‘He always thought outside the box.’ Farren Dakin and his brothers named to Ag Hall of Fame
It was bittersweet Friday when dairymen Cameron and Jerry Dakin learned that they had been selected, along with their late brother, Farren, for induction into the Manatee County Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Farren died Sept. 3 from COVID-19 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. He was 65.
When asked about Farren, tears welled up in the eyes of Cameron, 67, who momentarily found it difficult to speak.
Jerry, 52, offered that he misses Farren, and his habit of calling every day to find out what was happening around the dairy.
“He always thought outside the box. He was part of the team that made us better,” Jerry said.
Cameron described his brother as a direct man who spoke his mind, without filter.
“He was Farren. He would be the same regardless of who he was with,” Cameron said.
Dakin Dairy, 30771 Betts Road, is Manatee County’s last dairy, and one of just 70 left in the state of Florida. The family got started in the dairy business in 1946 in Maine after patriarch Pete Dakin returned from World War II. In 1974, after the family moved to Florida, they started dairying in Parrish. In 2001, dairy was relocated to Myakka City.
“It is so challenging. It’s 24/7,” Jerry Dakin said of the dairy business.
Although Jerry said he had an inkling that he and his brothers might had been selected for the hall of fame, the news caught Cameron by surprise.
“I just wondered what kind of trouble we had gotten into,” Cameron said of seeing a group of visitors converging on the dairy Friday. As it turned out, the visitors had come to deliver the Farm City Week news.
The 2020 Manatee County Farm City Week Celebration is mostly a virtual production this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Normally, the Agriculturist of the Year would be announced during the annual Farm City Week Luncheon hosted by the Bradenton Kiwanis Club. This year, there will be no Kiwanis luncheon due to COVID-19, but the club will host a virtual Farm City Week Program noon-1 p.m. Tuesday at https://vimeo.com/469797169.
Typically, the name of the Manatee County Agriculturalist of the Year is kept secret until Farm City Week luncheon.
This year organizers dispensed with secrecy and announced that Hansel “Cully” Rowell has been named the 2020 Manatee County Agriculturalist of the Year. Rowell is a native of Manatee County. Born near Tallevast, he attended Walker Junior High School and graduated from Manatee High School. He and his wife Donna live in Myakka City. They are parents to daughter Cynthia Chandler and son Timothy Rowell.
Rowell retired from Florida Power and Light Company but has a deep, lifelong connection to Manatee County agriculture as a rancher, historian and advocate for youth. Rowell is frequently found volunteering behind a grill as part of the Lakewood Ranch Future Farmers of America Grill Teams. The meals served provide donations that support the work of the FFA Chapter.
Rowell has become the local agriculture historian. One of his projects has been protecting an old map that identifies ranch properties in the 1940s and 1950s. Rowell has researched many of the families and gathered stories on as many as possible. He has shared the map at the Manatee County Agricultural Museum and during the County Fair in hopes that descendants would be able to contribute to the history. Rowell is a past president of the Manatee County Cattlemen’s Association, active in Manatee County Farm Bureau and volunteers with the Manatee River Fair Association.
More about the hall of fame inductees:
▪ Cameron O. Dakin was born in Livermore Falls, Maine in 1952. He and his wife Sondra raised four sons Jason, Garrett, Grant and Ethan. Noteworthy contributions to agriculture include support of 4-H and FFA programs, including providing dairy animals to local youth for use in their animal projects. Youth learn responsibility, budgeting, public speaking, presentation, and other life skills while caring for and showing dairy animals at local fairs and other events. He is an active member at Bayside Community Church and has received Partners in Education Awards for his support of FFA and agriculture education in local schools.
▪ Jerry L. Dakin was born in Bradenton after the family moved to Florida. He is married to Karen Espinola. They are parents to a daughter, Alexandra. Jerry Dakin Dairy was established in 1988 on his father’s farm in Parrish and in 2001, he moved his farming operation to Myakka City. In 2005, Jerry and Karen began processing their milk and in 2009 started hosting farm tours. Now named Dakin Dairy Farms, they have educated thousands of Manatee County schoolchildren and numerous adults about the dairy industry, farm life, and the challenges of farming today. Jerry is an active member of Bayside Community Church, Manatee County Farm Bureau and is supportive of 4-H and FFA. The Dakins are also known for their generous contribution of milk given to food kitchens.
▪ Farren R. Dakin was born in Livermore, Maine in 1954. He married Christina “Shelley” Mizell and they had two children, a son Levi who predeceased Farren and a daughter Erin. Farren and Shelley have six grandchildren. From the start of his business, Farren was known for his strong support of local 4-H and FFA youth. His animals were also loaned as show animals so that youth could learn about agriculture.
He was frequently found in the stands waving his arm at auctioneers as he purchased animals and plants exhibited by youth at local fairs. He was an active member at Bayside Community Church and a supporter of Wee Care Christian Academy. Farren was an innovator and early adopter of new best practices in the dairy industry such as the tunnel barn and incorporating misters and ceiling fans to cool cows before milking.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 1:44 PM.
