Leesburg resident Kenneth D. Davis was one of four people inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame on Aug. 4 by the Ohio Agricultural Council.

In its 57th year, the annual event is typically attended by more than 600 guests who gather to honor the inductees for their lifetime of service and dedication to Ohio’s agriculture community. With the induction of these four individuals, the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame will have honored 249 recipients since its inception in 1966.

“It’s certainly a surprise and a very humbling honor — a great honor,” said Davis. “For me to be inducted into that is something that I never thought would be possible, and part of the honor I guess is being inducted along with some other very fine folks that I respect a lot, and that goes all the way back to the beginning of the hall of fame in 1966.”

Davis has spent decades of service in many organizations that prioritize the interests of agriculture. He serves as chairman of the board for the South Central Power Company, Ohio’s largest rural electric cooperative, where his leadership helped provide rural communities with access to high-speed internet. He has worked with the Ohio Farm Bureau and serves on the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company’s board of directors. He has also served the American Farm Bureau.

He has been involved with Farm Bureau in the Farm Bureau Youth program, where he was chair of the State Youth Committee. He and his wife, Christa, were chair couple of the Ohio Farm Bureau Young Farm Couples Committee and Davis served in numerous roles in the Highland County Farm Bureau including county president. He served as a member of the Ohio Farm Bureau Board of Trustees and was Ohio Farm Bureau president. He also was a member of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef board. He retired from the Nationwide Board of Directors in 2017.

“I’m very thankful for a lot of the relationships that I’ve been able to build over the years with other folks in agriculture and especially in many of the organizations that I’ve worked in,” said Davis. “I’m not sure how great any of my accomplishments really are, but I’m very proud of my family and having the opportunity to be raised, and raise them, on the farm and in agriculture.”

Davis has always made it a priority to advocate for farming at all levels.

“I’ve always felt very strongly that farming is an occupation that goes on not just on the farm and in our fields and in our barns and pastures because being a farmer, I feel, extends beyond the farm gate,” he said. “There are so many things governmental-wise and otherwise that affect us here on the farm whether it be at the township or neighboring village, whether it’s in county offices, in our state capital, in Washington, D.C. or worldwide — many, many issues that affect us directly on the farm and in our rural communities and I’ve always felt very strongly that it is incumbent on all of us in the industry as farmers and others in that culture to take the opportunity to have a voice in the things that have an effect on us directly.”

Davis is still active on his 2,500-acre farm along with his son, wife, and several employees.

Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.