[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 152 (Friday, November 22, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRATULATING J.S. WEST FAMILY AS 2002 AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME 
                                INDUCTEE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 22, 2002

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the J.S. 
West family for receiving the 2002 Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductee 
Award at the Stanislaus County Ag Foundation's Agricultural Hall of 
Fame Ceremony in Modesto, California on December 5, 2002. This notable 
group of Stanislaus County Legends of Agriculture honors individuals 
and families who have worked to make agriculture the county's number 
one industry.
  The Agricultural Hall of Fame members sacrifice and labor to produce 
crops from poultry and livestock to fruits and vegetables. These 
members and their families have made a mark on the Central Valley's 
local agricultural industry and community, as well as influenced the 
state, nation, and the world.
  In 1909, J.S. West and Company began with the purchase of the Merced 
Milling building and a lease of land from the Southern Pacific Railroad 
in Modesto, California. James West worked with farmers on yearly 
contracts and sold sacked grain to brokers and customers. As the 
business grew, the family diversified into coal, wood, and fertilizers. 
After a fire destroyed the feed mill in the 1950's, a modern feed mill 
was built to supply feed to the poultry and cattle industry. This 
resulted in a full line of retail stores that are now carrying their 
supplies. The J.S. West family expanded upon their enterprise by making 
ice, selling fuel oil, operating an automobile service station and tire 
shop, and they recently closed a furniture store which they had 
operated since 1950.
  The family also developed an egg contracting business in the 1950's, 
and today its members are still heavily involved in the poultry and egg 
industry at both state and national levels. The West family packs eggs 
for over sixty labels and frozen liquid eggs in their Hilmar processing 
plant. From feed to eggs and ice to propane, the West family continues 
to make a difference in the agricultural industry worldwide.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the J.S. West family for 
earning the 2002 Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductee Award. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in wishing the J.S. West family many years of 
continued success.

                          ____________________