The History of A. Duda & Sons, Inc. and Cocoa Ranch
A. Duda & Sons, Inc., family-owned and -operated for over 80
years, is a diversified land company engaged in a variety of agricultural
and real estate operations.
The Duda family’s connection to central Florida began in the 1920s. For Andrew Duda, who emigrated to America in 1909 from the Slovak region of Europe, the 1920s marked the culmination of his dream to own land and begin a farming enterprise. After years of putting every available dollar toward the 40 acres of land he had purchased in the small Lutheran colony of Slavia in Central Florida, Andrew, his wife Katarina and sons John, Andrew and Ferdinand left the factories and truck farms of Cleveland, Ohio to finally establish their own new roots in American soil.
In 1925 they joined their daughter Anna in Slavia, settling there for good. On land that was thick with vegetation, using only manpower and mule power, they began the daunting task of preparing their Central Florida wilderness property to plant vegetables. Celery, in particular, thrived on this wet soil and was a highly marketable crop. Just a year later, in 1926, Andrew and his sons produced their first cash crop of celery and A. Duda & Sons was born.
Andrew's three sons formed a powerful team, each bringing individual talents to the partnership. The eldest, John, was the mechanic and inventor, creating equipment and machinery that, to this day, is used in DUDA fields. Andrew, Jr. was the business administrator and salesman, and took on the responsibility of finding new customers for this growing enterprise. Ferdinand, the youngest, was the farmer, selecting the right crops and the right planting mix to give the family their best chance for a profitable year.
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