Source: NCDA&CS, 10/18/21

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler inducted four new members into the N.C. State Fair Livestock Hall of Fame Sunday at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. “This is one of my favorite events each year, because it gives me the opportunity to recognize the men and women who have helped to make our livestock shows some of the best in the nation,” Troxler said.

“Today’s inductees join a select group that has been honored for outstanding support of agriculture and livestock at the N.C. State Fair.”

Following is the list of this year’s inductees:

Phil Fishel was inducted into the Beef Cattle category. He founded Windmill Acres Farm in Winston-Salem in 1972, and cattle bred there have won several awards at State Fair livestock shows over the years. Phil is well known for helping young people get started in showing polled Herefords, and has also run a tractor show at his farm for over a decade to help share agriculture with his community. 

Gregory Langley was inducted into the Dairy Cattle category. Born and raised on his family’s farm in Staley, Greg was a well-known 4-H leader in his community. Greg served on the North Carolina Holstein Board for many years, and spent 15 years on the board of the Purebred Dairy Cattle Association. He was a proud showman at the State Fair, and loved to share his “college knowledge” with the youth. Despite his passing in 2015, Greg’s love of the fair and of showing livestock is carried on by his wife, Stephanie, and his children, Andie and Neil. 

Dora Owens was inducted into the Sheep and Goats category. Dora has served as the secretary for the State Fair dairy goat show for 26 years, and has become one of the most relied-upon people at that show for participants and staff alike. Dora is the daughter of Ruth Weaver, also a Hall of Fame member, who she showed goats with at the fair when she was 12 years old. Dora is integral to the success of the dairy goat show. Since she started, the show has grown from around 300 entries to over 1,000. 

Peter Daniel was inducted into the Commissioner Meritorious category. A leader in North Carolina agriculture for nearly 40 years, Peter began his career with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in the late 1970’s. He quickly advanced to become special assistant to then-commissioner Jim Graham, a position he held for 20 years. He became a respected leader in the state, and later took a job with the N.C. Farm Bureau as national legislative director and then as assistant to then-president Larry Wooten. Peter has had a hand in shaping much of North Carolina’s agricultural policy over the last four decades.