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March 2009, From the Publisher
March 2009
This is why is pays to get out of the office every so often . . . you meet the most INTERESTING PEOPLE.
This past month I had the distinct honor of interviewing three individuals who demonstrate more than just a modicum of professionalism and an uncompromising dedication to agriculture. It's reassuring to think that these three gentlemen represent the caliber of people that are minding our food chain.
They are:
Paul Sawyer, an engaging and easy going seed consultant for Siegers Seed Company. Paul was kind enough to take the time to explain - in detail - just what is involved in seed distribution and how important this step is to the laborious process of growing vegetables bound for tables around the country. Read more about Paul and Siegers in our cover story.
Gene McAvoy, who has lead one of the most interesting (and at times dangerous) lives in the pursuit of helping people grow food half a world away. He serves as Hendry County's Extension Director in a job Gene seems to perform tirelessly. He is our 'In Profile' subject this month.
Huey Howard, a wonderful success story if I ever heard one. Huey is a highly respected member of Southwest Florida's agriculture community and will be featured, along with other members of his family, in next month's cattle issue.
All three are inexplicitly bound to the soil in a way that I, as an avid consumer of food, find reassuring. Yet a common theme ran through each of the interviews I had with these men; and it is just this: people seem to have little - if any - true appreciation for where the very food comes from that sustains them and their families. Paul wondered aloud during our interview just how many outside the ag community knew that Palm Beach County boasted 35,000 acres of sweet corn. I would guess very few. Gene talked about there being so much more to this part of Florida than golf courses and who wouldn't agree with that?
Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. And so I have come to believe that a citrus grove, dotted by thousands of oranges contrasted against the dark green of the trees, is prettier than the signature hole of any championship golf course. I also think that a mega sugar cane field can appear as vast and imposing as a calm lake at sunset; and that, yes, a field of vegetables about to be harvested, captured in just the right light, can actually take your breath away.
Cindy Cutright has spent the better part of the last 25 years engaged in marketing and advertising in Southwest Florida. And though her background is in print media, her embrace of the online publishing concept has been admirable to say the least.
