In 1950, the Master Builder of Men Award was created by the National Executive Board as the highest honor that FarmHouse Fraternity can bestow upon one of its alumni members. Neither position, wealth, nor occupation enter into the consideration for the award but simply what he has done to help others. One of this year’s recipients of the Master Builder of Men Award is an alum of the Ohio State Chapter of FarmHouse Fraternity, Dr. Larry Hageman.
Larry is a third generation dairy and grain farmer and manages the Hageman/Jackson Trust Farms of Northern Illinois. He resides in Rochelle Illinois. Larry’s career choice was made and documented at an early age when he wrote in his National 4-H report form in the ninth grade that his career choice was to work in Research and Development for a major agricultural chemical company and thus his pursuit for this career began. Larry completed a M.S and Ph.D. degree at the University of Minnesota in weed science and plant physiology.
Hageman spent 35 years with DuPont in various roles including research biologist, manager of the Rochelle Field Station and territory manager for development. Larry’s work has earned him significant professional distinction, including writing more than 30 publications and peer-reviewed articles to his credit. He earned a U.S. patent in 1985. As part of the corporate restructuring of Dow-DuPont in 2017, the Rochelle Field Station was acquired by the FMC Corporation. Currently, Larry serves as FMC's Field Development Representative at the Rochelle Research Station.
He has earned honorary FFA degrees at the local, state and American level. The professional North Central Weed Science Society (NCWSS) conferred the Industry award for distinguished achievement in weed science in 2016. He continues to provide internships for students and has mentored over 200 students during his career.
In 2010, Larry strongly advocated for the ATZ and FarmHouse merger, having mentored many men of FarmHouse during his career. Through Larry's participation and involvement in the Ohio State Chapter, he has endowed several scholarships with the FarmHouse Foundation, furnished portions of the chapter house, held several board positions and sponsors the chapter's annual scholarship banquet. He currently serves as a member of the chapter's Foundation Council. He has been a generous donor to the FarmHouse Foundation, including the Foundation in his estate plans.
Larry said, “I am forever grateful to the actives of the Townsend Chapter of Alpha Zeta at The Ohio State University for extending the offer of brotherhood and friendship in 1994. It has been an extremely rewarding 26-year experience for me and I look forward to many more years of involvement.”