CANFIELD, Ohio – Three people whose efforts have had a continuing influence on the local farming community are this year’s inductees into the Mahoning County Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Jerome Hull, Brenda Anderson Markley and Howard Moff will be recognized on opening day of the Canfield Fair, Sept. 2, at 11 a.m. during a ceremony at the Concourse Stage, in front of the grandstand.
The contributions of the three span generations of farming, agricultural education, innovation and community service.
The Mahoning County Agricultural Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have dedicated themselves to strengthening the agricultural community. Nominations for the 2027 Agricultural Hall of Fame will be available in spring 2027.
Here is a closer look at this year’s inductees:
Jerome Hull
A lifelong Mahoning County resident, Hull left a legacy that continues today through both agriculture and education.
Hull acquired his Green Township farm through his maternal family, whose ownership of the property dated to 1809. Intensely patriotic, he named several of his nine children after U.S. presidents, insisted the farmhouse be painted white and named the property White House Fruit Farm as a tribute to the office of the American presidency.
Hull planted the farm’s first apple orchard in the early 1920s, beginning what would become a lasting Mahoning County agricultural tradition.
During the Great Depression, when the fruit market was severely depressed, he diversified the operation by raising turkeys. His progressive production techniques earned national attention, including a feature in Turkey World Magazine in 1948.
At its peak, the farm raised approximately 5,000 to 6,000 turkeys annually.
Hull was also a pioneer in telephone marketing of quick-frozen turkeys and later was among the early Ohio apple growers to incorporate dwarfing rootstocks, simplifying orchard care and harvesting.
His influence extended well beyond the farm. Hull spent more than 60 years in education, beginning as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse. He served as head of Canfield Schools, superintendent of Boardman
Schools and, beginning in 1914, the first superintendent of Mahoning County Schools.
During his 18 years as county superintendent, Hull helped consolidate one-room schoolhouses into the school districts familiar today, introduced warm lunches in rural schools and worked to bring agriculture into the classroom.
He also helped establish the Educational Building at the Canfield Fair and fill it with
agricultural exhibits created by students throughout the county.
Hull’s efforts in agriculture, education and public service remain visible throughout Mahoning County and through the continued operation of White House Fruit Farm. He died in 1974.
Brenda Anderson Markley
For Markley, agricultural education has been a lifelong pursuit.
A 10-year 4-H member and active Future Farmers of America participant, Markley graduated from The Ohio State University
in 1986 with a degree in agricultural education and animal sciences.
After beginning her career as a vocational agriculture instructor, she served as an Ohio Farm Bureau Organization director before joining Mill Creek MetroParks.
From 1990 to 2020, Markley served as the MetroParks’ agricultural facilities and
education manager, where she helped generations of children and families understand agriculture through hands-on experiences.
She developed and conducted farm tours, created agricultural education programs for schools, cared for farm livestock and helped oversee the MetroParks exhibit in Old McDonald’s Barn at the Canfield Fair.
Her annual Farm Animal Baby Shower day became a signature event. It is visited by up to 6,000 visitors each year.
Markley’s impact also reached classrooms across Ohio. Through Ag in the Classroom, she worked with Ohio Farm Bureau and Ashland University to develop weeklong workshops for teachers. As a trained presenter for Food, Land and People, she helped educators from preschool through 12th grade teach
students about the connections among agriculture, the environment and people.
Howard Moff
Moff’s lifelong commitment to dairy farming has made an impact locally, nationally and internationally.
A graduate of The Ohio State University’s dairy science program and a lifetime alumni member, Moff has been a hands-on farmer, agricultural leader and community servant throughout his career.
Together with his wife, Barb, to whom he has been married for 69 years, Moff built a multigenerational dairy legacy through Moff Family Farm in Canfield Township. Their family now includes three sons and daughters-in-law, nine grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
Moff became an early adopter of embryo transfer technology, helping introduce progressive breeding practices that strengthen herd quality and production. His breeding program ultimately reached an international audience, with cattle exported to seven countries and 18 states and sires placed at Select Sires and ABS.
His accomplishments include breeding 60 cows classified Excellent, with one of the most notable being 95-point Ouric Faye Ann Mandingo Deann, reserve champion at the 1992 International Holstein Show.
Moff’s passion for Holstein cattle has also driven decades of service to the industry. He has served as a 4-H dairy club adviser, hosted and supported dairy judging teams, served on the state Holstein Board and exhibited at the North American Dairy Show and All-American Dairy Show.
His community service includes serving on the Canfield Fair Board, as a church leader and as a Boardman Schools bus driver for 46 years.
Through more than eight decades of involvement in agriculture, Moff has combined farming tradition with a willingness to embrace innovation, helping advance the Holstein breed while building a dairy legacy that continues through his family.