Agricultural Hall of Fame - JOHN HOLMAN CYRUS

JOHN HOLMAN CYRUS
August 14, 1920 - January 8, 2016

John Holman Cyrus was a pivotal figure with regards to the state’s tobacco industry, serving for 37 years with the N.C. Department of Agriculture in various capacities, including Tobacco Program Administrator.

During his tenure, tobacco was the state’s top commodity and top crop grown by thousands of farmers statewide. The industry’s influence stretched well beyond the farms and rural communities to larger cities where tobacco manufacturing and warehouses employed many workers and supported hospitals, universities and cultural programs.

In the early 1950s, Cyrus established an annual comprehensive tobacco market report. Later, he planned and developed a service program focused on improving quality and marketing practices. That program also encouraged closer cooperation and understanding between tobacco growers, warehousemen, dealers and manufacturers.

In nominating Cyrus, N.C. State Grange President Jimmy Gentry noted that he “helped facilitate change in the growing and marketing of tobacco, working with growers to keep lower stalk leaf off the market to improve prices, and in the transition from selling tied tobacco to loose leaf tobacco. The loose-leaf system lead to innovative handling and packaging practices at the warehouse.”

Following his retirement from NCDA, Cyrus continued his work on behalf of the industry, serving with the Tobacco Advisory Council, the Tobacco Tax Council and N.C. State University Tobacco Foundation. He also served as a lobbyist and consultant on tobacco issues for the N.C. State Grange for over 20 years.

Elected to the North Carolina
AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME
2020