DATE:     12/15/99
CONTACT:  Dr. Dan Smith, (864) 656-3382
WRITER:   Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343

Jordan Receives Clemson
Extension Alumni Award

     CLEMSON -- Johnny Jordan, a Clemson Extension agricultural
economist, has received the Alumni Award for Cooperative
Extension Distinguished Public Service.
     Jordan, a Clemson University faculty member for 28 years,
received the award during the Dec. 15 Clemson faculty meeting.
     He was recognized for "dedicated service and commitment to
Clemson Extension programs, Clemson University and the people of
South Carolina."
     "He's very deserving of this award," said Dan Smith,
director of Clemson Extension. "His education programs in
financial management for commercial agriculture have been of the
highest quality."
     Smith said Jordan's leadership in programs such as the Farm
Business Management Associations (FBMA), the Southeastern
Agricultural Lenders School (SEALS) and the Executive Farmer
Agricultural Business College (EFABC) have had significant impact
on the business side of farming in South Carolina and beyond.
     Jordan came to the Clemson faculty in 1971 after earning an
M.S. degree from Auburn University. He earned his Ph.D. at
Clemson in 1978. He also holds a B.S. from Auburn and an 
associate degree from Southern University State College. The
native of Mellow Valley, Alabama is married to the former Mary
Wheeles. They have two children, Jason and Kelly, and one
grandson, Joshua.
     "Dr. Jordan is many things - knowledgeable, dedicated,
enthusiastic, a good colleague and a good friend," said Toby
Boring, Extension farm management specialist for the Pee Dee
FBMA.
     "Johnny's educational focus is on programs that teach
farmers how to manage for themselves, and his personal mission is
to transform farms into successful businesses," he said, pointing
out that Jordan has conducted more than 200 workshops, written
more than 300 publications and helped obtain about $600,000 in
grants to support his goals. Boring nominated Jordan for the
alumni award.
     In 1997 the Clemson Extension Specialists Association
recognized Jordan with its Master Teacher award.
     Jordan coordinates four farm management programs -- one is
headquartered at the Clemson campus and the others are in
Florence, Bamberg and Sumter. They help farmers develop financial
information systems and business and market plans. 
     The Alabama native helped develop SEALS, which has graduated
more than 500 agricultural lenders from 12 states in its 16
years. He serves as director for the week-long school, which 
gives lenders a better understanding of agricultural business 
and production.
     In 1998 Jordan initiated the EFABC program, which brings
farmers to Clemson University for four days of intensive
management training. The farmers learn how to use their own
financial information to make management decisions and to develop
a business action plan. More than 120 farmers have participated
in five classes in two years.
     During the farm crisis of the 1980s Jordan and Smith
obtained grants to train the Clemson University Management
Assistance Program (CUMAP). They trained 18 agricultural and home
economics agents as a quick response team for financially
stressed farm families, offering help in stress management and
financial analysis. 
     "This program was the beginning of agents working across
county lines," said Boring.
     Jordan also helped develop the DairyMax program, which has
reached more than 70 percent of the dairymen in South Carolina
with instruction in strategic business planning. He has helped
train Extension staff in North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky 
and Mississippi for similar programs.
     Jordan is a board member for the National Farm Financial
Standards Council, which has developed financial standards to be
used by the agricultural industry. Participants came from 42 
states to learn about the standards at a national workshop 
organized by Jordan.
     In 1993 he took part in a five-year effort to revitalize the
Polish Extension Service, conducting more than 25 workshops for
Extension staff, farmers, agricultural schoolteachers and
university professors.
     Boring says Jordan's philosophy for Extension educational
programs is based on the belief that "If you give someone a fish,
they eat for a day. If you teach them how to fish, they eat for a
lifetime."
                              END