Agricultural News
Oklahoma Canola Industry Honors Mark Broyles
Wed, 17 Jul 2013 16:51:30 CDT
The canola industry in Oklahoma lost one of its leading lights with the death of Mark Broyles last fall. Broyles saw the potential of canola as a rotational crop to help clean up weed problems in wheat fields early on. As a Canola Extension Specialist with Oklahoma State University, Broyles worked tirelessly to adapt the crop to the state and to help producers be successful in growing it.
At Wednesday's Oklahoma-Kansas Winter Canola Conference in Enid, Broyles was inducted into the Great Plains Canola Association Hall of Fame. Jeff Scott, president of the association presented the award to the family of Mark Broyles.
Dr. Ron Sholar, executive director of the Great Plains Canola Association said it was very fitting to honor Broyles with this award.
"The Great Plains Canola Association Hall of Fame has inducted only two folks ahead of Mark, but it was a unanimous decision by the board and certainly supported by the growers and industry itself here in Oklahoma that no one has done more to create and sustain the canola industry in this region than Mark Broyles. So, it was just such a natural thing to do."
He said the industry owes a great deal to Broyles and his efforts on behalf of producers.
"We understand that to create any industry you have to have motivators and innovators before you have people who start adopting or adapting to the crop. And Mark certainly wore both of those hats. As both an innovator and motivator he worked passionately at promoting the crop. And not just giving people the idea that they ought to be doing it, but finding solutions, trying to find better varieties or varieties that would work here and solutions to no-till to protect our soil.
"He just served in so many different areas. He was so good in helping growers to understand the difficulties and working through all that."
Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear Ron Sholar's comments.
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