Author Archives: John Holcomb

Peanut Breeders Using Robot to Develop New Varieties

Posted on by

Tifton, GA |

At the heart of the peanut industry’s growth and success in Georgia lies the dedicated work of peanut breeders at the University of Georgia, who work tirelessly to develop new varieties of peanuts that will benefit the industry as a whole by focusing on specific traits that work well in other varieties and trying to combine them all into one.

“Our goal as plant breeders is to combine different varieties to make better varieties. So, we do that by crossing high-yielding peanut varieties with those that may have better disease resistance, better shelling characteristics, better flavor qualities. Basically trying to combine a whole lot of traits into one single package so that we can send those out to growers, and they can grow those and sell it to the shellers and the manufacturers,” says Nino Brown, Peanut Breeder at the University of Georgia.

To no one’s surprise, the process can be tricky, as Brown says that they are working to satisfy a number of customers; everyone from the producer, all the way down the line to the consumer.

“There are several different peanut products that people enjoy on a daily basis. Those include peanut butter, candy bars, and other peanut-based candies, roasted, shelled, roasted peanut products as well as in-shell roasted peanut products. So, each of those different products requires a different combination of characteristics. It’s important for us to develop those varieties for the grower. But while combining all these different traits for the sheller, manufacturer, and consumer, we also have to put these into a package that a grower is going to want to plant on his farm,” says Brown.

According to Brown, the entire process to develop a new variety from start to finish can take longer than a decade, which is why he and his team are now incorporating technology to assist them, like this robot they’ve named WATSON, that will help them gather important data they need much more efficiently.

“We make a cross between two different varieties that have a list of good characteristics, and we evaluate thousands of progenies per cross, year after year after year. It takes about 10 – 12 years to develop a new peanut variety. It’s a numbers game. The more progenies that we look at, the more likely we are to find those varieties that have all the characteristics that we need in a single package. So, one of the things that we’re doing is we’re incorporating new technologies to help us process more progenies each year. We’re using high throughput phenotyping; we’re using high throughput phenotyping in the way of drones and UAVs; aerial drones. We’re using now a ground-based phenotyping robot. And then we’re also using some high throughput seed sorters that look at the oil characteristics. Non-destructively in a very high-speed fashion. All this to make our variety development pipeline faster, better, and cheaper,” says Brown.

By: John Holcomb

Southern Dairy Challenge More Than Just a Competition

Posted on by

Madison, GA |

At this Madison dairy, students are putting their classroom knowledge to the ultimate test, competing in the Southern Regional Dairy Challenge – a collegiate competition meant to immerse them in the Dairy Industry.

“Dairy Challenge is a management-based event where students evaluate a farm from their records to visual appraisals to give a SWOT analysis, which is strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. So, this morning, they get about two hours on the farm. Last night they got their records and now they’re reconciling what they’re seeing on the farm with the records that they got last night. And they have an opportunity to interview farm management as well. So, they’re spending time from baby calves to lactating cows, just looking at everything around the farm,” says Dr. Jillian Bohlen, Associate Professor & State Dairy Extension Specialist at the University of Georgia

The challenge involved students from several schools, and though it is an actual competition, the purpose is meant to be more of an educational experience.

“We have teams from across the southeast, around sixty students here from Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, and Georgia. They come here, and we actually mix the teams up so they don’t compete as a school. We do that very intentionally so that the students learn to work with other people that maybe they’re not used to working with. It also takes out some of the competitive nature because what we really want to emphasize is that they’re here to learn and grow. The national contest is where they really get to compete. So, they come here, they’re mixed with students from other schools. They get a mentor, and the mentor is really to help guide them. So, if they get lost in the data or if they don’t know what to look at here on the farm, that mentor is someone in industry that can maybe help direct them to the right location again, because the whole purpose is education” says Bohlen.

Of course, another important aspect of the challenge is that it gives the competitors a chance to see and learn about the dairy industry in a way they might not have before and allows them the opportunity to network with others within the industry itself.

“Basically, the mission is to develop our young leaders, our next generation of industry leaders. That’s what it’s about. To teach them and to help them grow. Then this actually is about educating them because we have so many students that come from non-farm, non-dairy backgrounds, but they’re wanting to be involved in some way, either as a veterinarian in the dairy industry itself, maybe go back to a farm. So, this gives them on-farm experience that they may not otherwise have had, such as the older generations. Like myself, we tend to have come from a dairy, we experience it our whole lives, but these younger generations it’s just a little different,” says Jeffrey Elliott, Associate Vice Chair of the National Dairy Challenge Board.

“A lot of these students don’t come from farms anymore, and the dairy industry’s intimidating. If you’ve ever talked to any of these farm managers, the amount of information that they know, how progressive they are, it’s intimidating, especially if you don’t have any background in it. So, I think that this kind of opportunity opens some of those doors that allow students to see the opportunity that before seemed unrealistic or unattainable or just scary. So, this helps create the connections, as I was talking about, as well as really shows them that this is an industry they can be a part of,” says Bohlen.

By: John Holcomb

Centennial Farm Continuing Tradition

Posted on by

Statesboro, GA |

The story of L&M Farms is one of dedication, and a commitment to nurturing both the land and community. The farmhouse, a charming relic from the early 1900s, bears witness to generations of the Lee family’s labor of love. Majestic Sycamore trees planted just after the farmhouse’s construction, still shade the property, providing a living connection to the farm’s roots. Patricia Morton and her husband Randy, now the proud owners, ensuring that the story of L&M Farms continues to be written with the same dedication and love that has characterized it for over a century. Patricia, also wanting to carry forward the legacy established by her father, Lannie Lee.

“It’s really cool. A hundred years and I guess if I had a regret, it was that I didn’t do it while daddy was here because he would’ve been so proud, and Mama; mama died in ninety-two, and that’s when daddy was a bit lost, but he decided after a couple of years that, ‘I think I’d like to try to get all this going again. I’d like to do the syrup,'” says Patricia.

Lannie Lee; a true legend in the vibrant and extensive history of Georgia Farm Bureau. As Vice President and later, President of the Bulloch County Farm Bureau, he gained the respect and admiration of the local folks until he passed away in 2017 at the impressive age of ninety-six. For Patricia and Randy, continuing his legacy is more than just a responsibility, it’s a genuine passion. The farm, now producing and distributing Lee’s Sugarcane Syrup, serving as a living connection to the dedication and hard work that Lannie put forth every day of his life. 

“He believed so much in agriculture, in farming, and he spread that everywhere he went. And the love of farming,” says Patricia.

“I grew up on a farm, but when I left the farm, I had never intended to ever go back to being a farmer. So, after forty five years in the media business, that took me even further away from that, I met a young lady that I married and who had a heritage of that. Actually that became more of an important thing for me to see if I could bring back some of that. So when we started getting involved with the sugar cane, it was a different kind of a crop. We have, in my opinion, a better syrup because of three things; one is the variety of the mix of cane that we have here. Second is the land. This land seems to be ideally suited for sugar cane for some reason. The third one is the cook, and that’s her. She spent eight or ten years learning how to cook from her dad. The techniques, the principles I would say are the same,” says Randy.

Yes, Patricia and Randy have found true happiness in nurturing their sugarcane fields and producing syrup. Together, they have a burning desire that embodies the spirit of resilience and defines what a Centennial Farm should be. However, the award holds more than just personal significance for Patricia; it also serves as a reminder of the broader challenges facing agricultural heritage. The shifting landscape of Bulloch County, once a quiet rural setting, now facing the encroachment of urban sprawl. And like so many, Patricia can’t help but wonder if someday the Centennial Farm Award will become even more significant and cherished, as more and more families sell off their farms.

“I hope we’ll try to hold on to it. Our children, they know how to process the syrup, they know the sugar cane process. Our grandson comes and helps each year. So, that part I feel pretty secure about, but who knows some of the trials and tribulations that are coming up; the taxes and all of that, it’s gonna be very tempting,” says Patricia.

“You’re not gonna get rich doing this. At least that’s our experience. Maybe someone can help us with that or show us how we can change that and we’d be really interested in figuring out how to do that to make sure that happens,” says Randy.

By: Ray D’Alessio

South Georgia Nursery Growing Trees, Georgia Forestry Industry

Posted on by

Byromville, GA |

Forestry is a significant industry in Georgia, representing the state’s fourth-largest commodity, with a farm gate value of more than 700 million dollars annually. While it might be one of many states considered the wood basket of the country, Georgia stands out above the rest.

“Just like agriculture, forestry is one of our top industries. Not only the top industry in the state, but Georgia is the number one state for forestry. We produce the most seedlings of any other forestry organization,” says Jeff Fields, Chief of Reforestation for the GA Forestry Commission.

That all begins at operations like Flint River Nursery, where the lengthy process of extracting the seed and getting it into the ground gets underway.

“So, at this facility, we have our own seed orchards. We harvest the pinecones from those trees. Those cones are then taken to our seed extractory. That’s where the cones are tumbled, and the seed comes out of the cones. They are processed up there and we sow these seeds in these long beds here. There’s about sixty thousand seedlings in each bed,” says Fields.

This time of year, nurseries like this are working around the clock, getting those seedlings out of the ground and shipped off to growers all over the state.

“Once these trees mature, over the course of the year, during the winter months, we will harvest them. The harvester comes through, lifts all these trees up, takes them inside, sorts, bundles them up, and sends them out to landowners. Any landowner in the state of Georgia can plant these seedlings on their property,” says Fields.

With their product going to areas across the state, Flint River grows more than twenty different varieties, each with its own purpose.

“So, the loblolly pine mostly goes north of the fall line, which is a line that goes from Columbus, Georgia to Augusta, Georgia. So, mainly, the north part of the state is where these particular seedlings are planted. We have some, what we call, some slash pine that is planted south of that fall line. We’re actually standing south of the fall line now in this nursery. We also produce a lot of hardwood seedlings that produce acorns. Acorns are really good for wildlife, deer, turkey, and just any kind of animal that may be on your land that you want to attract. So, there are lots of different purposes for the different varieties of the seedlings that we grow,” says Fields.

It’s not just timber being produced with all these trees, but also products that will affect people’s everyday lives.

“The cellulose that comes from the trees makes, goes into plastic to make football helmets, toothpaste, there’s all sorts of products that you would never dream of that come from trees. It’s very exciting,” says Fields.

By: Damon Jones

Bright Green Vans Bring More Than Just Smiles

Posted on by

Tifton, GA |

In what’s amounted to a remarkable six-year journey, the unmistakable lime green vans of Peanut Butter and Jesus have become a lifeline for hungry children, hitting the streets of Tifton and the surrounding areas every Saturday with a mission to distribute sandwiches and spread kindness. From humble beginnings of 141 sandwiches, the initiative has flourished, now delivering a staggering 18-hundred sandwiches weekly. Recently, I had the privilege of discussing this incredible charitable effort with CFO Tony McBrayer, shedding light on the unwavering commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of those in need. Here’s our interview:

Ray: “Why Peanut Butter and Jesus? Was there a need down there in Tifton that somebody saw that and said, ‘we need to do this?’ So take us from the beginning.”

Tony: “The way it started in Tifton was back in 2017, the pastor of our church at the time was praying about some kind of community outreach that our little small church could do. He kept driving by these two green vans down in Lakeland, Georgia, had peanut butter and Jesus on them and looked like grass was growing up around them. So, he started asking around, so he got the phone number to the right man, and he, the man explained that they had done the ministry in Lakeland for about six years, and their volunteer base had dried up. So, he said, ‘if you’ll take it and start it in Tifton, we’ll donate the two vans to you.’ So, I always say God kind of dumped it in our laps, so we had to do something, we went with it. We did start here in Tifton in September of 2017, so a little over six years ago. Tift County’s probably six percent poverty with school kids. So we were concerned about kids having something to eat on the weekend and so that’s why we started the ministry here. Just trying to make sure they do have something to eat on the weekend. Just letting them know somebody cares about them and loves them and give them an encouraging word and that type thing every weekend.”

Ray: “What all comes in the bags that you guys prepare and fix for people?”

Tony: “We do put a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a snack of some sort, we put a little juice, eight ounce juice in there, and then we always put a Bible track, a little message, something like this in there to tell them about Jesus. We usually do it in cartoon form so the kids would be more likely to read it. That also gives them hope and an inspirational message every weekend. So, sometimes we get other things donated to us. We have distributed blankets, socks, bibles, extra snacks. Sometimes we get big bags of chips and we’ll give them those in addition to the lunch bags we hand out. So, we’ve built quite the rapport with the kids in the neighborhood and the community over six years.”

Ray: “You guys do this every weekend. Sometimes, peoples’ lives are busy, people have busy schedules, but yet you still get people to turn out every single weekend. Does that just kind of blow you away as well?”

Tony: “It does. I mean, fifty two weekends in a year and very few times do we not have some type of group signed up, whether it be other churches. That’s one thing we did very smartly now that we look back, was make it a community ministry from the start. We didn’t try to make it about our church. We don’t make it about any certain denomination. We just, we make it a community ministry and we have churches, small denominations come in to help us. We have civic groups come in, we have school clubs, key clubs, you know, beta clubs, all types of people come in. Sometimes a business would organize their employees because that particular business wants to give back to the community. So we just fill up the calendar every year and give God the praise for that because we could not do it by ourselves. That’s for sure.”

Ray: “For people who want to get involved maybe watching this and they say to themselves, ‘I want to be a part of this,’ how could they do that? Who do they need to contact?”

Tony: “They can contact me and I don’t mind you giving them my number, which is
229-392-7774. I have an email, which is tony@peanutbutterjesus.org, and they can contact me and maybe somebody watching is in another town or another state. We have a little pamphlet about Peanut Butter and Jesus we can send them. We also have a startup guide. A lot of people said, ‘we’d like to start this in our community. How can we do that?’ and we have a startup guide that we can send them. We know of about 35-40 other chapters of Peanut Butter and Jesus that has sprung up across the country. We have three or four out in Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, Louisiana, Florida, others here in Georgia. So we would love for it to spread – pun intended, across the United States. It’s my dream that maybe one day even another country will start up a chapter of Peanut Butter and Jesus.”

By: Ray D’Alessio

Reshaping Plant Hardiness Zones

Posted on by

Watkinsville, GA |

It’s no secret that weather is the driving force when determining what farmers can grow and when that seed should be put into the ground. That’s why the Plant Hardiness Zone map, which was recently updated by USDA, is such a valuable tool, as it shows the minimum temperature on any given day throughout the year.

“The zones are basically ten-degree averages in the temperatures. So, the colder ones that start with one and two in Georgia, really here we’re going from about seven to about nine across most of the state. Each of the zones is divided in half. So, there’s eight B, which is a little bit warmer and eight A because it’s closer to nine,” says Pam Knox, Agricultural Climatologist with the University of Georgia.

That new data shows some interesting results, as temperatures around the state and southeast have consistently been on an upward trajectory over the past thirty years.

“As time has gone on, what we’ve seen, and with this new map as well is that the zones are creeping to the north. As temperatures get warmer, what used to be eight A is now eight B. What used to be eight B might be a nine. So, that means that temperatures are increasing by say, four to five degrees Fahrenheit over time,” says Knox.

That is sure to have an impact on a number of crops, especially those that need lower temperatures in order to thrive.

“One of the things about peaches and apples is that they require cold weather in the Winter to grow; to be able to blossom in the Spring and so on. So, some of the varieties that used to work are not going to work very well because they are not going to get enough cold weather in the Winter. Farmers know this. They’re diversifying by planting in varieties that require fewer chill hours,” says Knox.

It’s not just the varieties that will need to be adapted, but also some different practices and timing when planting season rolls around.

“For something like corn, which doesn’t like hot weather very well, one adaptation strategy might be planting a little earlier in the year. You know, because the soil’s going to warm up as well under these warmer temperatures. So, that gives them the opportunity of getting that corn in a little bit earlier and giving them a little bit more time later in the growing season to maybe put in a second crop, some are double cropping,” says Knox.

This warmer climate could open the door for even more growing options for farmers in the future.

“Olives is another crop that are starting to be grown in Georgia. Who would have ever expected Georgia because we are so humid? They have to manage it a little bit differently but olives are something that’s being grown. In fact, this year, for the first time I believe, there’s commercial Georgia olive oil on some of the shelves in some of the specialty shops,” says Knox.

As for why this new study can be valuable for growers on both a large and small scale…

“Weather is, of course, one of the biggest driving factors of agriculture. So, they need to know what to expect because that’s going to determine even what kind of seeds that they buy before they even put anything in the ground, but it’s also going to determine how much money they can make. Farming is a business and so they have to be able to make money,” says Knox.

By: Damon Jones

Continued Drought Concerning for Northwest Georgia Livestock Producers

Posted on by

Villanow, GA |

Here in Walker County, it’s hard to believe that things are better than they were just a couple of weeks ago, as they went almost three whole months with just a fraction of an inch of rain in what’s called an exceptional drought – the worst level there is and was even designated by the USDA as one of the eleven natural disaster counties in the region. It’s something that’s of course been a concern to most everyone, but to cattle producers like Brian Hart, the concern is very much still there.

“This year, our rainfall was perfectly normal until the last week of August and the last week of August it basically quit raining. This area has been in a drought for all of September, all of October, all of November and starting into December. We have had some rains the last part of November and some rains early December and rain forecasted this weekend, which is hopeful, but it’s just been a terribly, terribly dry time for those months and it affected our Fall grazing. We really didn’t know yet how it’s going to affect our hay crop next year,” says Brian Hart, Owner of Red Barn Farm.

As you can tell, most, if not all of the forage is long gone into dormancy, which has forced Brian to start feeding hay early this year.

“We typically graze our fescue pastures up until mid-November, early December with good rain and we don’t put up that much hay, but our hay consumption this year has been extremely high since really about the middle of September because there has been no grass, as you could see from looking in the fields there. It’s just it’s really dried up. We do have some fields we haven’t grazed yet that look decent, but it’s certainly affected our hay consumption. We’ve probably fed an additional hundred rolls of hay already this year that we normally do not feed,” says Hart.

Of course having to start feeding hay earlier than expected has caused his hay stocks to be depleted much faster than normal, which has caused him to have to purchase more hay to make sure they have enough to last them through the Winter.

“We’ve actually purchased some hay just to make sure we have enough. I think we have enough. A lot of it depends on what the grass does when it does start raining, because that’s what nobody knows. If it starts raining normally in December, we don’t know what the grass is going to do behind that rain, so we have bought an additional 150 rolls of hay that we’re going to feed if needed,” says Hart.

One thing that’s concerning to Hart is the long-term effect on his herd, as he relies on Winter grazing to help maintain his cattle’s weight, but without it, he’s afraid they may come up short when it’s time to sell.

“In the calf business like we’re in, we typically wean off 650-700 pound calves every spring along the May or June time frame. We don’t know what those weights are going to be because of the shortage of grass. Now we’ve got plenty of hay to feed them, but they’ll gain a lot better if they had some grass to go with it so that’s another way that it very easily could affect us,” says Hart.

Drought conditions have lessened in the last couple of weeks, but most of the Northwest Georgia area remains in severe drought conditions and it’s unclear when those conditions will ease up.

By: John Holcomb

Fighting Foreign Animal Diseases in the U.S.

Posted on by

Jekyll Island, GA |

African Swine Fever, Mad Cow Disease, Foot and Mouth Disease; these are just a few of the many diseases that are capable of endangering our nation’s food supply and is the reason why attendees at the annual Georgia Farm Bureau Convention got to hear from experts on just how dangerous these diseases can be to the livestock industry – a threat that has increased as the world becomes smaller and moves faster.

“The threat level varies depending on the regions that are affected with the disease. But with our changing world, with increasing commodity exchange, our concern is ever heightened because of the speed of commerce and the different modes in which these diseases are transmitted,” says Marcus Webster, Associate State Veterinarian for the Georgia Department of Agriculture. “We used to live in a day where things were much slower and we could take our time to trace movements. In today’s world, with everything moving so fast, I would say that our concern is growing more.”

According to Webster, being proactive is key, which is why he says it’s important that livestock producers stay in the know and always practice bio-security measures on their operations.

“Becoming familiar, doing some investigation either with the Department of AG, Extension Agents on some diseases that are of concern for us, both nationally and internationally; that’s one step. Also, getting some information, education on biosecurity, which is highly important. Staying tuned in with other producers, having open discussions at meetings such as any animal commodity group. Having that as an ongoing conversation. So, education, understanding the disease threats to your particular species, and also biosecurity, which is going to be paramount in any situation because good biosecurity can ward off the most common things, whether it’s something that’s in the United States and pretty much common versus a foreign animal disease,” says Webster.

Webster says another important tool is traceability, as he says electronic ID tags can be of great help if an animal disease outbreak ever occurs as he says they would be able to track the animal’s footprints and isolate the threat much faster than ever before.

“When it comes to putting that tool in emergency response, it lets us know as well as a producer, if I have an animal that was exposed to a particular disease, I can look at that group, see where it went out; trace that group out and back to make sure that we’ve mitigated any threat both in that location and the animals moving forward to where their destination is or back to their origin where they came from to secure our food supply,” says Webster.

By: John Holcomb

2023 Georgia Excellence in Ag Educator Winner Creating Unique Learning Environment for Students

Posted on by

Carrollton, GA |

Just a short drive from Carrollton, across the state line, lies a forty-acre farm in Heflin, Alabama that’s become the hub of hands-on learning for Sam Camp and her family. However, Sam’s journey into the world of farming and teaching began long before she took over the STEM position at Mt. Zion Elementary.

“Grew up on a small farm. My grandfather raised pigeons and we had chickens, and at one point my dad even raised a raccoon. We just had all kind of birds and anything that we could get our hands on, even horses. So, while we didn’t actually farm necessarily, we did just have a love of animals and we grew up with that all around our house,” says Camp.

As the pandemic gripped the world, the Camp family found solace in the open spaces of their farm, providing an invaluable education for their daughter Laney. Learning the ins and outs of animal care, agriculture, and nurturing a passion for veterinary sciences, Sam realized the profound impact that farming and animal husbandry had on education.

“I have never even had the intention on ever leaving a general education classroom setting, and when this kind of came open, when I tell you I jumped on it without even thinking about it, I just ran literally to the office and was like, ‘I heard that this is open. Can I please have it?'”, says Camp.

“It was really the passion, because we knew we’re such a STEM-based school and county that I knew I needed somebody in that position that had a passion for it. Not just an interest, but a passion; Sam did. So, I knew if I put her in it, she was going to be as strong with the STEM as she was with the phonics. I knew ultimately our kids were going to benefit from that, but it did take me a while. It took me a little bit of time to convince myself to let her do it. I don’t regret it at all though. I have not ever regretted. It was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made since sitting in a principal position of letting her take that position,” says Melissa Dearman.

The fusion of STEM and agriculture became Sam’s passion. With the help of the local High School, and the Carroll County Farm Bureau, she dove headfirst into creating a unique learning environment. The connection between ‘Big Eagles’ and ‘Little Eagles’ in her class; bridging that gap between high school and elementary students became a cherished aspect of her teaching.

“Just hearing their conversations about things, seeing them handle the animals has been probably the thing I that has changed most for those kids. Just making them comfortable around animals. Seeing them properly hold a chicken and learning how to plant stuff and learning about composting. So, just seeing them live it, not just read about it on a text, has been a big change here for me,” says Camp.

Sam’s impact however didn’t stop at her classroom door. She also spearheaded safety initiatives, coordinated STEM programs across the school, and became an active representative in the agricultural community. From planning AG Days for hundreds of students, to earning grants for outdoor classrooms and gardens, Sam embodies the spirit of an educator dedicated to fostering a love for agriculture and learning.

“I just felt like there was an absence in elementary school and even somewhat into middle school. For me, when I decided to become a teacher, that was a decision I made in like first or second grade. That’s when I decided that. Sometimes you’ll ask kids to draw a picture of a farmer and you’re immediately going to get overalls and that kind of thing. So, I felt like if we didn’t do something early on and show these kids what farming actually is, then with our growing population, how are we going to survive, in the future?,” says Camp.

“I never envisioned it the way Sam had it in her head. I’m happy that she had that in her head of how she saw this being built. I just stepped back and said, ‘do it with how you want to’,” says Dearman.

By: Ray D’Alessio

GFB Members ‘Dig In’ at Annual Convention

Posted on by

Jekyll Island, GA |

“For Georgia Farm Bureau and it’s members, Jekyll was a time to dig in and celebrate 86 years of existence. This year’s gathering, marking the 59th time the convention has found its home on Jekyll Island – and despite the years passing, one tradition remains constant–the generous distribution of those hot grilled PB&J sandwiches by the Georgia Peanut Commission. Now sure, the faces may change, but the love for those heavenly sandwiches is eternal. Especially among the next generation of Ag leaders, who may not fully appreciate the convention now, but as tradition goes, will carry the torch someday.

“I just want them to appreciate farming and just appreciate God’s land that he has given us to farm and the privilege to do that,” says Kaley Phillips from Franklin County. “His father and I own a poultry farm at home, and we just appreciate hard work and hard work ethic.”

Without question, the inaugural Georgia Foundation for Agriculture Christmas on the farm Bingo, stole the spotlight. Over one hundred and fifty guests forming a line that wrapped around the hallway. Once inside the doors, they were treated to ten rounds of bingo, door prizes, a raffle, live music, refreshments, and a pop-up shop from Brittany’s Closet.

“We just wanted to create something fun and exciting and a way to celebrate the holidays, but obviously we have to raise money to support all our programs. So, we wanted to put on this fun fundraiser, and everyone get to have fellowship,” says Lily Baucom, Executive Director of Georgia Foundation for Agriculture.

In his yearly address to members Georgia Farm Bureau President, Tom McCall likened the organization to quote, “An elephant in the room”, un-ignorable if you will. He emphasized that GFB, along with its legislative team, spoke for the farmers and made significant strides at the state capitol in advocating for their needs.

“These efforts wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for each and every one of you back home. The truly effective organization has local leaders just like you, working in tandem with the lobbying team that worked for you,” says McCall.

However, President McCall didn’t stop at legislative achievements. He also made an emotional and heartfelt announcement:

“We have challenges to overcome and victories to be won. That’s why today, with utmost humility and dedication to you, I’m announcing my intention to run for reelection as President of Georgia Farm Bureau next year, and I humbly ask for your continued support, your trust, and your prayers in this journey into the future,” says McCall.

The crowd erupting and applause, celebrating not just the success of the convention, but a significant accomplishment for Georgia Farm Bureau and its dedicated members.

By: Ray D’Alessio