Create a book to honor inductees into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame in commemoration of the organization's 25th anniversary, asked his Hall of Fame colleagues.
Harris figured he could simply run portraits and bios of the individuals. Instead, he worked with his son, Sean, a graphic design student at the Ringling School of Art, to produce a coffee table book titled Florida's Agricultural Heritage.
"There are so many people who don't know how powerful and what a big part of our history agriculture has been," says Harris, who is vice president of the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Agriculture has a $55-billion impact on Florida's economy, wrote state Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Charlie Bronson in the forward of the book. "Florida producers have proven time and time again that they can successfully compete with farmers anywhere," Bronson wrote.
Chapters in the 143-page book cover everything from citrus and cattle to sugar, strawberries, phosphate, peanuts and cotton. It starts with a description of farming traditions used by Florida Native Americans 12,000 years ago and ends with an overview of the latest irrigation techniques.
The pages also feature inductees into the Hall of Fame such as Greenville farmer Edwin Hall Finlayson, who discovered Bahia grass; former Commissioner of Agriculture Doyle E. Conner; citrus grower Ben Hill Griffin Jr.; Paul Beary Dickman, who founded the first tomato packinghouse in Ruskin; and cattleman Doyle E. Carlton Jr.
The Harrises collected old photographs, postcards and farming magazines, some dating back to 1880, and then shot new photos to tell the story.
"It's an historic outline," Harris says.
Florida, he notes, is known for its beaches, theme parks and retirement communities. But it's agriculture that has fueled its growth.
"It's the heritage of the state," he says.
Environmental regulations, competition from farmers in other countries and encroaching development are making farming difficult, says Harris, who grew up on a tobacco, grain and cattle farm in Virginia.
His father-in-law, Jack Richardson, raised horses and cattle on the Ruskin land where Harris now lives with his wife, Anne. Harris retired in 1994 after selling his business, which designed and supplied ductwork for heating and air-conditioning in modular homes.
The agricultural Hall of Fame paid about $50,000 to print 3,000 copies of the book, which were distributed to the 800 people who attended a Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame luncheon at the Florida State Fair in February, all state legislators, and middle and high school libraries, and Florida's members of Congress.
Harris is now exploring the possibility of printing more and selling them in local bookstores.
