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Ohio Farm Bureau recognized six men for their lifetime of service to agriculture, and another member was honored for excellence in crop advising. Joe Haines, retired from the Ohio Department of Agriculture and Ohio House of Representatives; Bobby Moser, dean of Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and Ed Motz, a longtime Farm Bureau member were honored with the organization's Distinguished Service Award. Tom McNutt, former OSU Extension agent and vocational agriculture teacher, received the Cooperative Educator Award. Two OFBF staff members, Curt Dunham, vice president for corporate affairs, and Ken Walter, Pioneer Region supervisor, were recognized for their years of service and upcoming retirements. Dunham and Walter combined have 71 years of service with Ohio Farm Bureau. David Scheiderer was recognized as the Ohio and national Excellence in Crop Advising winner. He is president of Integrated Ag Services.

Joe Haines
Haines retired in 2002 as deputy director at the Ohio Department of Agriculture, a position he held since January 2000. From 1981 to 1999, he was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives where he served as chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. He is a lifelong resident of Greene County and owns and operates a farm that has been in the family since 1812. He is a graduate of Ohio State University. He is past president of the Greene County Cattle Feeders, served on the board of directors of the Ohio Cattle Feeders and is past president of the Ohio Shorthorn Breeders' Association among others.

Bobby Moser
Moser is dean of the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University and Vice President for Agricultural Administration and University Outreach. Among his duties are to head the College's academic programs, Ohio State University Extension, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and the Agricultural Technical Institute. Prior to coming to Ohio State, Moser was associate dean of agriculture and agriculture extension program director at the University of Missouri. He also was a member of the faculty at the University of Nebraska, a 4-H agent in Kansas and a livestock buyer in Oklahoma. Among his many honors are the Distinguished University Alumni award from Oklahoma State University, the University Teaching Award from the University of Nebraska, and he was the honoree for the 2003 Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation Golf Invitational.

Ed Motz
Motz is a farmer, volunteer leader and life-long resident of Hamilton County. He is a World War II veteran and started farming with his father and brother after he returned from Europe. In two decades after the war, the farm had grown to support two families with 16 children. The farm has been involved in a number of production activities ranging from wholesale and retail vegetables and maple syrup to cash grains. As Hamilton County grew, Ed started growing Kentucky bluegrass first for yard seed then for landscaping sod. Today, three of his children with wife Carol operate a successful turf grass business with roots to the original farm. He has nearly 50 years involvement in Farm Bureau and has been involved in state and local organizations promoting nut production, maple syrup, vegetables, turf grass and landscaping.

Tom McNutt
McNutt is a former vocational agriculture teacher, Franklin County Extension agent and executive director of the Ohio Agriculture Council. As former executive coordinator for the Ohio Council of Cooperatives, he coordinated the development of cooperative education programs on a state and national level. Currently, he is chief executive officer and president of a consulting firm specializing in industrial, governmental and educational issues related to agriculture and the environment. He hosts a weekly gardening and horticulture program on WCMH in Columbus. For the past year, he has hosted 'On the Road with Tom McNutt' featuring interviews with area agricultural industry leaders and farmers. He has been actively involved with the Franklin County Fair for 40 years and served as the fair's director and chairman of advertising, publicity, sponsorship and development.