In 1970, executives and owners of longtime Florida companies such as Ben Hill Griffin, Inc. and A. Duda and Sons met to establish the Agribusiness Institute of Florida, a group reaching beyond commodity divisions and dedicated to increasing public awareness of the importance of agriculture in Florida.

As Florida tourism grew in importance, the organization realized it would be critical to remind Floridians  – and the state’s elected officials – of the many contributions that citrus, row crops and other commodities provide to the state.  Among the first activities of the Institute was the development of a candidates’ forum to be held every four years in conjunction with election years. The forum invites candidates for U.S. senator, governor, commissioner of agriculture and other Cabinet posts to share their position on agricultural issues and provide a forum for growers to ask questions and voice their opinions. The forum is still viewed as one of the Ag Institute’s most valuable contributions to Florida agriculture.

In 1989, Tom Morgan, a longtime Ag Institute member and former vice president of communications at A. Duda and Sons Inc. suggested the organization change its membership from businessmen to communication specialists. As a communication specialist himself, Morgan recognized the plight of agriculture as a communication problem, which could thereby be solved best by people experienced with such problems.

In December 2017, the Ag Institute of Florida board of directors voted to change the name of the organization to the Agriculture Communicators of Florida to clarify the mission and role the organization played in the state. Same mission, new name.