Author Archives: John Holcomb

Great Southland Stampede Rodeo Continues to be Successful

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Athens, GA

“Back in 1970, some members of the UGA Block and Bridle Club were on the livestock judging team and needed money to travel across the country to compete. So, they had the idea of starting a rodeo as a fundraiser and used their washers and dryers and trucks as collateral and signed on for this large event that it turned out to be, and so, in 1974, the first Great Southland Stampede Rodeo was hosted in Stegman Coliseum,” says Lorene Parker, 2023 GSSR Advertising Chair. “So, they removed the basketball court and put in ten inches of dirt for the rodeo weekend, and it stayed there for twenty-nine years. Then after that, it moved around to a couple different parks and places, but Block and Bridle worked hard to bring it back to campus. So, since 2004, we’ve been here at the UGA Livestock Instructional Arena.”

The students involved in organizing and running the Great Southland Stampede Rodeo are a shining example of why this event is sold out night after night. Their dedication, hard work, and passion for the sport of rodeo is evident in every aspect of the event. From the exhilarating bull riding, to the fast-paced barrel racing, the Great Southland Stampede Rodeo showcases the best of the best in rodeo, and with the help of the students running the show, this event has become a true highlight of the rodeo calendar.

“I’ve been thinking about this rodeo since August, like I haven’t had a life,” says Braelin Smallwood, 2023 GSSR Chairman. “None of us have had a life. Anytime we see each other, we’re just like, ‘how’s like rodeo?’ Knowing how much people love this has just made things great. I don’t know, it’s made it worth it.”

Braelin Smallwood, a Senior from Lincolnton, Georgia brought with her a unique perspective to this years rodeo. In addition to serving as chairperson, Braelin is a rodeo veteran and competitive barrel racer. Long before she became a student at UGA, Braelin heard stories of the Great Southland Stampede Rodeo, and hoped someday she could not only see it in person, but maybe even compete in it. Well eventually, she did. An experience that some would argue made her the perfect chair. And Braelin will be the first to admit, her role became somewhat of an obsession.

“Because I have competed, I’m like, okay, what’s gonna make this better for spectators as well as contestants,” says Smallwood.

“It’s amazing to me the amount of people that come out that were a part of the
GSSR twenty, thirty years ago that have kids now and that’s maybe that’s how they met their spouse was when they were working with Block and Bridle on the rodeo,” says Parker. “So, some really cool stories come from it. It’s really an honor to be a part of it the way that we are and be able to carry that tradition on and just see it grow bigger each year.”

Because of it’s tradition and uniqueness in that it’s organized entirely by students, the Great Southland Stampede Rodeo continues to grow in popularity. On the morning our cameras were there, the arena was packed full of local school children, about twelve hundred total. All three night’s, sold out. Yes, a good problem to have, but challenging when the demand outnumbers the amount of people the local fire Marshall will allow.

“Last year we sold out all three nights. This year we sold out all three nights, but even faster,” says Smallwood. “We had discussed having four different performances, so having a Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday daytime, and a Saturday night. I imagine in order to accommodate more people, we’re gonna have to do that in the future; have more performances, maybe extend it to a Sunday just because I know we’ve had to turn so many people away.”

“It could be bigger. If we could find somewhere else that could host this big of an event, we could definitely expand to have more attendees, but we also have the love and value for being on campus in UGA’s Livestock Arena,” says Parker. “So, I think we’ll stay here for the sense of being connected to UGA, but there’s always ways to expand, and ways it could be bigger.”

By: Ray D’Alessio

Farm Service Agency Working to Help Beginning Farmers

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Athens, GA

With less than two percent of the population involved with production agriculture, attracting a younger demographic to the industry is vital for food security, especially with a third of farmers being sixty-five or older. That’s one of the main goals for FSA, who recently held this meeting in Athens to encourage farmers new to the business.

“You know, our food and food security is of vital importance,” says Chuck Tyson, FSA Farm Loan Chief. “We’re having the new and beginning farmers come in and we’re going to try to give them a helping hand to lift them up so that they’ll be able to produce and develop a program to help in the future to provide safe and secure food for the nation.”

However, that security doesn’t come cheap as the cost to start up a new farming operation is the number one obstacle young producers must overcome.

“I would say the biggest hurdle they have to face is the availability of credit. It is very, very expensive to break into agriculture and farming. Whether it’s aquaponics, whether it’s a small niche market; that is a big hurdle. But the availability of credit, being able to get started and not be such a burden; being able to work with them, I think is the key to bringing in the new and beginning farmers,” says Tyson.

That is exactly what the Farm Service Agency is looking to accomplish with a variety of low interest loans that is sure to satisfy each farmers need, no matter how big or small.

“We have direct loans and we have guaranteed loans. The direct loans are administered by FSA itself and they go up to six hundred thousand dollars for an operating loan. Farm ownership loan, four hundred thousand, which can be a term loan, which can be termed out up to seven years. We have a microloan for people who have very limited experience that are coming in as new farmers that goes up to fifty thousand dollars,” says Tyson.

The good news is that taking advantage of these programs is now easier than ever, as getting information and filling out applications can now be done in a much shorter amount of time.

“I’m excited, especially on the farm loan side, with some of the new tools that are coming out that are geared towards our younger farmers that makes it easier to apply for a loan,” says Tyson. “We have a new loan application tool. We have a shortened application process, but it’s very important that we begin to bring in a new generation of farmers because we’re seeing some of the farmland move out of the traditional older farmers hands.”

By: Damon Jones

Georgia Legislature Protecting State’s Farmland

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Atlanta, GA

In the last few decades, the state of Georgia has seen rapid growth, but that growth has come at a cost. That cost: land that was once used to produce food, fiber, and shelter. In fact, since the seventies, Georgia has seen a twenty percent reduction in land that was once used for farming. However, as a result of this year’s legislative session, legislators have passed a measure to combat the issue – Senate Bill 220, or the Farmland Conservation Act – a policy recommendation from Commissioner Harper’s office that creates a fund to help protect the state’s farmland by allowing agricultural landowners to give up all or some of their development rights to a conservation trust or similar entity.

“The Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund is a fund that would be established under the Department of Agriculture that will allow farmers to participate in conservation easements,” says Georgia Ag Commissioner, Tyler Harper. “This is not new. It’s something that’s been done in 29 other states around the country. It’s something that we’re building off of what other states have done, but it gives us an opportunity to allow family farms and producers across the state, if they so choose, to put their farms in a conservation easement to protect their production ag land for generations to come.”

As Harper stated, this measure is nothing new, as Georgia is now the thirtieth state to create such a fund, which according to Senator Russ Goodman, the lead sponsor of the bill, has been very successful, as he says millions of acres across the country have been protected due to measures like this one.

“Through these programs we’ve been able to protect about 3.2 million acres across the country,” says Russ Goodman, State Senator from Georgia’s 8th District. “For instance, in the state of Florida, they’ve protected 58,000 acres of land, I believe it is, and North Carolina is 28,000 acres. But there’s a federal match that comes down from the federal government for this. It’s a dollar-for-dollar match, for any private money, any state money, any local money that goes into it.”

According to Goodman, Harper, and others alike, preserving farmland not only is crucial for the future of our farmers, but it’s also a vital part of our national security.

“Food security is an essential element in national security. You can’t, you can’t grow crops and you can’t grow food without land, right? And so that’s what the purpose of this bill. It’s to try to protect farmland and perpetuity. And you think about what the implications are for, like I say, generations down the line. That’s the intent of the bill. Um, and it’s important to me that years and generations down the line, that we have the ability to feed ourselves,” says Goodman.

“Agricultural land is a very vital part of the ag sector. Without land, we can’t produce the crops and the livestock that we need to help ensure that we’re providing a safe, secure, food supply and that we have the food, the fiber, and the shelter we need right here at home without relying on foreign sources to do that for us,” says Harper. “It makes us more independent when it comes to our food supply chain, our fiber supply chain, and our shelter supply chain right here in the state of Georgia. Protecting Georgia families, Georgia Farms, and Georgia producers is vital, but at the same time, by doing that, we’re able to ensure that consumers are protected across the state as well, because they can rest assured that we continue to have a safe, secure food supply on those grocery store shelves all across the state.”

By: John Holcomb

Georgia 4-H & FFA Student Leads by Example

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Athens, GA

This is just a small sample of the awards that grace the trophy case of Lexi Pritchard, whose career in both 4-H and FFA has been nothing short of remarkable. Growing up on a ninety-acre family farm right outside of Oconee County, agriculture was a path Pritchard knew she was destined for.

“I started showing cattle in the seventh grade. I got involved with 4-H and FFA right around that time too,” says Pritchard. “I’ve done anything from forestry judging to livestock judging, to consumer judging. It’s just been a whirlwind since then, and I’m really grateful for all the opportunities that I’ve had because it’s really developed me into who I wanted to be, and it’s shown me what I want to do with my career in the future.”

It’s that passion for agriculture and all there is to learn about the industry that led Pritchard to become actively involved with both her 4-H and FFA chapters.

“What I think sets Lexi apart is she is such an advocate for agriculture in 4-H and FFA,” says Kelle Ashley, Oconee County 4-H Agent. “We often find that kids are very loyal to one club or the other. And that’s great. I mean, both have the same mission, but Lexi is a kid that really advocates for both because she encourages her peers to do it all.”

All that hard work has certainly paid off as she now up to six masters in the 4-H program, including one that recognizes her entire body of work.

“Lexi has excelled in all things agriculture in both clubs,” says Ashley. “She recently became a master 4-H’er in the Dean’s Award project. That’s a culmination of a 4-H’er’s whole career from fifth grade until whatever point; for her it’s the eleventh grade. Lexi’s a kid who has not just focused in one area; she loves the beef industry, she loves poultry, but if you look at her resume, she’s hit dairy and equine. She really touches it all.”

That love for cattle has manifested itself into her very own startup operation thanks to plenty of hard work and determination.

“In the fifth grade, I decided that I wanted to be a cow farmer, just kind of like out of the blue, but my grandma sat me down and was like, ‘this is going to take a lot of work. You got to understand it’s not as easy as that decision.’ So, I worked my butt off cleaning horse stalls for her every day for a couple of years and they supported me through it, and they helped me buy my first two cows. It’s just grown since then, and now I have about a herd of thirty head of cattle,” says Pritchard.

Even though she’s accomplished so much in a short period of time, this is just the beginning for Pritchard as she has big plans for the future.

“I really hope to go into poultry science, which is something I got involved with in 4-H poultry judging in the seventh grade,” says Pritchard. “That’s been something when I haven’t been doing poultry judging I’ve been thinking about. When it hasn’t been the season where we’re practicing, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. I miss it so much.’ So, that has been something that I have figured out. I want to do that with my future, and, I’m always going to have a herd of cattle as well. I just know that in some point in my life, I will figure out how to have a herd of cattle because it’s my favorite thing in the world.”

By: Damon Jones

Georgia Peaches Impacted by Late Cold Snap

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Griffin, GA

While California might be the largest producer, no other state in the country is more synonymous with peaches than Georgia. However, it’s been a trying year for growers as a late freeze has caused some of the worst conditions in more than a decade.

“The thing that made this one a little bit rougher than last year was that we were about ten days earlier in our bloom, in our status if the crop,” says Jeff Cook, UGA County Extension Coordinator. “The warm February pushed everything to start blooming and start moving a whole lot earlier than normal.”

It’s a problem farmers had to deal with last year as well, but to a much lesser extent.

“I would say last year we had about a sixty percent crop, which was a good sixty percent once it developed. This year, I would say it kind of flip flopped. We’re probably looking at forty percent and it’s still a little early, but the damage is a lot easier to see riding through orchards right now than it was last year,” says Cook.

One of the silver linings is that quality shouldn’t be affected as despite the warmer that average winter, the crop did receive the proper number of chill hours and the damaged fruit won’t even make it to the shelves.

“It shouldn’t because what got zapped, got zapped. So, it won’t be in the market. It wasn’t like it was slightly damaged and you’ll have some fruit quality issues. The fruit that’s left, if we have decent weather from here on out should be good, quality fruit,” says Cook. “We were a little bit short on some of our higher chill varieties; we were right around seven hundred fifty hours of chill if you look at just chill hours, not chill proportions, or units. So, we were just a little bit under chilled on some things, but most everything was coming out normally. Some are a little slower, but for the most part it, it satisfied what we have in middle Georgia.”

That does mean consumers might have to wait a little longer to buy sweet, Georgia peaches and pay a little more for them.

“I mean, it’s really fewer peaches across the Southeast, probably. It’s just going to mean higher prices probably and it’s going to mean you’re going to have to wait a little while longer to get peaches. When I was in Brooks County, they should be harvesting pretty soon. So, you know, you may have to drive south to go get your early peaches if you want some early peaches. Hopefully we can hang on and have late June or early July peaches still in Georgia,” says Cook.

With late freezes being a constant threat to the producers, UGA is working on some alternative growing methods to mitigate some of the risk.

“We might do a few things a little bit differently, trying to minimize any mid-March freezes,” says Cook. “We’ve been working on different things and some different production practices that help mitigate that; leave more limbs, leave more flowers, more fruit. Maybe even pruning a little later, but they’ll just continue; we’ll take care of the trees from here on out and take care of the crop we have left.

By: Damon Jones

Third Generation Logger Working to Keep Business and Industry Thriving

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Cochran, GA

Logging is no doubt big business here in Georgia, as it contributes almost forty billion dollars to the state’s economy, which of course wouldn’t be possible without hard working loggers and logging operations like this one in middle Georgia – Sanders Logging, a family run operation that’s hard at work harvesting timber with the next generation taking over the reins.

“I’m a third generation, so my grandaddy and my father started this company back a long time ago and they incorporated it back in 1982, so that’s how we started off; we started off short wooding and it kind of transformed into what it is today,” says Harry Sanders III, Co-Owner of Sanders Logging. “I was born in ‘91 and I knew from a young age that I always wanted to be a logger, so I grew up around it and as soon as I could get out here and get on a piece of equipment, I did. I was fortunate enough to go to the University of Georgia to Warnell for forestry school and I graduated back in 2014 and I’ve been full-time with the company ever since.

Sanders has certainly found his stride, as he still has the same passion he had when he was younger, even taking that passion a step further by becoming an advocate for the state’s forestry industry and the work they do every day – something he believes is important for the future of the industry and business.

“I thoroughly love what I do and I love to tell people about what I do because a general consensus of the logging industry or a logger in general is we’re cutting trees, we’re hurting the environment and all, but we’re really not. We’re really managers of a crop we call trees, so I guess one of my biggest things is I just want to educate the public on what we do and I feel that you need to get out in front of people that don’t quite understand what we do,” says Sanders. “So, that’s been my biggest driver is really telling my story and in doing that, that’s given me opportunities to speak at the capitol, it’s given me opportunities to speak to schools, classrooms of all ages, and I’ve really enjoyed doing that and I hope to continue to be able to do that.”

It’s because of that passion, hard work, and dedication that Sanders not only loves what he does but has been named the titles of Georgia Logger of the Year and Southeast Logger of the year – an honor he says was earned by not only him, but everyone that he works alongside day in and day out.

“Sometimes you get lost in the day to day, just the work we do every day and when somebody gives you a pat on the back; sometimes it’s worth more than money can buy, so I would say that’s kind of my stance on it is that I’m really blessed that somebody saw that we’ve done a good job and they wanted to put us forth,” says Sanders. “It’s been a blessing to see that my peers and other industries voted us, not me, it’s my whole crowd the Georgia Logger of the Year and the Southeast Logger of the Year as well.”

By: John Holcomb

UGA Water Efficiency Team Dedicated to Helping Producers

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Midville, GA

No matter if it’s corn, cotton, or peanuts, the one thing each of these Georgia staples need is sufficient water during growing season, and with rainfall being so unpredictable during the summer, farmers must rely on irrigation to fill in the gaps. However, the amount can sometimes be tricky, which is why having the UGA Water Efficiency Team to lean on can provide a little piece of mind.

“We’re trying to hit that sweet spot, putting in irrigation soil moisture sensors, helping farmers with different types of irrigation and water management tools such as the smart irrigation apps,” says Jason Mallard, UGA’s Area Ag Water Agent. “We are working with them on some of the different models and that kind of thing that we have.”

Getting that information comes from numerous tests done on a variety of different soils.

“There are some pivots in Southwest Georgia that we’re working with where we have in the neighborhood of fifteen, twenty different, individual plots under one pivot with multiple sensors. We have two to three reps for each treatment under one pivot where we’re able to define that spot where we get the highest yield for the least amount of water applied,” says Mallard.

It’s not just research this team specializes in, but also the implementation, as they provide expertise in the field as well as a pathway for growers to try out this new technology.

“There’s new technology coming out every year that we are trying to help the farmers and help them install and learn this new technology,” says Mallard. “That part of what the Ag Water Team is trying to do. We’re going out and putting these practices on the farm with the farmers at little to no cost for them to be able to try this new technology and see how it works on their farm and get to experience that without much investment.”

This couldn’t come at a better time as budgets are being tightened due to the ever-increasing price of production.

“With input costs being as high as they are and even diesel prices being like they are, it’s very important to be able to apply water only when is needed. And that is also conserving pumping costs and conserving our state water resources. So, yes, we can definitely have impact with this throughout their farm if they apply this technology,” says Mallard. “It varies for the input costs, yes, you pretty much get what you pay for when you use this technology.”

Even if some farmers aren’t quite ready to implement this new technology, they are still encouraged to have a plan for their water use heading into the planting season.

“From the lowest input, such as a checkbook method, all the way up to some of our sensors, which are twenty-five hundred dollars per location within the field, just pick some type of irrigation water management strategy and go with it,” says Mallard.

By: Damon Jones

Hay Stocks/State Forages Struggling

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Tifton, GA

Spring has officially sprung here in Georgia which means hay fields and pastures across the state will be starting to flourish – signaling a new production year for forage producers. It’s no doubt a sight they’re excited to see after battling record high inflation and mother nature this past year that took a toll on their fields.

“Before that unseasonable cold that we had, we were already kind of ten steps behind in terms of forage production in the state,” says Lisa Baxter, State Forage Extension Specialist with UGA. “When you think about fertilizer prices, chemical prices, any input that we have was up. And so, producers cut a lot of those inputs, which slowed down our forage production. You add to that every weather challenge we seemed to have last summer. We went from too hot to too cold, too wet, too dry. We never settled in an optimum and so it was really unfortunate then when we hit last fall, a lot of producers were slow getting their winter annuals in the ground because we physically could not get the drills to go in the ground because it was so dry.”

However, according to Baxter, the difficulties last season brought is just the tip of the iceberg, as she says the state has had back-to-back difficult seasons that have caused many issues for forage producers in the state, which in turn, has even resulted in a hay shortage, as hay stocks have decreased by more than thirty percent.

“I would say our hay shortage overall started back in 2021,” says Baxter. “It was above average rainfall that year. And yes, the grass needs the moisture to grow, but we hit the point where we’re getting too much moisture and cause a lot of disease issues that we can’t control feasibly in grasses, but then we also can’t get things harvested in a timely manner. So, not only are we getting fewer harvests across the year, we’re getting lower quality harvests as well. So, you kind of catapult that into our winter forage season where fertilizer prices were starting to increase, people aren’t fertilizing their winter annuals as much. We’re relying more and more on those hay stores. Problem is, then we’ve used up anything that we had in reserve. It’s gone. We used to say, ‘ah, you just had those thirty bales in the back of the farm for that rainy day.’ We had that rainy day. It’s done.”

As producers head into this year’s production season, Baxter believes the best way forward is for producers to prioritize the fields they’d like to focus on, as input costs are still high which once again will mean thinner profit margins.

“As we start moving forward into our next production season, we need to take a good, almost survey of what forage resources we have and start making a priority list. The reality is prices aren’t going to come down immediately, and so we need to protect the most acreage we can. If we know that we’ve had low forage production across the entire farm, now’s the time to pick and choose which of these fields needs the most priority. Which ones can we kind of bring back? Which ones do we need to push to the side and say, ‘when the situation improves and weather is more in our favor, we’ll renovate these later.’ So, that’s the big thing right now is that if nothing’s really regrowing, it’s the time to plan and just reflect on what our forage production been and what can feasibly be done going forward,” says Baxter.

Baxter encourages producers to reach out to their county agents if they have questions or need assistance.

By: John Holcomb

Georgia Cattlemen Gather for Annual Convention

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Columbus, GA

Recently in Columbus, Georgia Cattlemen gathered for their annual convention – a time that allows them the chance to fellowship, see the latest and greatest equipment and technology, and hear updates on what’s happening in the industry.

“We have, I think around seventy exhibitors, we have about four hundred and thirty or so total registration, and so, it’s really a time for us to get together as a group,” says Joe Garner, Georgia Cattlemen Association President. “We have like needs, like causes, like opportunities to learn and it allows the producers the chance to interact with the exhibitors to find out about a product line, or to get some more information for something that they may be needing on the farm.”

One highlight of the convention was the opening session in which National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President, Todd Wilkinson gave producers an update on regulatory and statutory issues such as the most recent controversial WOTUS rule in which Wilkinson believes has created confusion and headache for property owners and has a big impact on beef cattle operations.

“If you’re a producer that’s out there on the ground and you just want to know whether you can do this to your land for a new project, you can’t find a straight answer right now because they keep changing the rules, and it’s that type of regulatory problem that just adds expense to the producer,” says Wilkinson. “You want to know whether it’s a wetland, whether it’s a regulated wetland and to be able to get a clear answer and to know the rules is kind of critical for an operator.”

Wilkinson also spoke about the threat of possible disease pressure that could have a similar impact that Avian Influenza has had on the poultry industry and says traceability is key to making sure the industry is protected from a disease outbreak such as Foot and Mouth or even Mad Cow Disease that was detected just last month in Brazil.

“We’re facing increasing pressure from the possibility of like foot and mouth or some other diseases coming into the United States, and with our southern border being so exposed it’s a real concern that we will not be able to track it, so getting traceability of animal diseases quickly is very important to the producer to protect their operations,” says Wilkinson.

It’s because of those issues and others alike that Wilkinson encourages producers and others in the industry to get informed, get involved, and have a voice to issues that have a direct impact on their operations.

“We have a lot of people that think they know how we should run our operations and how we should deal with the farm and the ranch, but the best knowledge comes from the actual producer on the ground and it appears that we got a lot of regulatory issues and statutory issues that are coming at us and unless the producer is aware of that information and becomes involved it has the potential to run over the top of us,” says Wilkinson.

By: John Holcomb

2023 Net Farm Income to Decline Nearly 16 Percent

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Tifton, GA

Despite all of the challenges endured by farmers in 2022 from labor shortages to rising input costs, they were rewarded with net farm income reaching record levels. However, that might be short lived as early projections for 2023 have that number taking a big hit.

“We are seeing a sixteen percent decline,” says Amanda Smith, Agricultural Economist at UGA. “That is because we’re seeing lower commodity prices and input prices are still high and some are going up depending on the category, some are going down, but we’re not seeing input prices decline at a rate like we’ve seen with the commodity prices.”

Despite those falling prices, they are still high enough for farming operations to remain sustainable even if they are forced to work on a tighter budget.

“Historically, commodity prices are still good. So, compared to 2020 when we saw a lot of commodity prices really low, prices currently right now are pretty good but they’re not as good as they were last year,” says Smith. “So, with the high input prices that we saw last year with record high input prices for several categories last year, it definitely means that margins are going to be tight.”

While the agricultural industry did enjoy those higher prices in recent years, it will have a negative effect on this year’s net farm income as government payments are expected to be minimal.

“Because the farm safety net is based on triggers like low commodity prices or maybe a combination of low price and low yield, the outlook for government payments for 2023 is low because last year we had pretty good commodity prices and, in general, there’s probably not going to be a lot off government payments triggered from the farm safety net,” says Smith.

While the price of fertilizer might be falling, growers are still encouraged to make the most of what they put out.

“We saw record high prices for nitrogen fertilizers and pretty close for phosphorus and potassium last year,” says Smith. “Because of softening demand, that those prices have come down some. But I still think producers are still going to be looking at the cost of fertilizers and making sure that they’re doing their soil tests and have a good nutrient management plan in place so that they’re utilizing their inputs as efficiently as possible.”

It’s not just what goes into the field like water, seed and equipment that make up the rising input costs, but also the added expenses in order to keep it running.

“I think growers this year are paying more attention to interest expenses and what they’re going to be paying for their operating note because, you know, last year, maybe they were paying four to four and a half percent. This year, they might be paying seven to nine percent um, on their operating note,” says Smith.

So, with that all in mind, planning ahead is an absolute necessity in order for farmers to protect themselves in the coming year.

“Estimate what their break-even price is and then hopefully forward price or forward contract above that, so they know they’re going to be making a positive margin on that,” says Smith.

By: Damon Jones