Ronald Burton is elected President of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association – Florida Chapter
Ocala, Fl – The Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association (Florida chapter) announces it has elected a new President to lead it into the new year.
Mr. Ronald Burton, a native of Ocala, Florida was elected to serve the black farmers and agriculturalists of Florida.
Mr. Burton is a Vietnam veteran who worked on helicopters while in the Service. After his military service, Mr. Burton returned home to Ocala, where he married Ms. Alice Nichols and became a self-employed businessman. As his family grew, he became employed as a lead engineer for an environmental engineering firm that specialized in nuclear and hazardous materials for over 13 years.
With the growing love of his early years, Mr. Burton returned to farming whereby he started to grow row crops and hay. He worked a brief stint for the USDA as a crop loss adjuster. Since then Mr. Burton has been a highly successful and knowledgeable farmer continuing to grow various row crops and produce volumes of hay.
Mr. Burton is well known and respected in the Community and will be an excellent leader of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association-Florida Chapter.
ABOUT THE BLACK FARMERS AND AGRICULTURALISTS ASSOCIATION (FLORIDA CHAPTER)
BFAA – FL was founded in 2011 to help black farmers remain financially viable in order to maintain and keep their farms and land. The Pigford and Black Farmer’s lawsuits recognized that black farmers have been systematically discriminated against and that this discrimination has resulted in outright devastation and destruction to the number of black farmers nationwide. At the forefront of our organization is the mission of rebuilding black farmers so that they not only can survive but thrive.
Our education and outreach initiatives are centered around:
- teaching members modern farming techniques;
- providing financial planning and awareness;
- advocating for changes in laws that continue to discriminate against minorities;
- educating members regarding legal issues;
- direct farm-to-customer selling techniques; and
- advising members regarding new crops.
Each month we host programs and workshops, including our youth conservation and preservation camps, healthy food program, bringing healthy food awareness and access to underserved communities.
Recently, BFAA nationwide has established new partnerships with several land-grant colleges and private entities to ensure small farmer sustainability.
The Florida chapter of BFAA represents the entire State under the auspice of our national organization. During various times of the year, we have active statewide membership drives through agricultural and municipal fairs, newsletters, radio broadcasts, the assistance of Florida A&M University, and word of mouth.
For more information, please visit www.FloridaBlackFarmers.org
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