LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the celebration of John Barron Day
on March 21, 2011

WHEREAS, Agriculture is an important part of the foundation upon which
our distinct American and New York State heritage are built and remains
the number one industry in New York State; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is always pleased to have the opportu-
nity to recognize individuals who, historically, contributed signif-
icantly to that heritage; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern and fully in accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the celebration of John Barron Day on March 21, 2011, hosted by
Cornell Cooperative Extension and the New York Farm Bureau in observance
of the 100th Anniversary of John H. Barron's appointment as the first
County Agent in New York State; and
WHEREAS, John Hall Barron was born in Tuscarora in the Township of
Mount Morris in Livingston County, New York, on June 28, 1883; he gradu-
ated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agri-
culture in 1906; that fall he became an Assistant in Instruction at
Pennsylvania State College teaching short courses; in January 1907 he
was appointed Assistant in Experimental Agronomy at the Pennsylvania
Experiment Station and, in 1908, he returned to his farm in Ossian, New
York, for three years and served as a farmers' institute lecturer; and
WHEREAS, On March 1, 1911, John H. Barron was employed as the first
County Agent in New York State at Binghamton, New York, in the Farm
Bureau of the Binghamton Chamber of Commerce and was a pioneer Agricul-
tural Agent in the United States; for 30 years, beginning in 1913, he
was Extension Professor in Agronomy at Cornell University, from which he
retired as Emeritus Extension Professor; and
WHEREAS, A modest man with a spirit of loyalty and sacrifice, John
Barron, born and raised on a farm and educated in a rural community,
understood farm folk; he knew that to them his message was vitally
important and that to them, his duty was clear; and
WHEREAS, As a result, John Barron was one of the most popular and
effective extension specialists ever to represent Cornell University,
possessing in his prime a reputation and a following in New York State
of which anyone would have been proud and, underlying it all, was a
mellow good fellowship and a spirit of helpfulness which earned him
friendship as well as respect; and
WHEREAS, During his life John Hall Barron devoted himself with a
singleness of purpose, backed by an unusual capacity for hard work, to
the solution of the agronomic problems of New York State farmers; his
understanding of livestock problems was broad and practical, and his
contributions to the production of more and better feed crops did much
to improve livestock feeding practices in New York; and
WHEREAS, In working with these various problems, he carried his
solutions to the field with a clarity and earnestness which won him a
host of followers and friends; the imprint of the work of John Hall
Barron, who died on August 6, 1943, on the economic welfare and agricul-
tural interests of New York State endures and merits the recognition of
this Legislative Body and the people of the State of New York; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
recognize and commend John Hall Barron's contributions to agriculture
and New York State and to commemorate the celebration of John Barron Day
on March 21, 2011; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Cornell Cooperative Extension and to the New York Farm
Bureau.