CANFIELD, Ohio — Three individuals whose contributions span generations of farming, agricultural education, innovation and community service will be inducted into the Mahoning County Agricultural Hall of Fame during the 180th Canfield Fair. The 2026 inductees are Jerome Hull, Brenda Anderson Markley and Howard Moff. They were recognized in a ceremony Sept. 2 at at the Canfield Fair.
The Agricultural Hall of Fame was established to identify and recognize individuals who have dedicated their time and talents to strengthening agriculture and the agricultural community through education, leadership, innovation and service. Honorees may include farmers, farm couples or partnerships, educators and agricultural leaders whose work has positively impacted Mahoning County agriculture and beyond.
Brenda Anderson Markley
For Brenda Anderson Markley, agricultural education has been a lifelong pursuit. A 10-year 4-H member and active FFA participant, Markley graduated from 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 through 2020, Markley served for 30 years 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 became a signature event, welcoming between 3,000 and 6,000 visitors to the farm in a single six-hour period.
Markley’s impact also reached classrooms across Ohio. Through Ag in the Classroom, she worked with Ohio Farm Bureau and Ashland University to develop week-long 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. Selected to participate in Ohio State University’s LEAD program, Markley studied agriculture across six states and internationally in Canada, China and Australia. During her three decades at Mill Creek MetroParks, she welcomed more than 250,000 visitors, making agricultural education approachable and memorable for generations of Mahoning Valley families.
Jerome Hull
A lifelong Mahoning County resident, Jerome 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 legacy of agriculture, education and public service remains visible throughout Mahoning County and through the continued operation of White House Fruit Farm.
Howard Moff
Howard Moff’s lifelong commitment to dairy farming has made an impact locally, nationally and internationally. A graduate of 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. 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 strengthened 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 advisor, 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.
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Nominations for the 2027 Agricultural Hall of Fame will be available in spring 2027. The Canfield Fair is the largest county fair in the state of Ohio and is celebrating its 180th year in 2026.
