Tifton, GA |

Just like the agricultural industry here in Georgia, there’s plenty of diversity at the annual GFB Commodity Conference where the organization gives out their highest award, this year’s recipient being former president of the Georgia Beekeepers Association Reg Wilbanks, welcomes in guest speakers from different sectors of agriculture, and most importantly, starts shaping public policy for next year.

“The commodity committees are made up of people that produce those commodities. So, they are the experts that we need, on what they need, and what the particular commodities’ need. And it’s the beginning of what the whole purpose of Farm Bureau is, which is to represent farmers in the legislative arena. The policy that is presented here and passed in Jekyll is what our public policy lobbies and works on in Atlanta and Washington DC.,” says Tom McCall, President of Georgia Farm Bureau.

2025 could be an important year as there are a number of financial uncertainties facing the entire industry.

“There’s a lot of concern about prices. We went through a period of very high inflation in 2021 and 2022. A lot of the crop prices and livestock prices went up with that, but now we’ve started seeing some agricultural prices come down. Now, of course, the other side of the coin is, if the prices farmers pay for their inputs comes down, that provides some offset, but there’s typically a lag. So, you’re starting to see some compressional margin,” says Dr. Roger Tutterow, KSU Professor of Economics.

Despite some of those concerning trends, there is still plenty of optimism for the future.

“I don’t see us going into a really deep recession. I think we have to commend the fact that the economy has held up as well as it has given the degree to which the feds raised short term rates. I think the long-term fundamentals of the economy are still strong,” says Tutterow.

Those in attendance also got an update from Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper, who spotlighted some of the recent pieces of legislation that will benefit producers including one that will help preserve farmland within the state.

“As we close out the year, obviously we’re focused on the Farmland Conservation Fund and that program. We’re looking forward to convening the board and getting to work on farmland protection here in the state of Georgia building off of legislation that was passed this past session. Thanks to the General Assembly, the Speaker, the Lieutenant Governor and the Governor, we were able to get two million dollars in that fund,” says Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture, Tyler Harper.

That is essential to keeping the state so agriculturally diverse, which is spotlighted by the twenty different committees represented at this conference.

“The fact that Georgia has a lot of latitude and a lot of elevation lets us grow everything from grapes and apples up in the mountains to vegetables and produce and tobacco and cotton and peanuts; we’re the largest peanut producer in the country. So, that whole variety, when you throw in the different latitudes, the elevations that we have, the soil types, lets Georgia be a major player in agriculture in the United States,” says McCall.

By: Damon Jones