Tag Archives: Georgia farming

Georgia Corn Comeback? Farmers Prepare for 2025 Amid Rising Costs & Drought Challenges

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Tifton, GA |

After seeing a significant drop in acres of corn being planted in Georgia last year, those numbers look to be on the rebound in 2025, especially with the issues other crops around the state are experiencing.

“I think that given some of the constraints with some of the other commodities, that we’re probably going to see an increase in corn acreage this year. I have a prediction but we’ll see if it comes to fruition this year, but I think there’s going to be a significant increase with the crop,” says Nicholas Shay, Extension Grains Agronomist.

Despite seeing prices surge by more than thirty percent over the past six months, growers must still walk a fine line in order to turn a profit, especially with the ever-increasing cost of production.

“To navigate that, we have to try to really manage our input efficiency the best we can, and really go back to the drawing board and count our pennies to make sure that we’re being as efficient as possible with our agronomic management or crop management plan in that, for the season,” says Shay.

Another major issue for growers is the long periods of dry weather throughout the state each and every year. It’s a factor that should always be accounted for when planning crop management.

“I think we can bet that every single year, there has been some sort of level of intermittent drought that has occurred. And so, I think really staying on top of your nutrient management and understanding how a crop responds to drought or to a treatment or a fertilizer application that you’re going to apply in the growing season,” says Shay.

The biggest defense against drought conditions is to implement preventative strategies as soon as possible.

“We have to prepare that crop for those stressful environments instead of reacting to a common symptom entomology we may see in the field. If we’d be proactive and have a proactive mitigation strategy, then maybe we can alleviate some of that stress in the growing season, especially when it comes to drought,” says Shay.

With that in mind, it’s never too early to start preparing, especially with planting season right around the corner.

“Growers should obviously be focusing on making sure their equipment is ready, land preparation this time of year, making sure that they have a good plan in place to start the year as far as fertility, as far as weed management, preparing that ground. Then making sure that they have that plan A, plan B in place to be proactive in their approach to mitigate those midseason or early season stresses that we can almost expect are going to occur,” says Shay.

By: Damon Jones

Georgia Farmers Face Tough Times: Low Prices, High Costs & Storm Damage in 2024

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Tifton, GA |

2024 was without a doubt a difficult year for Georgia farmers and producers as they faced low commodity prices, high operating costs, and devastating hurricanes – things experts say have left farmers struggling with historically low income.

“The real challenge at the beginning of the year was lower prices and crop prices in particular compared to livestock prices. They were falling rapidly from the 2022 highs, so the farm revenue or cash receipts was going to be down anyway. Then we were hit with natural disasters. Hurricane Helene in particular, that wiped out, in my estimation, about thirty-eight percent of the crop receipts, revenue receipts for Georgia agriculture. So the 2024 whole year, together with the price decline and the disaster has been a very, very challenging year. The net cash income for Georgia producers is probably going to be historically low,” says Gopi Munisamy, a Professor at the University of Georgia.

To make matters worse, Munisamy says that those challenges from 2024 will unfortunately carry over into this year, which will create more difficulties for producers, especially when it comes to working capital.

“The first thing is the low prices that I talked about at the beginning of 2024; they’re going to continue into 2025. The second thing is working capital that you need to operate your farm is down 6.9 percent nationally, but given that we lost a significant amount of revenue because of Hurricane Helene, our farmers are going to be even shorter on working capital. So for them to get their machines up and running, the infrastructure put in place, buy seeds, buy fertilizers, they’re going to be very challenged,” says Munisamy.

However, the livestock sector has had a different tale to tell, as last year, the cattle inventory remained low which kept prices high – a trend experts say will continue this year.

“We’re seeing those tight supplies continue, should continue through 2025. That’s going to support those higher prices again going forward into 2025. We’ve already seen that at the cow calf level, where we’re seeing prices up fifteen, twenty percent year over year again at the beginning of 2025,” says Will Secor, UGA Extension Livestock Economist.

For poultry, Secor believes the industry, as it typically does, will remain strong this year, but says there is some uncertainty as Avian Influenza continues to spread, which Secor says for now, has continued to only effect egg prices.

“Because of chicken’s lower price at the meat counter in grocery stores, we expect that the chicken demand is probably going to remain relatively strong. That being said, if we run into any HPAI issues that could hurt some of the production and might raise prices going forward. The biggest effects that we’re seeing right now is in eggs. Those prices have been up since about mid-November. Those have been up about forty percent, depending on where you are in the country. So those prices are going to be the biggest direct effect. Usually egg layers seem to be the most impacted by HPAI. We’re starting to see some more in commercial broiler production that could potentially have an impact in chicken prices, but right now we haven’t seen that in the data, at least to this point,” says Secor.

By: John Holcomb

Georgia Farmers Gain Access to Vital Water Source After 13-Year Ban

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Tifton, GA |

Despite the countless hours that go into preparing the land, choosing the right variety and protecting against pests and diseases, no crop can be successful without the proper amount of water. And for more than a decade the largest underground source in the region has been unavailable to farmers here in Georgia. However, thanks to a new ruling from the EPD, those restrictions have been lifted.

“EPD will begin accepting applications for new withdrawals from the Floridan aquifer in southwest Georgia beginning in April of 2025. That’s certainly welcomed news as that area’s been under a moratorium now for, thirteen years. The news is, as I say, certainly welcomed for growers in that area. The Floridan aquifer is a fantastic resource for farmers in that area. It supports hundreds of thousands of acres of irrigation,” says Mark Masters, Director for the Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center.

With a number of counties in that part of the state experiencing abnormally dry conditions in 2024, having the aquifer as a possible option for irrigation is exciting news.

“The Floridan is a resource in terms of groundwater that is more readily accessible for most of the growers in Southwest Georgia in terms of the cost of tapping that resource unlike some of the deeper aquifers. And so, for farmers that may be looking to expand their irrigated acreage in some way, this is an important development,” says Masters.

Despite the ruling that allows for these new drilling permits, there will still be some restrictions on water usage in order to maintain the ecosystem.

“This is not opening up to just unlimited acreage forever. These new permits will have some drought restrictions on them because as we now know, there is that tight connection and we want to make sure that we are maintaining adequate stream flows in some of those critical areas. And so, these new permits will have some drought restrictions in place, but again, in most years, this is going to be a really good resource for our farmers,” says Masters.

Being good stewards of the land, which includes maximizing water efficiency, is a cornerstone within the farming community and one of the major factors that went into this new ruling.

“One of the main reasons we’re able to make this announcement and that we got this good news from the governor’s office is that over this same period of time, we’ve been able to demonstrate that our farmers are really good stewards of the resource. And so, we understand that their use is highly efficient and that they’re taking care of our shared water resources. That’s gone a long way to helping us get to this place where we’re now able to begin expanding some of that use,” says Masters.

This is also a culmination of plenty of hard work behind the scenes, where researchers, administrators, and most importantly, farmers worked together in order to come up with a resolution.

“As much as Farm Bureau has been involved with getting that moratorium looked at and lifted for everything from frost protection to irrigation wells, it probably wouldn’t have moved as fast if it hadn’t had been for Farm Bureau. So, to all of the people down in that part of the state that are Farm Bureau members, thank you for helping us get the ball rolling,” says Tom McCall, Georgia Farm Bureau President.

By: Damon Jones

Georgia Farm Bureau Unites County Leaders to Strengthen Agriculture Advocacy

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Perry, GA |

Georgia Farm Bureau recently hosted more than one hundred and fifty county presidents from all over the state under one roof – an event that’s meant to facilitate the chance for county, grassroot leaders to fellowship, communicate, and learn more about the organization they are representing on a local level.

“Everything we do and everything we advocate for starts at the county level. At the local level, it doesn’t come from top down, it comes from the counties up. Which is why we say we are the grassroots organization, for agriculture in Georgia. So when you get all of the people from all over the state together in one place where they can talk to each other, and they all got similar problems, they all have some of the similar solutions. And, when they can talk to each other and maybe sit in some of these breakout sessions that we’re doing, it speaks some ideas that they can take back home, or they can tell us how they want things to be done as a state organization,” says Georgia Farm Bureau President, Tom McCall.

Of course, being a grassroots organization that is the voice for the state’s ag industry comes with an active and engaged membership, which is why during one of the breakout sessions, county presidents were educated on the political landscape and empowered to become advocates and promote advocacy efforts back in their counties.

“Legislators, they are very busy people and it makes the most difference when they can put a face with a name behind an organization. So when we have this huge member base behind us and more members reaching out, calling, even texting, writing, or hosting events and meeting those legislators face to face, then it creates more of a physical community for them to connect with rather than sending a letter and then maybe just seeing a signature or a bunch of signatures and a bunch of names,” says Amelia Junod, GFB Advocacy & Policy Development Specialist.

Of course, having engaged members that advocate is vital to the future of the industry and the organization, however, one important part of that is having a unified and consistent message for those outside of the industry and organization to hear.

“We know that consistency builds credibility and as an organization that’s been around for more than a hundred years, we’ve got a lot of credibility already, but there’s still so many people that don’t know who we are and what we do as an organization. It’s our hope that we can empower these really talented, grassroots level leaders, to go out and have those conversations with prospective Farm Bureau members, and having consistency in that messaging helps to ensure that whether they’re joining in North Georgia or South Georgia or middle Georgia, that they understand that Farm Bureau is the trusted voice of agriculture; that we serve farmers and ranchers and rural communities of all types, that they understand that we support one another, that we speak with the united voice and that we give back to our communities. We do that because everyone depends on a successful American agricultural system, and it’s our job as Farm Bureau to work alongside farmers and ranchers to make sure that our food, fuel and fiber, supplies are safe, sustainable, and secure,” says Austin Large, Senior Director for Membership & Organization Development for AFBF.

By: John Holcomb

Wild Hog Supper 2025: Celebrating Agriculture & Unity Before Georgia’s Legislative Session

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Atlanta, GA |

As the sun began to set on the Capitol the night of January twelfth, the smell of barbecue filled the air just outside of the Georgia Freight Depot as this year’s hog was being smoked, which could only mean one thing:  the 62nd annual Wild Hog Supper, an event that’s traditionally held on the eve of the legislative session, was underway.

“For sixty-two years there’s been a party where they’ve all come together. Members of the General Assembly, members of the public have all come together, sort of celebrate being together. There are no bills moving yet, nobody’s mad. Everybody’s really having a good time. And so it’s just a great tradition that brings the members of the General Assembly together, along with the public,” says Danah Craft, Executive Director of Feeding Georgia.

As Craft stated, the event is meant to be a friendly one, bringing together legislators, lobbyists, and the public before the serious business of lawmaking begins. However, it also serves to celebrate the great partnership between Feeding Georgia, Georgia Grown, and the state’s farmers and farm families.

“The partnership between the Department of Agriculture and Georgia Grown is a phenomenal partnership where we bring our number one industry in partnering with those groups like Feeding Georgia and our food banks all across the state that are helping our families that are food insecure get food on their table. I think that is an important partnership, because our farm families all across Georgia that produce that food ends up on that plate. We help be the conduit in helping provide that access to those food banks for those farm families as well as for those families that need that additional assistance,” says Tyler Harper, Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture.

Beyond celebrating partnerships, the event also serves as an opportunity to highlight agriculture and its importance as Georgia’s number one industry.

“It’s the unofficial official kickoff to the General Assembly. So, it’s awesome to get our legislators and state leaders together, obviously with a focus on our number one industry. So, obviously the department and Georgia grown and being the commissioner and our friends in the agricultural industry that are that are involved in this, along with Feeding Georgia; we get that first opportunity to have those conversations with legislators as the session gets kicked off here tomorrow, and gives us that opportunity to remind them how important our number one industry is, how important it is to support our farm families, how important it is to ensure that those families that are insecure, that they’re able to have access to high quality food that Georgia farmers produce every single day,” says Harper.

“Our hosts are the House and Senate agriculture committees and Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper. All of those members of those committees are here, as well as other members of the General Assembly. So it’s an opportunity to lift up the importance of agriculture. A lot of our sponsors are from the agriculture community, and they are here as well. So, yes, it’s a celebratory event, but it’s also a networking event, right? It’s an opportunity to bring your issues here to members of the General Assembly, but also to celebrate the work that General Assembly does to help keep Georgia’s number one industry strong,” says Craft.

By: John Holcomb

Hurricane Helene’s Devastation and Recovery: Improving Rural Power

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Waynesboro, GA |

Hurricane Helene is a storm that certainly will not be forgotten, as it was a storm that caused more devastation than ever seen as it ripped through the heart of rural Georgia, destroying anything in its path, including critical infrastructure such as the power grid.

“Hurricane Helene was the most devastating storm to hit Georgia Power ever. Many people remember the damage that was caused by Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Matthew. Hurricane Helene actually did much more damage than those three storms combined. Hurricane Matthew took down about 2000 power poles – Hurricane Helene took down twelve thousand,” says Kim Greene, Georgia Power CEO.

Though the destruction was no doubt overwhelming, Kim says they immediately went to work restoring the more than one million customers without power, but says they didn’t just work to restore the grid, they worked to restore it better than it was before.

“In many cases in this storm, we weren’t just restoring power, we were rebuilding the grid. The grid had been so terribly damaged that we actually had to start all over, and when you do that, you have the opportunity in some cases, for example, instead of using a wooden pole, you might be able to use a concrete or a steel pole. So you have a more resilient system. We also have upgraded much of our equipment and are in the process of doing that across the state. It really does give us an opportunity to make improvements to our grid that we would normally have been planning to do anyway and we’ll just do it while we’re out there restoring after the storm damage,” says Greene.

Though most will never notice the improvements on a day-to-day basis, the technology can have a big impact by increasing efficiency when nature strikes.

“You see transformers everywhere. A lot of people know what transformer is, but there’s other devices, like sectionializers and re-closures, trip savers. Those type devices are what allows us to keep the power on in a more timely manner, opposed to where you may have just a fuse blow in and your power stays out until somebody can come fix it; a re-closer and a trip saver device that’s on these poles; these automatically restore power,” says Denver Barrett, Georgia Power Engineering Rep.

According to Barrett, these improvements and investments are essential for everyone, but especially those in rural parts of the state that tend to be at the edge of service areas.

“What we do is we go around our areas, rural areas, where in the past, you just don’t see equipment like that. Usually you see that in kind of technology in your more populated areas. We’re trying to focus on our more rural areas. Those customers matter, they’re just as important as everybody else. A lot of our farmers, with their pivots and irrigation systems, they’re at the end of these lines in these rural areas. That’s where we’re trying to get a lot of this system implemented, so we can have quicker restoration time and just provide them with a more reliable system,” says Barrett.

By: John Holcomb