Mérite agricole

Mérite agricole
The chevalier, officier, and commandeur of the ordre Mérite agricole
Awarded by  France Ministère de l'Agriculture
Type	Order with 3 degrees: Commandeur (commander) Officier (officer) Chevalier (knight)
Awarded for	Special distinction in services to agriculture
Status	Active
Statistics
Established	7 July 1883
First awarded	17 July 1883
Total awarded	>400,000
Distinct recipients	~30,000 living
Precedence
Next (higher)	Ordre des Palmes académiques
Next (lower)	Ordre du Mérite Maritime
Since 1999 Commandeur Officier Chevalier 1883 - 1999 Commandeur Officier Chevalier

The Ordre National du Mérite Agricole (National Order of Agricultural Merit) is an order of merit established in France on 7 July 1883 by Minister of Agriculture Jules Méline to reward services to agriculture. Its ribbon is Moiré pattern green (holders are said to "avoir le poireau", or "have a leek", in reference to its colour) with a red-orange stripe down each side - the stripes symbolise the prestigious institution of the ordre national de la Légion d’honneur. The Order has the ranks of knight (about 340,000 to date, of which about 23,000 are alive at present, including all living former ministers of agriculture), officer (about 60,000 to date, about 5,000 living) and commander (about 4800 to date, 400 living).^[1]

Canada has an equivalent order, whose recipients include Onésiphore Ernest Talbot.

Members

Commandeur

• Jean Dupuy
• René Renou

Officier

• Pierre Galet
• Ernest Vaux
• Will Studd
• Dominique Levy^[2]
• William Bradford Alwood^[3]

Chevalier

• Philippe Adnot
• Wina Bron
• Laura Calder
• Jacques Chirac
• Elizabeth David
• Patricia Gallagher
• Michel Guérard
• Richard Juhlin
• Patrick Levaye
• Bernard Loiseau
• Kermit Lynch
• Brian Morrissey
• Roland Passot
• Jacques Pépin
• Jon Winroth

4th class or rank

• William John English

Unknown rank

• Jean Carmet
• Catherine Deneuve
• Jean-Paul Huchon
• Paul Morand
• Louis Pasteur
• Roger Peyrefitte
• Michel Serrault
• Will Studd

References

1. ^ "Le Mérite agricole - Chiffres". http://agriculture.gouv.fr/histoire/3_merite_agr/chiffres_1.htm. Retrieved April 12, 2011. 
2. ^ "French wine distributor in Taiwan honored by French government". Central News Agency (Republic of China). March 13, 2010. http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aALL&ID=201003130003. Retrieved March 13, 2010. 
3. ^ "Enologist and horticulturist from Virginia (USA) honored by French government in 1907". Virginia Tech (United States of America). June 8, 2011. http://vtpp.ext.vt.edu/museum-of-pest-management/pioneers-of-pest-management/w.-b.-alwood/honors-and-distinctions/. Retrieved June 8, 2011. 

External links

• Ministère de l'Agriculture, Ordre du Mérite Agricole official website (French)
• Site and forum on military and civil French orders and medals (French)
• Charcosset, Gaëlle (Oct/Nov 2002). "La distinction aux champs. Les décorés du Mérite agricole (Rhône, 1883-1939)" (in French). Ruralia. ISSN 1280-374X. http://ruralia.revues.org/document294.html. Retrieved 2009-02-06.