were inducted into the Allen County Agriculture Hall of Fame Thursday evening during a banquet hosted by the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce and Nutrien.
The ceremony celebrated the 13th class of inductees into the Hall of Fame, recognizing their lasting impact on agriculture in the region. Proceeds from ticket sales for the event will benefit the Allen County Junior Fair, a program many of the inductees once participated in and continue to support. Lifelong Allen County farmer Jim Hefner was honored for his contributions locally and nationally through the Farm Bureau.
"I've been a part of this agribusiness committee ever since they resurrected it. I've seen applications come through and help judge those prior classes and to be mentioned in the same list as those folks, it's quite an honor," said Hefner.
Joining Hefner in this year’s class was Walter Paxson, a Jackson Township farmer and former agricultural educator. Paxson spoke about the direction agriculture may be headed in the county.
"I think we've got a big opportunity in agriculture in our community. Certainly it's going much more to the industrial side of it, where it's bigger farmers and more specialized in various livestock operations and things. I still think there's an opportunity for the small farmer and the person like myself that's maybe got 100 head of sheep and and raised some things like that," said Paxson.
Also inducted were the Allen County Agricultural Society and John and Mary Rudolph, founders of Rudolph Foods in 1955.
