Alabama Agriculture
Hall of Honor

Galen Grace grew up on a diversified farm in Walker County near the small town of Jasper. Throughout his years at Walker County High School, Grace was heavily involved in 4-H programs. After graduating, he went on to attend Walker Junior College and then Auburn University, where he was active in Block and Bridle and Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. He graduated from Auburn in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in poultry science and went on to work for several years with Gold Kist Poultry before transitioning to a highly productive career in sales and management with Salsbury Laboratories/Solvay Animal Health, where he was honored as Man of the Year and the company’s top salesman.

Throughout his professional career, Grace maintained close ties with Auburn’s Poultry Science Department, students, and faculty. He was also active in the Future Farmers of America, earning the distinction of Alabama’s Honorary State Farmer, as well as the Honorary American FFA Degree for his outstanding contributions to the national organization.

For his years of tireless service and leadership to the Alabama Poultry and Egg Association, including terms as both a member of organization’s board of directors and as the board’s president, Grace was honored with APEA’s Distinguished Service Award and, in 2024, was inducted into the Alabama Poultry Hall of Fame.

Aside from his service to Alabama’s poultry industry, Grace is known for his dedication to other animal agriculture and health organizations. He served on the boards of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, Alabama Polled Hereford Association, Alabama Animal Health Association, Alabama Feed and Grain Association, and as president-elect of the Southeastern Livestock Exposition. Involved with SLE’s annual rodeo for around 40 years, Grace was the voice of the organization’s annual Junior Livestock Exposition beef cattle show for three decades.

Grace’s contributions to Alabama agriculture also include helping create the state’s Ag in the Classroom program and serving as president of the Auburn Agriculture Alumni Association.

In addition to helping shape the state’s animal agriculture system through a lifetime of service, Grace is known for a deep commitment to and love for his family, including his wife of 52 years, Becky, two sons, Jarod and Jody, their wives, and several grandchildren. For his exemplary devotion as leader of this most important group, Grace was selected by the Alabama Cattlewomen’s Association as their 2018 Father of the Year.

Born in Georgia, Dr. John Henderson grew up on a small farm in Tallapoosa County, Alabama.  After completing a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Auburn in 1957, he continued his studies on the Plains earning his master’s in soil and plant science three years later. Henderson, his wife Inez and three sons later moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he completed a doctoral degree at North Carolina State University. He then returned to Auburn to begin working in the position of extension agronomist for soybeans and other oil crops.     

In the late 1960s, soybeans began to be grown for oil in Alabama. The state’s row crop growers, skilled in the production of cotton, corn and peanuts, looked to Auburn researchers and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to guide them in the cultivation of this relatively new crop. Henderson assembled and led a team of extension specialists, known as the “Bean Team,” whose focus was to assist growers, county agents, and agribusiness with the various challenges presented by this new crop. As a testament to the effectiveness of the team’s efforts, soybean acres exploded across the state. By 1980, there were over two million acres grown to some extent in all Alabama counties. During his tenure as Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture and Industry from 1997 to 2001, he made significant contributions to the field, and in 2001, he was honored with the title of “Permanent Honorary Commissioner of Agriculture and Industry.”

Traveling tirelessly throughout the state, Henderson became known for his warm, friendly personality and genuine interest in helping others. His practical, common-sense approach was always backed by solid research and personal experience. Alabama agriculture owes a great debt to Henderson for his role in establishing soybeans as a viable crop in the state and the impact it has made on the state’s economy.  

After retiring, Henderson continued to promote soybeans while serving as ex-officio on the Alabama Soybean Association Board of Directors. He also became involved in the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, serving as vice-president for programs and president. In his years of exemplary service to Alabama agriculture, he and his family were active in civic affairs and regular members of his local church. Perhaps his highest honor and greatest achievement is the fact that he and his wife celebrated 72 years of marriage in January 2024. 

Hale County native Bill Kyser has been raising catfish alongside his family since his father built the state’s first four commercial catfish farming ponds in 1967. Interested in the unconventional new “crop” that was offering hope to struggling Black Belt row crop farmers, teenaged Kyser decided to study fish farming at Auburn University, where he was a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, and was awarded the school’s first-ever bachelor’s degree in fisheries and allied aquacultures in 1973. Upon graduating, he returned home to Greensboro and has spent the past six decades building one of the most respected and advanced catfish farming enterprises in the industry.

Today, Kyser Family Farms is home to 750 acres of ponds and produces more than 4 million pounds of catfish annually. Kyser’s sons Townsend and Ashley are now actively involved in the family business. In 2014, Kyser was named Alabama’s Catfish Producer of the Year by the Alabama Farmers Federation.

Kyser also owns and manages a cow-calf beef cattle herd and has been active in leadership of several statewide agriculture organizations. He has served on the boards of directors of the Alabama Farmers Federation, Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, Catfish Farmers of America, Catfish Farmers of Alabama, West Alabama Catfish Producers and FirstSouth Farm Credit. He was selected as a member of the Farmers Federation’s A.L.F.A. Leaders Class II.

Kyser is described by friends and counterparts as an “avid thinker” whose devotion to the agriculture industry and his community are unparalleled. He and his wife, Beverly, are active members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greensboro, Alabama, and enjoy spending time with their three children, three children-in-law and eight grandchildren.