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Four outstanding individuals who have bettered Ohio agriculture were presented with special awards during the OFBF annual meeting.

Marion Hartman of Hillsboro was named a winner of the Farm Bureau Distinguished Service Award for his visionary leadership in starting the Ohio Corn Growers Association and his involvement in the National Corn Growers Association. He was a member of the original Ohio Corn Growers Association board of directors. He served as association president and was the first chairman of the Ohio Corn Marketing Program.

Larry Vance of Delaware also received the OFBF Distinguished Service Award for his 21 years of service as the Chief of the Division of Soil and Water Conservation with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. During his tenure he championed the expansion of Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) programs and capabilities and worked tirelessly with locally elected SWCD supervisors in 88 counties and their partner agencies at the federal, state and local levels.

Edison Klingler of Kenton received the Agricultural Educator award. He is professor emeritus at Ohio State University and retired OSU Extension agent who served for 31 years. He was honored for his work with farmers in Hardin County and throughout the state, bringing to them the latest in research and technological developments from Ohio State University.

Susan Crowell, editor of the weekly newspaper Farm and Dairy, was named winner of the Agricultural Communicator Award. As editor, she supervises the paper's editorial staff and contributing writers and is also the author of frequent articles and commentaries. Her adherence to the journalistic principles of fairness and balance have built a high level of trust with her readers.