About

Mission  |  History  |  ACF Foundation  |  ACF Board

MISSION

To educate, encourage and empower individuals and organizations to communicate more effectively on behalf of Florida agriculture.

For more than 40 years, the Agriculture Communicators of Florida have been dedicated to promoting the value of Florida agriculture and to helping elected officials and the public understand more about the state’s rich agricultural history and its diverse agricultural industry. The Agriculture Communicators of Florida is a non-profit organization guided by a board of directors made up of professional communicators from associations, businesses and institutions that are engaged in or support Florida’s agricultural community.

Every four years, along with Farm Credit, the Agriculture Communicators of Florida sponsor a Candidates Forum for Florida’s governor and Cabinet races to bring growers and those seeking to lead our state together to discuss issues critical to our state and our industry.

The Agriculture Communicators of Florida also provide valuable networking and educational opportunities for professionals and for individual producers and association volunteers in the areas of public relations, communications and issues management.

HISTORY

1970 – IN THE BEGINNING

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.

1989 – BIG CHANGES

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.

2018 – A NEW NAME

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.

Since Then

Since 1989, the Agriculture Communicators of Florida have focused on educating Floridians and changing their perceptions of Florida’s agriculture.  The organization has sponsored a number of communications and outreach activities, including:

Workshops & seminars

on a variety of relevant topics for agricultural communicators, including crisis communication, effective social media engagement and communication-related research

Farm tours

to provide key stakeholder groups with a firsthand look at various crops and other agriculture commodities

MEDIA tours,

newspaper and magazine editorial board meetings

to help share the positive messages of Florida agriculture

The Agriculture Communicators of Florida continue to serve as a communications resource for and about the state’s agriculture industry, gaining strength from the collaboration of knowledge from members involved in the many different sectors of Florida agriculture.

ACF Foundation

The Agriculture Communicators of Florida, Inc. Foundation, the charitable arm of the Agriculture Communicators of Florida, Inc., is dedicated to promoting the value of Florida agriculture, educating the public and helping elected officials understand the state’s rich agricultural history and diverse agricultural industries.

ACF BOARD

Officers

President

CATHLEEN CONLEY / DUDA


Vice President

OPEN


Treasurer

CATHLEEN CONLEY / DUDA


Secretary

TORY MOORE/ UF/IFAS


Board of Directors

Cathleen Conley / DUDA
Ryan Duffy / U.S. Sugar Corporation
Veronica Figueroa / FFVA
Amber Gray
/ Wild Hive
Amber Maloney / Wish Farms
Tory Moore / UF/IFAS
Chris Moran / UF/IFAS
Judy Sanchez / U.S. Sugar Corporation
Teresa Suits / DUDA

contact us

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.