Tag Archives: Sustainable Agriculture

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

Southeast Farmers Tackle Herbicide Compliance & Sustainability at Regional Conference

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Savannah, GA |

Fruit and vegetable growers from all over the Southeast made their way to the annual Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable conference – an event that’s meant to equip producers within the industry with all the tools and knowledge that they need to see success back on their operations and remain sustainable for years to come.

“There is an intrinsic value in coming together and visiting with old friends and strengthening those existing relationships; those matter, because in these tough times, those are the people that you can count on. So, it’s great just to bring everybody together in the same room. It’s also great to bring everybody together and get them up to date on rules for compliance, on things like the H-2A labor program, pesticide regulations and other regulations. They face a whole host of agencies that are worried about what’s going on, and we need to make sure that we’re providing them with the correct information to stay on the right side of compliance,” says Chris Butts, Executive Vice President for the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.

Compliance of course a huge topic of concern for growers as they adapt to changing herbicide requirements as the EPA works to develop a framework to ensure growers and producers are applying herbicides in a way that is on target and adheres to the Endangered Species Act: one of which has to do with mitigating surface runoff.

“We will have specific mitigation requirements to prevent the pesticide from leaving the field through runoff, and we will be given certain points on a herbicide label that we must meet. For example, there’s a product out now called Liberty Ultra, it’s the first real example. It has three points for runoff. So, me as a grower, to apply that product I have to achieve three points in mitigation measures on my field to be able to use that product. So we have this new restriction, but we also are providing the mitigation measures, right? It’s not just one or two measures; there’s a bunch of measures to help ensure the product stays on target,” says Stanley Culpepper, Extension Weed Scientist.

Culpepper says they also have specific requirements when it pertains to mitigating particle drift, which again is meant to ensure producers are remaining on-target when using.

“There’s certain measures that we can do as applicators to make sure what goes on target. Just to give you an example, if we’re twenty-four inches above the target versus forty-eight inches above the target, we cut off target or drift movement by fifty percent just from that one measure, and they have developed a credit system where we can reduce buffer. Again, each time we implement one of these measures, that I promise our science based, you’re doing a better job,” says Culpepper.

Culpepper says that growers shouldn’t be worried about this right now as this is the time to become educated, however, he believes growers need to be engaged with this process as much as possible.

“We’ve been working on this for three to five years. We have a lot of growers in the state of Georgia that have monumentally changed where we’re at on the Endangered Species Act today versus two years ago. I am not kidding when I tell you what was proposed two years ago, we wouldn’t have a farm left. We would not have a farm left if it was not for the engagement from our agricultural community, including our farmers. Working together with a little time, we will not only overcome these challenges, we will be better for putting the product on target, keeping it there. Keep in mind, long term, everybody knows what’s happening in our country, but long term, if we cannot make sure these products go exactly where they need to go and they stay there, you’re not going to have them,” says Culpepper.

By: John Holcomb

Kaleb & Kaitlyn Marchant: Passionate Advocates for Georgia Agriculture

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Athens, GA |

Few couples embody the spirit of Georgia Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers program more than Kaleb and Kaitlyn Marchant. Currently serving as the fourth district’s representative on the YF&R committee, each have dedicated their lives to advancing the industry here in Georgia. And for that reason, they were recently named this year’s Excellence in Agriculture winners.

“We were very excited. It was a goal that Kaleb and I have had for several years that we had been working towards. We’ve been really invested in the Young Farmers and Ranchers program for ten or twelve years now. So, to see that kind of pan out into that recognition was really rewarding,” says Kaitlyn Marchant.

“We have a passion for agriculture. I know a lot of people say that, but we really had a passion, and we are ingrained in this industry, and we just feel really glad that we were able to receive this award,” says Kaleb Marchant.

Both Kaleb and Kaitlyn developed their passion for agriculture at an early age growing up around family farms. And it’s a something they are hoping to pass down through Ag education.

“Both Kaleb and I did grow up in families who had been involved in production agriculture, but we didn’t have that opportunity necessarily to inherit or take over those operations, both of us kind of went into careers where we could make sure that those opportunities were still available for future generations,” says Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn, who is also the 2019 GFB Young Farmers and Ranchers discussion meet winner, spent her first twelve years in the classroom as a teacher and recently took on a new role as the North Region ag education coordinator.

“Being in the classroom, I really enjoyed getting to work with students who were passionate about agriculture, and as I’ve transitioned to working with the Department of Education, it’s been being that support person for Ag educators because I did that job for so long and kind of understood some of the struggles and the challenges that are faced by Ag education in the state. Being able to work to promote that on the state level on the government level for teachers has been really rewarding,” says Kaitlyn.

Kaleb is now the farm manager at UGA’s Double Bridges Farm beef and sheep unit, where he not only trains the next generation of large animal vets, but also oversees some cutting-edge research.

“I help assist with hands on learning for students who want to be veterinarians primarily, and also students who want to get into farming. We also do research on beef cattle and a little bit on sheep where we’re looking at different types of feed ingredients and methane production that they do and different grazing experiments as well,” says Kaleb.

Thanks to educators like the Marchants, agriculture has a bright future here in Georgia.

“I feel like in my role as an agriculture educator, and in the work that Kaleb has done working with the University and in research, we’re really working to promote the industry and make sure the industry stays viable in Georgia for many years to come,” says Kaitlyn.

By: Damon Jones