Agricultural Hall of Fame

The Licking County Agricultural Hall of Fame was established to recognize those individuals who have demonstrated a life-long exemplary service to their community and the industry of agriculture.

Nominations

Nominations may be made by any individual or organization by completing a nomination form and returning it to The Ohio State University Extension, Attn: Licking County Hall of Fame Committee, 771 E. Main St., Suite 103, Newark, OH 43055. Nominations forms can also be emailed to the OSU Licking County Extension Office at kreager.5@osu.edu.

Licking County Agricultural Hall of Fame Nomination Form

The deadline for nominations is December 31st.

2020 Inductee

Mr. Phil Watts

Phil Watts graduated from Granville High School and began farming in the 1970’s with 70 acres. He also began working for Granville Milling in 1978. Thanks to great management and top notch people around him, Phil has expanded both of these enterprises. The contributions to agriculture in Licking County through these businesses have been great. On a daily basis, Phil is a trusted advisor to many Licking County farmers in the areas of business management, agronomy consultation, grain merchandising, and livestock management/marketing. Phil’s contributions don’t stop with the businesses, as he is a great supporter of 4-H and FFA youth and has hosted and assisted with many educational activities.

Watts Farm
Since starting the farm on 70 acres, Watts Farm has expanded to production on 2,500 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat. They also have a cattle feeding operation where they finish 2,000 head of Holstein steers a year. The expansion has happened while maintaining itself as a true family farm thanks to the involvement of family members. Without this help, Phil would not be able to devote the time necessary to make Granville Milling the successful operation it is.

Granville Milling Co.
Since beginning working for Granville Milling Co. in 1978, Phil has become the majority shareholder and president of this employee owned company. Phil attributes the success to maintaining a great group of employees. They provide grain services, agronomy and custom application services, and feed and retail services. This business has expanded and now includes five locations.

Past Recipients

RECIPIENTS	YEAR
Warren Shaw, Willis Fravel, Robert Martin	1994
Melvin Foor, Charles Arnold	1995
Roger Smith, Jesse VanFossen	1996
Orville Felumlee, Richard Black	1997
William Arter, John E. Hankinson	1998
Merle Scheetz, Charles Sands	1999
P.E. Grubb, Frank Clever	2000
Clayton Oyler, Henry Whitehead	2001
Lester Mitchell, Lawrence Clark	2002
Duane Debolt, James Elder	2003
Marcie Williams, Eugene Branstool	2004
Albert & Shirley Ashbrook, Enyart T. Denman	2005
Phil & Donna Shipley	2006
Jay N. Baird	2008
Robert Jones, James Conrad	2009
Marion Martin, Jack Debolt	2010
Carol Beem, James Hoover	2011
William Gilmore, Jim Heimerl	2012
Lynn Hatfield, Skip Salome	2013
Danny VanFossen, Jesse VanFossen	2014
Richard E. Hoar, L.E. & Mary Jane Thompson	2015
John Mitchell Lynd, WIlliam M. Wright	2016
Donald D. Williams, Joseph E. Stevenson	2017
Roger L. Pickering, Rodney J. Newell, Ronald E. Thompson	2018
Timothy Reichert, Rodney Kissel	2019
* No 2007 Inductees

Many Thanks to Our 2020 Sponsors!

EVENT SPONSORS

Licking County Professional Agrarians
Park National Bank
Trillium Farms

VIP TABLE SPONSORS

The Energy Cooperative
Farm Credit Mid-America
Granville Milling, Co.
Huntington National Bank
Licking County Soil & Water