In the late 1950s, a group of African-American farmers banded together, against adversity, to create an owned and operated packinghouse known as the Mana-Hill Co-op. With the help of Emmett McCray, one of the most influential agriculturalists in Manatee County, the Mana-Hill Co-op was able to be a success. McCray’s agricultural background developed during his time spent studying agricultural education under George Washington Carver at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alaba