Alachua County Farmer Wins Coveted Statewide Honor

Oct. 30, 2015

 Florida Farm Bureau has presented Trevor Bass with its 2015 Achievement in Agriculture Award. The award recognizes his skill at farm production, development of the enterprise and service to Farm Bureau and the local community.

Bass produces corn, watermelons, beef cattle, fish, grains, grass seed, tobacco and hay on his family farm near Newberry. His operation includes a packinghouse and a seed mill. Bass generously allows community members in need to glean from his fields after each harvest.

By implementing conservation strategies he has been able to reduce water use without sacrificing crop production. Water recycled from the fish ponds helps provide irrigation water and nutrients for crops, thus reducing the use of groundwater and applications of fertilizer.

“I would like to stay on the cutting edge of technology and water conservation,” Bass explained. “I know that water is one of the most important commodities we have and we need to learn how to better conserve it.”

He has previously earned an award from Florida Farm Bureau’s County Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship (CARES) program for his natural resource conservation.

FFB President John Hoblick presented the Achievement in Agriculture Award to Bass during Florida Farm Bureau’s 2015 Annual Meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach on Oct. 28.

As Florida’s Achievement in Agriculture Award winner Bass will receive a $500 check and a 2016 Chevy Silverado 4×4 Crew Cab pick-up truck, courtesy of Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Companies. He will also receive an all-expense paid trip to the 2016 American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Orlando to represent the Sunshine State in the National Achievement in Agriculture Award Competition.