The Pike County Farm-City Committee of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce was named the 2014 Overall Best Farm-City Committee in Division II during the Farm-City Awards Luncheon Thursday in Birmingham.

Division II is made up of statewide counties with a population of 36,500 and under. The Cullman County Farm-City Committee received the top award in Division I.

The Pike County Farm-City Committee also received awards for Best Media/Proclamation and Best Special Activities.

Randy Hale, Pike County Farm-City chairman, said being named the Best Farm-City Committee in Division II is a tremendous honor, not only for the committee but for the Pike County rural and urban communities as well.

“This an honor that we can all take great pride in receiving,” Hale said. “The Pike County Farm-City Committee received three state awards and only one other committee received three awards.”

Hale said the Pike County Farm-City Committee was successful in claiming the top award in Division II because the responsibility for the events and activities was spread among responsible people.

“We set up sub-committees and the responsibility was spread among 40 members,” he said. “Each sub-committee was given a specific responsibility and they took charge and did an outstanding job.”

Hale said the booth at the Pike County Fair set the bar for all other events and activities

“The fair booth won first place with a display of more than 70 farm to market items,” he said. “We sponsored Pike Farm Days where all third graders in the county came to Cattleman Park and participated in 12 areas where they learned where our food and fiber come from and had opportunities for hands-on activities.”

“Classroom in the Forest is where all fifth-graders in the county spend a day in the forest learning about forest management and tree identification.”

International students at Troy University also participated in the 2014 Classroom in the Forest event.

“Students representing six countries came to the Gene Renfroe family farm and were very interested and involved in the tour,” Hale said.

Another event that contributed greatly to the Best Farm-City Award for Pike County was the farm-city tour.

“In the past, we’ve sponsored tours of local farms but, this year, we toured two industries, Golden Boy Foods and KW Container,” Hale said. “We also participated in the Peanut Butter Festival and that connection to agriculture was a plus for us.”

Hale said this year’s Farm-City Swap was a great success with Dr. Rick Gill and farmer Kevin Stephens trading workplaces for a day.

“The banquet was again a big success,” Hale said. “There, we presented awards to our outstanding farmers and to the youth essay and poster winners.

“The media coverage was great for all our events and we greatly appreciate all the coverage we received. All in all, 2014 was a very successful year for the Farm-City Committee. We appreciate the support of our farming and business communities.”

Hale said it is his belief that the people of Pike County realize the important role farmers play in their daily lives.

“Throughout each of our lives, we may need a lawyer at some point. We may need a doctor or a dentist from time to time and even state government. But we need food every day of our lives,” he said.

“The theme for this year’s National Farm-City Week was ‘Agriculture: 365 Sunrises, 7 Billion Mouths to Feed.’ Less than two percent of our population is on the farm. Those few people are feeding our country and other countries as well. We should not ever take our farmers for granted.”