Artist: (William) Dean Fausett (1913–1998)
Ezra Taft Benson
BENSON, EZRA TAFT (1899–1994), inducted 1960
Born on a farm in Whitney, Idaho, Ezra Taft Benson completed his bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University and earned a master’s degree from Iowa State University. Back in Idaho, he became a county extension agent and state extension specialist. He also founded a farmer’s cooperative. In 1939, Benson moved to Washington, DC, to become Executive Secretary of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. President Eisenhower named him Secretary of Agriculture in 1953. He served the President during both terms, even though he opposed many of the administration’s policies, including price supports for farmers. Two significant accomplishments during his tenure as Secretary were the extension of Social Security benefits to farmers and the enactment of the overseas food assistance program, “Food for Peace.”
When Secretary Benson left office, he focused his attention on serving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which he was an Apostle. In 1975, Brigham Young University established the Benson Agriculture & Food Institute in his name. Its mission is to teach village farm families in developing countries how to become nutritionally self-sufficient. He became President of the Church in 1985.
Source: Saddle & Sirloin Guidebook 2026, p. 48