Georgia Farm Bureau News - August / September 2011 Issue

FARM BUREAUThe Voice of Georgia Farmers

N E W S

G E O R G I AVol. 73 No. 5 August-September 2011

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GeorGia Farm Bureau News auGust-septemBer / 3

table of contentsaugust/september 2011

departmentswe, the farmers

PAGE 4

legislative updatePAGE 5

commodities updatePAGE 10

around georgiaPAGE 20

young farmer updatePAGE 22

public relations staff Paul Beliveau Director Jennifer Whittaker Editor Lillian Davis Publications/Advertising Manager Jay Stone Print/Web Specialist Denny Moore TV Producer/Anchor Rick Treptow Senior Radio-TV Specialist Michael Edmondson Web/Video Manager Mark Wildman Radio-TV Specialist Dean Wood Radio-TV Specialist Damon Jones Radio-TV Specialist Vickie Amos Office Coordinator

For questions about your membership or member benefits, call 1-800-633-5432.

For questions regarding editorial content call 478-474-0679, ext. 5334 or e-mail

[email protected]

For questions regarding advertising contact Hurst and Associates, Inc., 1-800-397-8908

Visit the GFB Web site today! www.gfb.org

(Photo by Jay Stone) This bird’s-eye view of the Sunbelt Expo farm was shot in 2010. Hours for the 2011 Sunbelt Expo are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 18-19 and from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 20. Admission is $10 per day per person or $20 for a multi-day pass. Children 12 and under are free with a parent. Visit www.sunbeltexpo.com for more information.

GFB Commodity Conference offers look at CAES Athens campusGFB Commodity Committee members toured research facilities on the Athens campus of the College of Agricultural & En-vironmental Sciences. UGA researcher Manjinder Singh (left) discusses biofuel research he is doing with algae. The conference also included a farm bill update from AFBF Economist Bob Young and a welcome to the campus from CAES Dean Dr. Scott Angle. PAGE 6

GFB holds Young Farmer Leadership ConferenceAbout 200 young farmers participated in the 2011 Georgia Farm Bureau Young Farmer Leadership Conference held July 23 and 24 at Callaway Gardens. Pictured from left, GFB YF Committee members Ashlee Wood, Janie Tyre and Dawn Hall pre-sented a workshop on using social media to tell farmers’ story. The event also included the preliminary rounds of the GFB Discussion Meet. PAGE 8

Sunbelt Expo, Oct. 18-20 It’s not too early to start making plans to attend Sunbelt Expo, Oct. 18-20. Georgia Farm Bureau is partnering with the Ga. Dept. of Agriculture in sponsoring a new Georgia agricul-ture building. Be sure to visit GFB in its new exhibit location right past the main gate. Berrien County Farm Bureau member Carlos Vickers will represent Georgia in the Sunbelt Farmer contest, and we’ve got highlights from the annual Sunbelt Field Day. PAGE 12

Metal thieves top farmers’ most wanted listMetal theft has been a growing problem for Georgia farmers in recent years as the price of copper and aluminum has increased to record highs. We take a look at the issue and how Crisp County farmer Hal McCay is working with his sheriff’s department to prevent future thefts. PAGE 14

Georgia Peanut Commission breaks ground for new buildingThe Georgia Peanut Commission broke ground in August for the new building it plans to build off Interstate 75 in Tifton. An estimated 100,000 cars travel past the building site each day making it an ideal spot to promote Georgia peanuts, GPC officials say. PAGE 18

New fumigant management plans for produce growersGeorgia’s fruit and vegetable growers now have to comply with new soil fumigant manage-ment plan requirements placed in effect on Jan. 1 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA rules target the use of methyl bromide, chloropicrin, metam sodium, metam potassium and dazomet used on farms and require growers to have a detailed fumi-gant management plan in place along with specialized breathing equipment. PAGE 19

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4 / auGust-septemBer 2011 GeorGia Farm Bureau News

It has been a very long, hot sum-mer, but each passing day brings us one day closer to fall and cooler weather. Boys growing up in Georgia relish the memories of Friday night football, as do the parents, siblings and fans who cheer their players on from the stands. Noth-ing brings a community together like a high school football game. Country music singer Kenny Chesney says it best in his song “Boys of Fall.” High school football is about families, communities and teamwork. I’m proud to announce that Geor-gia Farm Bureau is teaming up with the Georgia High School Association this fall to support communities across Georgia and their youth while promot-ing our local Farm Bureaus. The youth who will take to the field are among the future leaders of our communities and our state, so ... GO TEAMS! This fall, GFB is also teaming up with the University of Georgia to promote our organization and Georgia agriculture with ads on the back of the tickets for home football games. The UGA Athletic Association offered us this opportunity, and we thought it was a great way to get the 92,746 fans who fill the stadium seats each game to think about Farm Bureau and the farmers who grow their food. In July, the Georgia Farm Bureau Board of Directors decided to join a team - the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA). This team is made up of agriculture and commodity organiza-tions from around the country. USFRA’s vision is to enhance consumer trust in the U.S. food production system while maintaining and enhancing the free-dom of U.S. farmers and ranchers to

operate in a responsible manner. As farmers, we work hard to safely produce food for consumers around the world. The USFRA is uniting many different agriculture groups behind the common goal of answering consumers’ questions about how we produce their food and educating consumers about the steps farmers take to protect the environment and care for our livestock. You can learn more about this effort and get involved at http://usfraonline.org In late July, GFB had a great Young Farmer Leadership Conference at Cal-laway Gardens attended by more than 200 young farmers from around the state. A record 23 contestants com-peted for the final four spots of the GFB Young Farmer Discussion Meet to be held during our annual convention in December, and the GFB Young Farmer Achievement finalists were named. Conference attendees also selected the winners of the GFB photo con-test. The winning photos will be used on the 2012 Young Farmer calendar. Congratulations to our winners! You can read more about the conference on pages 8-9 and the photo contest on page 22. We had a lot of good fellowship and fun, and my family is already looking forward to next year’s conference. The 2011 GFB Commodity Confer-ence was held August 11 in Athens at the University of Georgia. This confer-ence gave our commodity leaders the chance to tour some of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sci-ences’ research facilities on the Athens campus. GFB’s commodity committees play a major role in leading this organi-

we, the

farmersZippy Duvall, GFB President

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FARM BUREAUG E O R G I A

N E W SThe Voice of Georgia Farmers

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ZIPPY DUVALL

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Treasurer/Corporate SecretaryWAYNE DANIEL

General CounselDUKE GROOVER

DIRECTORSFIRST DISTRICT: Henry J. West, Rydal SEC-OND DISTRICT: Bobby Gunter, Dahlonega; Randy Ruff, Elberton THIRD DISTRICT: George Chambers, Carrollton; Nora Goodman, Temple FOURTH DISTRICT: Marvin Ruark, Bishop; Wil-liam Hutchins, Winder FIFTH DISTRICT: Jim Ham, Smarr; Ralph Adamson Jr., Barnesville SIXTH DISTRICT: James Emory Tate, Denton; James Malone, Dexter SEVENTH DISTRICT: Ben Boyd, Sylvania; Gennis Folsom, Glennville EIGHTH DISTRICT: Phil Redding, Bluffton; Don Wood, Rochelle NINTH DISTRICT: Paul Shirah, Camilla; Lucius Adkins, Elmodel TENTH DIS-TRICT: David Lee, Alma; Daniel Johnson, Alma YOUNG FARMER CHAIRMAN: Wesley Hall, Cumming WOMEN’S COMMITTEE CHAIR: Donna Powell, Pelham

ADVERTISING POLICY All advertising accepted subject to publisher’s approval. Advertisers must assume liability for content of their advertising. Publisher maintains right to cancel advertising for non-payment or reader complaint about advertiser service or products. Publisher does not accept per-order, political or alcoholic beverage ads, nor does publisher prescreen or guarantee advertiser service or products. Publisher assumes no liability for products or services advertised in the Georgia Farm Bureau News. For advertising rates and information, contact Hurst and Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 6011, Vernon Hills, IL 60061, 1-800-397-8908. Georgia Farm Bureau News was established in 1937. Copyright 2011 by the Georgia Farm Bureau Federa-tion. Printed by Panaprint, Macon, Georgia.

Teammates

Future GFB members discuss the art of hula hooping with GFB President Zippy Duvall during a cookout at the GFB Young Farmer Leadership Confer-ence in July.

See WE, THE FARMERS page 16

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legislative updateJon Huffmaster, Legislative Director

No new CDL regs for farmers

The U.S. Department of Transporta-tion’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) made a

good decision when it announced August 10 there would be no changes for farm-ers related to commercial driver’s licenses (CDL). After the stir the issue created in the countryside this summer, everybody wanted to make that clear. “We have no intention of instituting onerous regulations on the hardworking farmers who feed our country and fuel our economy,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a press release. U.S. DOT Deputy Secretary John Por-cari added, “We want to make it absolutely clear that farmers will not be subjected to new and impractical safety regulations.” Also weighing in, FMCSA Adminis-trator Anne Ferro said, “We want to make crystal clear that we are not imposing any new regulations.” All this clarity was needed because some state departments of transporta-tion muddied the waters. For example, the Illinois Department of Transportation decided that farmers who entered into “crop-share” leasing arrangements were no longer exempt from CDL requirements when hauling crops to market. Illinois’ logic (or the lack thereof) was if a farmer hauled a crop to market, a CDL exemption existed. However, the exemp-tion was lost if that same farmer hauled any portion of the landowner’s crop be-cause that neighborly act transformed the CDL-exempt farmer into a nonexempt commercial carrier. Illinois DOT also ad-hered to a strict definition of commercial motor vehicles (CMV). Any motor vehicle weighing more than 10,000 pounds that traveled on a public road was considered a CMV subject to CDL requirements, even if that vehicle was a tractor or a combine. Predictably, farmers in Illinois object-ed to the new interpretation of CDL rules. Illinois Farm Bureau protested to the U.S. DOT for relief. Before being named

Secretary of Transportation by President Obama, LaHood, a Republican, served in the Illinois Legislature and was elected to seven terms in the U.S. House of Repre-sentatives from Illinois’ 18th congressio-nal district. A FMCSA investigation found wide discrepancies in how the rules were being applied in different states. FMCSA de-cided to ask for public input. On May 31, FMCSA asked the public to comment on three specific questions. 1 – What is the best way to differen-tiate between interstate and intrastate commerce? The answer is important because it determines whether or not a farmer is exempt from CDL require-ments. At issue was whether farmers would be able to retain their current CDL exemption for hauling farm prod-ucts to in-state markets within 150 miles from the farm. 2 – Should farmers engaged in “crop-share” leasing arrangements be exempt from CDL requirements? The state of Illinois argued that farmers with such leasing agreements should be sub-ject to CDL rules. 3 – Should CDLs be required to drive “implements of husbandry” (farm equipment) on public roads? A strict interpretation of the definition of CMVs would expand the regulations to the point that driving a tractor on a public road, even for a short distance, would require a CDL license. FMCSA never actually proposed these items as rule changes. They simply invit-ed public comment on the concepts, and that invitation was vigorously accepted by farmers all over the country. American Farm Bureau, Georgia Farm Bureau, most other state Farm Bureaus and hundreds of county Farm Bureaus submitted com-ments before the August 1 deadline. “FMCSA is pleased with the input we’ve received from the agricultural com-munity and members of Congress,” said

FMCSA Administrator Ferro. “We re-ceived about 1,700 comments and the vast majority called for us to preserve the guid-ance that leaves states to carry out the farm exceptions as they have for many years.” GFB President Zippy Duvall submit-ted comments for Georgia Farm Bureau on July 27. “If all farm vehicles are classified as commercial motor vehicles, we believe many small farmers will be forced out of production agriculture,” wrote Duvall. He noted that smaller farmers could not ab-sorb CDL compliance costs. On the issue of “crop-share” lease agreements, Duvall noted that changing the rules could be counterproductive. If landowners were required to get another carrier to haul their commodities, the re-sult would be to have additional trucks on the road. “Additionally, it is difficult to un-derstand why the same truck hauling the sharecropper’s portion would be consid-ered unsafe if the landlord’s portion were added to it,” wrote Duvall. GFB’s comments also pointed out the difficulties that would accompany CDL requirements for farm implements. “How would CDL examiners evalu-ate a driver’s abilities while operating farm implements? Where would the test-ing occur?” asked Duvall. While farmers are committed to high-way safety, Duvall stated that, “Additional regulations can have a negative impact on rural communities without contributing significantly to safety.” Secretary LaHood spoke to state Farm Bureau presidents at a July 13 AFBF meeting in Washington, D.C. During his comments, LaHood said, “We’ll get it right, but we need you to comment so we can get it right.” Because of agriculture’s strong, unified voice, Washington actually got it right. Maybe there’s a lesson in that. Jon Huffmaster is director of the GFB Legislative Department.


Members of Georgia Farm Bureau’s 20 commodity committees toured teach-ing and research facilities on the Athens campus of the University of Georgia’s Col-lege of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences during the organization’s annual commodity conference held Aug. 11. Com-mittee members took tours of UGA’s Dou-ble Bridges Farm, Biorefining Research and Education Center, Poultry Research Center, Whitehall Forest and Horticulture Research Trial Gardens. At Double Bridges Farm, where ani-mal science research and instruction is being conducted, Dr. Robert Stewart of the CAES Animal and Dairy Science Depart-ment said the college’s animal science pro-grams are drawing increasing numbers of students with limited experience interact-ing with large animals. The department’s enrollment has grown from approximately 140 in the fall of 2004 to more than 300 in 2011, with many of the new students com-ing from the metro Atlanta area. During the tour of the Biorefining Research and Education Center, GFB committee members heard presentations on research CAES staff is doing to create biofuel from biomass, algae, poultry litter

GFB Commodity Conference offers look at CAES Athens campusBy Jay Stone and Jennifer Whittaker___________________________________

and food waste. Researchers explained how they hope their research will one day enable farmers to run their farms with biofuel made from biomass or waste products con-verted into fuel in digesters on the farm. CAES Dean Dr. Scott Angle told con-ference attendees that student enrollment in the college is a bright spot for the college in these times of bad budget news. “One thing that’s gone really well for the college in the last six years is we’ve got our numbers up to 1,900, and I think enrollment will be over 2,000 for the com-ing year,” Angle said. “We’ve done this by recruiting students at a young age and adopting a transfer policy that helps us get students into UGA. We look to see if students have a 4-H or FFA background that indicates they really have an interest in agriculture and will stay in our college.” Angle advised parents and grandpar-ents with students interested in attending CAES to have the students start working to meet UGA entrance requirements in junior high or at least by the first two years of high school. American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist Bob Young kicked off the conference with an update on the status of the 2012 farm bill. In light of efforts Congress is making to

reduce the national debt, Young said fund-ing for USDA programs, direct payments in particular, are likely to be cut. Young also reviewed the timeline for Congress to produce legislation that would trim the budget, beginning with the appoint-ment of a Joint Committee on Debt Reduction. The joint commit-tee is scheduled to submit a debt-reducing spending package by Dec. 2 and Congress is to hold an up or down vote on it by Dec. 23. “This is some-thing that is going to happen in a short period of time,” Young said, “and direct pay-ments are very clearly in the crosshairs.” GFB committee members spent the afternoon of the conference reviewing GFB policy pertinent to their respective commodities.

Dr. Robert Stewart discussed the uses of UGA’s Double Bridges Farm, a 237-acre research and teaching farm located on the line between Clarke and Oglethorpe counties.

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During a tour of the UGA Biorefining Research and Education Center, GFB Commodity Committee members inspect biomass UGA researchers are studying as possible fuel sources.

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Bob Young

Dr. Scott Angle

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Farmers voice H-2A concerns to Reps. Scott & Kingston

More than 80 farmers voiced their concerns to U.S. Reps. Austin Scott (R-8th District) and Jack Kingston (R-1st District) during a listening session on Aug. 16 at the

National Environmentally Sound Produc-tion Agriculture Laboratory in Tifton. Kingston said he is working on legisla-tion to restructure the H-2A program, tak-ing steps to counteract what he and Scott both referred to as a “gotcha” culture in

By Jay Stone___________________________________

Former Georgia Farm Bureau 1st Vice President Donald Childs of Jack-son County received the 2011 GFB Commodity Award during the orga-nization’s annual commodity confer-ence. “I really didn’t do any of the things I’ve done for an award,” said Childs. “It’s a great organization. I’m proud to have been a part of it. I hope I can be a part of it for many more years.” Childs began his leadership role with Farm Bureau in 1956, when he was asked to serve as a Jackson County Farm Bureau director. He was elected president of JCFB in 1978, serving to 1982 and again from 2003 to 2006. He still serves as county vice president. He was elected to the Georgia Farm Bureau Board of Directors in 1979 as a director for the GFB 2nd District and served in this position until 1984 when he was elected as a GFB vice president. In 1994 he was elected GFB 1st vice president and served in this position until his retirement in 2008. “We’re very honored to be able to recognize somebody that’s meant so much to our organization and to Georgia agriculture,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said. “Everyone in Geor-gia Farm Bureau knows of Donald’s dedication and devotion to the orga-nization. Donald is a hero to me and Farm Bureau because he has and will forever focus on family first.” During Childs’ time on the state board, he served on various commit-tees at the state level, and he chaired the legislative and policy development

committees during his tenure as 1st vice president. He has supported the GFB Hay Commodity Advisory Com-mittee for many years and has been instrumental in securing Vermeer equipment as the top prize for the annual GFB Quality Hay Contest. Childs has also served as a vot-ing delegate for the American Farm Bureau Federation and served on the Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company Board of Directors from 1995 to 2008. Childs and his wife Edna Merle have been married more than 50 years. They have two sons, Steve and Jerry, who both work and live on the family’s farm in Jackson County. The Childs are members of Erastus Christian Church, where Mr. Childs has served as an elder and Sunday school chairman for many years.

Childs receives GFB Commodity Award

GFB President Zippy Duvall (left) pres-ents Donald Childs of Jackson County with the 2011 Georgia Farm Bureau Commodity Award.

By Jay Stone_________________________________

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the Legal Services Corporation, moving the H-2A program under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Agriculture, doing away with H-2A’s 50-percent rule and addressing problems with the Adverse Effective Wage Rate. Sen. Saxby Chambliss introduced S. 1384 in the Senate on July 19 to address many of the same concerns. Kingston and Scott received questions and comments on a variety of topics re-lated to the immigration issue, including complaints about Legal Services. Scott has introduced H.R. 2774, a bill to defund Le-gal Services. “We saw the end result of Legal Ser-vices and some of the things the federal government is funding with people’s tax dollars that are actually contrary to the interests of Georgia’s farmers,” Scott said. “We can cut the funding. They haven’t been reauthorized in the last 30 years, and quite honestly, if you can’t get the votes to be reauthorized, then you ought not get any money from the U.S. taxpayers.”


By Jay Stone_________________________________________________________________________

Approximately 200 young farmers from across the state participated in the 2011 Georgia Farm Bureau

Young Farmer Leadership Conference held July 23 and 24 at Callaway Gardens. The conference featured workshops on social media, agritourism, direct marketing and agricultural finances. The participants’ children explored Callaway’s attractions, including Mr. Cason’s Vegetable Garden and the Cecil B. Day Butterfly House “It’s a chance to fellowship and grow the young farmer program, because we feel like that’s where the future of Georgia Farm Bureau is, in the young farmers,” said GFB Young Farmer Chairman Wesley Hall. The event included the preliminary rounds of the GFB Young Farmer Dis-cussion Meet, the announcement of the Young Farmer Achievement Award final-ists and the selection of the GFB Photo Contest winner. The finalists for the Young Farmer Achievement Award are Chad and Julie Carlton of Polk County, Cody and Lora Lord of Laurens County and Chris and Marilynn Hopkins of Toombs County. The state winner will be announced at the GFB Convention in December. The state winners of the discussion

meet and the achievement award will receive a trip to the 2012 American Farm Bureau convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, to compete for national honors. Participants also voted on the win-ner of GFB’s 2011 Picture Agriculture in Georgia Photo Contest. The contest results are reported on page 22. “All of our farmers are looking to

their next crop, and this is our next crop of leaders here,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said of the conference. “They’re just trying to get their roots set in agri-culture, and we need to be there to assist them in each and every way.” Duvall spoke during the closing ses-sion, and he encouraged the young farm-ers to make sure they allow time for their families and their spiritual lives as they pursue ways to expand their farm busi-nesses. “Your family is the most important crop you have,” Duvall said. GFB Young Farmer Committee mem-bers Dawn Hall of Forsyth County, Janie Tyre of Bacon County and Ashlee Wood of Wilcox County presented a seminar on social media, walking participants through their efforts to tell the story of agriculture online and providing tips and lots of web-based tools for those inter-ested in blogging or engaging in social media on behalf of agriculture. Jake Carter of Henry County talked about his experiences in agritourism with Southern Belle Farm, where he and his family sell you-pick strawberries, blueber-ries and pumpkins and host farm tours for school children and families. Young Farmer Committee member Brian Ogletree presented a seminar on direct marketing, and Ricky Grice of Ag South presented a seminar on agricul-tural finances.

While the young farmers were going to workshops and participating in the discussion meet, the really young farmers went on a scavenger hunt in Mr. Cason’s Garden at Cal-laway Gardens.

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GFB holds Young Farmer Leadership Conference

GFB Young Farmer Committee member Keegan Malone spoke at lunch about the merits of involvement with Georgia’s Regional Water Councils.

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By Jay Stone___________________________________

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Kyle Dekle, Sara Ervin, Skye Gess, and Troy Windham are the 2011 Georgia Farm Bureau Young Farmer Discussion Meet final-ists selected from a record 23 contestants. Each finalist received a $50 Lowe’s card for earning a spot in the final round of competi-tion, which will take place at the annual GFB Convention in December on Jekyll Island. Each finalist will also receive a $200 travel allowance for the trip to Jekyll Island. The state winner of the December com-petition will receive a $500 cash award, an Arctic Cat 500 4x4 all-terrain vehicle and an expense-paid trip to the 2012 Ameri-can Farm Bureau Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, Jan. 8-11, to compete for national honors. The three runners-up in the state competition will each receive $250 from SunTrust Bank. The national winner will receive a heavy-duty pickup, and the three national runners-up will receive $6,000 U.S. savings bonds and a Farm Boss from Stihl. Dekle holds a degree in agricultural education from the University of Georgia and teaches ag education at Habersham Central High School, where he serves as the Future Farmers of America advisor. He and his wife Kayla live in Demorest. They are active in FFA Alumni and attend Chatta-hoochee Baptist Church in White County. Ervin holds a bachelor’s degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in rural studies and an associate degree in ani-mal science. A former state vice president of the Georgia FFA, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in agricultural leadership. Gess graduated from the University of Georgia in 2009 and is continuing her edu-cation at Mercer University, where she is involved with the Mercer Advocacy Coun-cil and the Second Amendment Society. A native of Fayette County, Gess and her fian-cé Josh Pennino are actively involved with his family farm in Oconee County raising beef cattle and custom hay and silage. The couple attends Union Christian Church in Oconee County. Windham holds a degree in horticul-ture from the University of Georgia and works for his family’s wholesale greenhouse operation. He has served on the UGA Col-

lege of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Ag Alumni Association Public Affairs Committee for the last three years. He is a 2010 graduate of Georgia Agri-Leaders and worked as agriculture liaison for former Rep. Jim Marshall. He and his wife Rebecca live in Glenwood. Other contestants in the preliminary rounds were Lanis Adams of Greene Coun-ty, Christy Bryan of Chattooga County, Jes-sica Bryant of Jackson County, Will Cabe of

Franklin County, Molly Childs of Cherokee County, Kayla Cox of Hall County, Libby Crumbley of Greene County, Jenna Daniel of Madison County, Jaclyn Ford of Berrien County, Chris Jackson of Harris County, Matthew London of White County, B.J. Marks of Newton County, Wayne McIn-vale of Crawford County, Phillip McKie of Wilcox County, Andrew Ruark of Morgan County, Clay Talton of Elbert County, Emily

Young Farmer Discussion Meet finalists selectedGFB President Zippy Duvall, left, congratu-lates Young Farmer Discussion Meet final-ists Troy Windham of Laurens County, Kyle Dekle of Habersham County and Skye Gess of Oconee County. Sara Ervin of Jackson County is not pictured. The final round will be held at the GFB Convention in December.

See FINALISTS page 13


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commodities/marketing updateJoe McManus

GFB accepting entries for hay contest

Hay in Georgia will be in strong demand this fall and winter due to the hot, dry sum-mer we faced this year. Pastures were poor for livestock owners, and many didn’t have adequate rainfall to make hay. Many pro-ducers were forced to graze their hay fields. For farmers who feed hay, as well as

hay buyers, it is important to know the quality of hay when planning a feeding program. Different types of animals require differing diets depending on animal maturity and energy requirements. Figure 1 illus-trates this concept. Georgia Farm Bureau members who grow Bermudagrass hay are encouraged to enter the GFB 2011 Quality Hay Contest. It’s a good idea to assess the qual-ity of your forage in order to evaluate your management skills. One way to appraise your management is by entering a contest that will compare your hay with similar hay from other producers. Hay entered in the contest will be tested at the University of Georgia Test-ing Lab using the Relative Forage Quality (RFQ) Test, which predicts fiber digestibil-ity and likely animal intake of hay. There is a $15 entry fee for each sample to cover the costs of the lab work. Produc-ers may enter more than one sample. The deadline to enter is Oct. 28. Winners will be determined by RFQ

The 2010 GFB Quality Hay Contest Win-ner, William A. Griffin III (left) accepts a Vermeer Rebel Trailed Mower from Ver-meer Dealer Donald Childs. Griffin won a year’s free use of the mower for winning the contest and will have the option to buy the mower at a reduced rate at the end of the year. analysis and visual inspection by a for-

age specialist. Final judging of the top five will occur at the GFB Convention on Jekyll Island in December. Winners will be announced during the Hay Commodity Conference on Dec. 5. Contest participants will receive a detailed copy of their hay analysis informa-tion and a free listing in the GFB Hay direc-tory, if they so choose. Prizes will be presented to the top five producers. The first place winner will receive the free use for one year of a Ver-meer Trailed Hay Mower, compliments of the Vermeer Manufacturing Company. The winner will have the option to pur-chase the mower at a reduced price at the end of the year. Figure 1 illustrates the ranges of Rela-tive Forage Quality measures suitable for various livestock classes. According to UGA Extension Forage Agronomist Dr. Dennis Hancock, “These ranges illustrate the RFQ values that are most likely to minimize supplementation. Just because a forage lot falls within these recommended ranges does not mean that it will automati-cally provide all the nutrients needed for the livestock. One does not use RFQ to

(Continued on next page)

GFB members with hay or poultry litter for sale are invited to list their farm in the 2012 GFB Quality Hay & Litter Directory. The directory will be printed in late November. Produc-ers should complete an informational form and send it to the GFB office in Macon along with a check for $10 for each listing. Checks should be made out to Georgia Farm Bureau. Because this publication is used for the entire year, producers should include normal and projected produc-tion of round and square bales antici-pated for sale. Poultry litter can be listed on the same form. Directories are distributed to all

county Farm Bureau offices, county Extension offices, the Georgia Cattle-men’s Association, cattle producers, dairy producers, horse owners, directory participants, the Sunbelt Expo and at the annual GFB convention. The directory is also listed on the GFB website. Forms for both the GFB Quality Hay Contest and the Quality Hay/Poultry Litter Directory are available at your county Farm Bureau Office or on our website at http://www.gfb.org. Contact Joe McManus at 1-800-342-1196 for more information on the hay contest or the hay/poultry litter direc-tory. The deadline to submit applica-tions is Oct. 28.

GFB to publish hay/litter directory

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Relative Forage Quality (RFQ) RequiredFigure 1. The Relative Forage Quality (RFQ) range that is suitable to various livestock classes. Adapted from Under-sander et al., 2011.


Bale Weight

Bale Size ---- Density, (lbs per ft3) ----

Width Height 9 10 11 12

(ft) (lbs of DM/bale)

4.0 4.0 450 500 550 600

4.0 4.5 570 640 700 760

4.0 5.0 710 790 860 940

5.0 4.0 570 630 690 750

5.0 4.5 720 800 870 950

5.0 5.0 880 980 1080 1180

5.0 5.5 1070 1190 1310 1430

5.0 6.0 1270 1410 1560 1700

Table 1. Estimated dry weight or dry matter (DM) of bales for the most com-mon bale dimensions at different bale densities.

(Continued from previous page)develop a ration. RFQ provides a reason-able first approximation as to whether a forage will provide a cost-effective base to the diet being fed to the selected animal class. An RFQ value that is lower than the identified range could still work for the animal class that is being fed. However, additional supplementation will likely be required. This additional supplementation may make the ration (forage + supple-ment) uneconomical.”

Estimating bale weights Hay bale weights are important when buying large round bales of hay. Often producers will use the approximate weights from the baler’s manual. Depending on the baler’s settings, this may or may not be accurate. For an accurate weight of hay being purchased, a scale ticket is needed to verify the tonnage. If paying on a per-bale basis, weigh a few random bales from the field, if possible, and take an average. In order to estimate the bale weight, the density of the bale must be taken into

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account. Estimates made by Dr. Hancock are listed in Table 1. According to Dr. Hancock, in order to estimate density you must consider that most modern round balers will make a bale that is between 9 and 12 lbs. of dry matter (DM) per cubic foot. Bales that are very loose and spongy when pressed are likely to have a bale density of 9 lbs. If the bale deforms only slightly when pressed or spiked, it is likely to be approximately 10 lbs. DM per cubic foot. If the bale is rigid but deforms when pressed hard or spiked, it is likely to be approximately 11 lbs. If the bale is very rigid and only deforms under the tractor’s weight, it is likely to be approximately 12 lbs. DM per cubic foot. Please note that the values listed in Table 1 are only estimates of bale weights. These values are provided on a DM basis. To calculate actual “as-fed” or wet weight, divide the weight listed in the table by 1 minus the percent moisture in the bale. For example, if the hay is at a stable 15% moisture and the table estimate is 1,080 lbs. of DM, the actual “as-fed” weight or wet

weight is 1,270 (i.e., 1,270 lbs. wet weight = 1,080DM / (1-0.15). Joe McManus is assistant director of the GFB Commodities/Marketing Dept. Special thanks to Dr. Dennis Hancock for provid-ing RFQ & bale weight information. Visit http://www.georgiaforages.com for more information about both subjects and other hay information.

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day, which drew 450 visitors. The field day gave attendees a look at ongoing variety tests for several of Geor-gia’s key crops and highlighted new proj-ects being launched at Spence Field. The field day had 40 stops that showcased vari-ety trials for cotton, peanuts, soybeans and

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Sunbelt Field Day offers glimpse of Expo

grain sorghum, equipment displays and energy grasses, as well as crop protection trials, irrigation and precision agriculture. At the peanut variety test, UGA Exten-sion Peanut Agronomist Dr. John Beasley said this year marked the end of a long run for the Georgia Green variety of peanuts at the Sunbelt farm. Beasley said Georgia Green had been a key cultivar at several test sites since 1995. “Now we have some new cultivars that are really outstanding,” Beasley said. “Georgia Green is really no longer a major player.” Beasley said the Georgia-06G, Georgia Greener, and Georgia-07W cultivars at the Sunbelt site, the UGA Tifton site and a Uni-versity of Florida test site in Mariana, Fla., have shown good yield potential and excel-lent resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus. Through a joint project with the Colquitt County Saddle Club, Sunbelt Expo is also expanding the Priefert Arena, which serves as the venue for equine demonstrations. Sunbelt officials wanted to improve the facility in order to host more equine events throughout the year, and Priefert Ranch Equipment assisted in the design. The Colquitt County Saddle Club provided volunteer labor for the redesign and will organize equine dem-onstrations during the Expo.

The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposi-tion is getting a new state-of-the-art irrigation pivot courtesy of

Reinke Manufacturing in time for this year’s Sunbelt Expo, scheduled for Oct. 18-20. The pivot, which will be positioned near Sunbelt Gate 4, replaces the Rainbow pivot that has been in operation for about 30 years, Sunbelt Executive Director Chip Blalock said. The project, valued at approximately $100,000, will include a weather station, GPS technology and burglar alarm tech-nology that can be run remotely from a laptop computer. “It has all the latest telemetry to allow us to be better stewards of water,” Blalock said. Reinke Territory Manager Mike Mills said the system will provide water-use effi-ciency for Sunbelt’s research. “Technology like this allows us to use the appropriate amount of water in the appropriate manner without overapply-ing water while we’re still protecting the natural resources,” Mills said. “We’re not getting excessive runoff, we’re not pollut-ing, and we are still producing the crops that we need.” Blalock and Mills announced the project during the July 7 Sunbelt field

UGA Extension Peanut Agronomist Dr. John Beasley examines plants in the peanut variety trials at the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo test farm. The peanut plots are also test-ing yield results in single-row versus twin-row spacing. Beasley said the twin-rows have produced greater yields in most years.

Vickers is Ga. Sunbelt Farmer

Berrien County Farm Bureau member Carlos Vickers has been named the 2011 Georgia Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year. Vickers joins eight other state winners from the Southeast as finalists for the award. The over-all winner will be announced Oct. 18 at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Vickers farms in partnership with his brother Lamar. They farm 3,135 acres, including 2,535 acres of owned land and 600 acres of rented land. In addition to blueberries, they grow watermelons, tobacco, peanuts, cotton and corn. They also have 800 acres of timber and 300 acres of pasture for their beef cattle. The idea to grow blueberries was inspired by Carlos’ wife Judy. Ten years ago, she told Carlos about the health benefits of natural foods and the antioxidants produced in blueberries. “I wish I had planted them ten years ago, but” he said, “I didn’t plant my first blueberries until 2007.” Carlos harvests early maturing highbush blueberries by hand and later matur-ing rabbiteye blueberries by machine. He markets his blueberries as a member of the Michigan Blueberry Association. Within the next two years, he hopes to build a packing facility to save what he spends to have the blueberries packed by others.

By Jay Stone___________________________________________________

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Georgia Farm Bureau is partnering with the Georgia Department of Agricul-ture to construct a new permanent exhibit building at Sunbelt Expo featuring Georgia agriculture. The building will be dedicated with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18, the opening day of Expo. All GFB members are invited. “We’re excited about partnering with the Sunbelt Ag Expo and the Georgia Department of Agriculture to create a permanent exhibit space that will edu-cate Expo visitors about the farmers who grow their food and how they do it,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said. “It’s a natural fit that Georgia’s largest general farm organization would join with the state department of agriculture and Sun-belt Expo to promote Georgia’s number one industry.” As you enter the main gate of the Expo grounds, the Georgia agriculture building

will be located on your left, across from the Expo headquarters building, just before the air traffic control tower. GFB and GDA employees will staff the new building. GFB’s participation in the new building will replace the tent it previously occupied in the center of the show grounds. “This new facility will provide the nec-essary platform allowing Georgia to expand its outreach of agriculture and to enhance our existing and future relationships with Georgia farmers and consumers for gen-erations to come,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said.

The Georgia agriculture building pre-viously housed an Expo storage facility. When fully renovated, the building will be 5,400 square feet. Interior walls will feature rough-cut lumber to give the building the appearance of a barn interior. The build-ing will be equipped with a full-size test kitchen outfitted with appliances donated by Lowe’s of Moultrie. “We are very appreciative of these two leading agricultural organizations for sup-porting our educational mission with this significant capital investment in our show grounds,” Sunbelt Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock said.

GFB & GDA sponsor Ga. ag building at ExpoBy Jennifer Whittaker___________________________________

Watson of Colquitt County, Paul Warbing-ton of Forsyth County and Michael Zoller of Effingham County. The discussion meet is intended to sim-ulate a committee meeting during which agriculturalists discuss issues impacting agriculture. The contestants were divided

into small groups of five or six to hold their discussions, which centered on capitalizing on world demand for ag products, convinc-ing the pubic that the ag community bal-ances production efficiencies with expecta-tions of animal care and whether farmers have effectively utilized social media.

FINALISTS from page 9


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Metal thieves top farmers’ most wanted list

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By Jennifer Whittaker__________________________________________________________________________bands off,” McKay said. “So, we’ve just brainstormed to come up with everything we could to catch them. We put game cams out around our fields to pick up anything unusual and to pick up [vehicle] tags so we can have them checked.”

Thwarting thieves McKay and his wife also patrolled their fields at night in hopes of catching thieves, but the biggest turning point in McCay’s fight to thwart thieves came from discussing the problem with Crisp County Sheriff Don-nie Haralson. “Sheriff Haralson said, ‘That’s enough,’ and called in some farmers and talked to us and brainstormed things we could do to try and help limit our exposure,” McCay said. After meeting with the farmers, Sheriff Haralson put out more patrol cars at night to monitor fields in the county with irrigation systems. Haralson also found an alarm com-pany in Leesburg, Ga., Control Monitoring, that installs silent alarm systems on irriga-tion systems, which some farmers did. Many new irrigation systems come equipped with burglar alarms. “We’ve got 300 to 400 pivots in our coun-ty, so Sheriff Haralson realizes the significance [of copper theft] and how it adversely affects the farmers in our area,” said Lt. Tommy Kim-brel of the Crisp County Sheriff Department (CCSD) Patrol Division. If property owners catch thieves steal-

ing metal from their farm, Kimbrel said they should get a detailed description of the vehi-cle and its tag number and call 911 to report the crime. “We don’t encourage property owners to get into a confrontation with anyone. Keep your distance. Call 911 and let us handle that,” Kimbrel said. The sheriff’s department has made sev-eral arrests this summer that will be going to trial according to Kimbrel. “We want copper thieves to know that if you get caught stealing in our county we’re going to aggressively go after you as far as we can and to the fullest extent of the law with successful prosecution,” Kimbrel said. The CCSD has also asked the local scrap yard to contact it if any customers bring in materials that look suspicious, Kimbrel said. “I’m real appreciative of what our law en-forcement has done to try and address this. We have caught two separate pairs of thieves that stole some of my wire,” McCay said. Cooperation between property owners and law enforcement are what it will take to successfully fight metal theft, Georgia Recy-clers Association (GRA) President Chip Ko-plin told the Georgia Farm Bureau Board of Directors during a presentation at their July meeting. Koplin says it takes recyclers, prop-erty owners, law enforcement and prosecu-tors working together to successfully prevent metal theft. Tight budgets have many law enforce-ments stretched thin, so Koplin recommends county Farm Bureau leaders meet with their local law enforcement and prosecutors to re-quest that they make catching and prosecut-ing metal thieves a priority.

Between January and late May, thieves stripped the copper wire from nine irrigation systems on Crisp County

Farm Bureau Director Hal McCay’s farm. McCay said thieves first stole copper wiring from his systems three years ago. “They just came out with a vengeance this year,” McKay said. “They’ve hit me pretty hard and hit a lot of other folks in the county, too.” McKay’s story is one farmers across Georgia have been experiencing more fre-quently since 2006 when the price of metal first began rising. “The poor economy and high unemploy-ment rate combined with record high metal prices is motivating criminals to steal,” said GFB President Zippy Duvall. “Georgia Farm Bureau has been working to address this problem. We got state legislation passed in 2009 that requires recyclers to collect more information on metal sellers, and we continue to work to increase awareness of this issue.” In addition to irrigation systems, metal thieves are also targeting poultry houses and other farm buildings and equipment with copper and aluminum. In an attempt to prevent thieves from pulling the copper wires out of the span wire on his irrigation systems, McKay tried fas-tening the span wire to the top pipe of the ir-rigation system with stainless steel bands, but says that didn’t slow them down. “The thieves just used shears to cut the

Hal McCay (right) and Lt. Tommy Kimbrel of the Crisp County Sheriff’s Department in-spect wires damaged when thieves stole copper wire from McCay’s irrigation systems.

Georgia Recyclers Association President Chip Koplin says it will take recyclers, prop-erty owners, law enforcement and pros-ecutors working together to successfully prevent metal theft.



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Farmers in 31 Georgia counties have until Nov. 30 to register to win $2,500 for a charity of their choice in the 2nd Annual America’s Farmers Grow Communi-ties program sponsored by Monsanto. Suggested chari-ties include local 4-H or FFA chapters, fire depart-ments, hospitals, libraries or schools. No purchase is necessary to enter. Eligible counties are: Appling, Baker, Berrien, Bleckley,

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“Law enforcement has got to hear from you that this is a costly crime, that it’s expensive to replace irrigation wiring and because of the possibility of lost crops,” Koplin said. “Please report every metal theft crime because that shows the prosecutors and the police that this is a high priority crime that’s important to you.” Koplin also recommends marking pieces of metal that might be targets of theft, such as air conditioning coils, with a unique mark using fluorescent paint and to take a photo of the marked equipment that law officers can send out to recyclers when they send a metal theft alert.

Coalition works to combat metal theft For several years, Georgia Farm Bureau has been working with the GRA and a coalition of utility and transportation companies af-fected by metal theft to fight it. GFB and the coalition worked to get tougher state laws passed that crack down on metal theft, and in 2009 the Georgia General Assembly passed SB82, which tightened regula-tions related to the selling of scrap metal. SB 82 requires anyone selling scrap metal to present a photo ID to the buyer, who must retain a photocopy. Cash payments for aluminum forms and copper items can only be made after a 24-hour wait. The bill also allows prosecutors to consider the value of the stolen property in its undamaged condition rather than just its scrap value. “There are adequate laws on the books to prosecute [metal theft] but they aren’t being enforced,” Koplin said, adding that the GRA’s primary goal is to increase the awareness law enforcement officers and prosecutors have of existing state laws that can be used to crack down on metal theft criminals. GFB joined forces with the GRA and a coalition of utility and transportation companies affected by metal theft and law enforcement organizations to publish the Secondary Metals Compliance & Prosecution Guide. This guide includes a sum-mary of state laws that can be used to prosecute metal thieves, the information recyclers are required to obtain from metal sellers, a guide prosecutors can use to convict metal thieves, restitution in-formation for victims and the offenses with which metal thieves may be charged. To print a copy of the guide, visit the GRA website at http://geor-giarecyclers.org and click on Scrap Compliance Guide in the list of downloads.

Setting an example When Houston County District Attorney George Hartwig ran for office last year, prosecuting metal theft was a campaign priority. In June, his office successfully prosecuted Houston County resi-dent Boris Watkins for stealing copper wire from four irrigation sys-tems and damaging three more. “My philosophy as district attorney is that when you have a prob-lem like this in the community you need to attack it aggressively and try to get the word out to the criminals who are inclined to do this kind of crime,” Harwig said. Superior Court Judge George Nunn sentenced Watkins to serve 14 years of a 25-year sentence without parole and to pay $48,115 in restitution to the crime victims. Contact the GFB Legislative Department at 1-800-342-1192 for more information about metal theft.

(Continued from previous page)

See MONSANTO page 16


zation into our annual policy development season. They are passionate and motivated about working together to move Georgia agriculture forward. It was good to have our Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black and CAES Dean Scott Angle with us to give updates on what is going on in Georgia agriculture. I also had the pleasure of presenting former GFB First Vice Presi-dent Donald Childs with the 2011 GFB Commodity Award. Read more about the conference on pages 6 -7. Speaking of the Department of Agri-

culture, we are very excited about team-ing up with the department to spotlight Georgia agriculture at this year’s Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie. GFB is joining forc-es with the GDA to create an exhibit high-lighting Georgia agriculture, the GDA and GFB. The exhibit will be housed in a building at the main entrance gate that was formerly a storage building. Our new exhibit space will replace our former exhibit location. Please make plans to come and enjoy the show Oct. 18-20 and stop by and visit us.

WE, THE FARMERS from page 4

GFB publishing pollination directory For the second year, GFB is publish-ing a pollination directory to provide a statewide list of beekeepers. GFB members with hives for rent are invited to list their operations in the directory. “This directory provides a list of avail-able beekeepers for farmers who wish to pollinate their crops, and will also help beekeepers find more business,” said GFB Honeybee Committee Chairman Bobby Rowell. Directory applications are available at all county Farm Bureau offices. The dead-line to submit information for the direc-tory is Oct. 28. Producers should complete the form and send it to the GFB office in Macon with a check for $10 for each list-ing. Checks should be made payable to Georgia Farm Bureau. The directory is scheduled to be printed in late November and will be distributed statewide. Contact the GFB Commodities Department a 1-800-342-1196 for more information.

Georgia Farm Bureau believes in team-work. As a team, the grassroots of this organization can endure with one mental attitude and ultimately find comfort with the challenges of the day. Romans 15:5 says, “Now may the God who supplies endur-ance and comfort grant you to have among yourselves the same mental attitude that Christ Jesus had, that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God Bless, Zippy

EPA oks temporary use of Hopguard to fight varroa mites The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted Georgia beekeepers permission to use the unregistered pesticide HopGuard until Dec. 31 as a way to control varroa mites, according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA). HopGuard (potassium salt of hop beta acids) is marketed by Beta Tec Hop Products, a subsidiary of John I. Hass, Inc. Visit http://www.mannlakeltd.com/hopguard/index.html for more information about the product. The Section 18 emergency use exemption granted by the EPA allows Georgia beekeepers to use HopGuard no more than two times before the special state waiver expires Dec. 31. The GDA is charged with ensuring that all provisions of the exemption are

met. The EPA authorization allows for a maximum total of 252,000 HopGuard strips to be used statewide under the Section 18 exemption. Only one strip of HopGuard can be used for every five frames in a brood chamber. The typical hive consists of a 10-frame brood chamber. EPA permits beekeepers to only treat the brood chamber where the queen lays eggs and are nurtured by worker bees. Beekeepers may not treat honey supers located above the brood chamber where beekeepers harvest honey for consumers. HopGuard is not expected to be present in edible honey when the pesticide is used according to its strict instructions. A full registration for the HopGuard product is being made at this time, according to the EPA.

Brooks, Bulloch, Burke, Calhoun, Coffee, Cook, Colquitt, Crisp, Decatur, Dooly, Early, Grady, Irwin, Jefferson, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Screven, Seminole, Sumter, Tatt-nall, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Turner, Wilcox and Worth. Each of these counties planted at least 30,000 acres of corn, soybeans, cot-ton and/or vegetables in 2010. The program is open to farmers, age 21 and over, who are actively farming a minimum of 250 acres of corn, soybeans and/or cotton or 40 acres of open field

vegetables or at least 10 acres of tomatoes, peppers and/or cucumbers grown in pro-tected culture in an eligible county. One winner will be drawn from each county. Monsanto will also donate $1 to the local United Way chapter of each farmer who applies. Monsanto will announce winning farmers and their recipient charities in January 2012. Visit http://www.grow-communities.com or call 1-877-267-3332 to apply.

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At its annual meeting on June 22, the Georgia Pork Producers Asso-ciation learned of possible rule

changes concerning Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, and they received research updates and budget news from the University of Georgia College of Agricul-tural and Environmental Sciences (CAES). UGA Extension Engineer Dr. John Worley talked about a recent U.S. Court rul-ing in which it was determined that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has no right to require a permit unless a spill has occurred. Worley said that pork producers who have a manure spill would only be subjected to penalties for having a spill. The penalties for failure to apply for a permit, which he said are generally more severe than those for a spill, would no longer apply according to the court’s rul-ing, though Georgia’s large producers will probably still need to obtain a permit from the state once the Georgia Environmental Protection Division develops its rules. Worley told the participants that the EPA is now allowing flexibility in nutrient management plan (NMP) practices. Under new EPA rules, NMPs can be in either linear form, where a producer declares how much manure will be used and what crops will be grown, or narrative form, which allows producers to change crops on land where manure is applied without hav-ing to completely recreate the NMP. “One thing we’ve tried to encourage people to do is keep better records to show what they’re doing,” Worley said. “They’ve really been doing nutrient management for some time, but when the neighbors com-plain or questions come up, they need to be able to show, when questions come up, that they are doing a good job.” The one-day event at the Georgia Farm Bureau home office included an update on the UGA Animal and Dairy Science

Department from department head Dr. Keith Bertrand. Bertrand said that while reductions in programs were unavoidable with severe budget cuts, the CAES administration has made efforts to minimize the impact on instruction and research. “The cut to the college has been greater than the cuts to its departments,” Bertrand said. “They’ve done everything they can to absorb the first portion, and we’re very appreciative of that. But we still lost around $773,000 from our budget. With that loss, it means that some of our programs, we

won’t be able to carry those on.” Bertrand noted that enrollment in the Animal and Dairy Science programs near-ly doubled from fall of 2004 to fall of 2010. UGA Animal Waste Management Specialist Melony Wilson reviewed infor-mation about the waste system at UGA’s Double Bridges Farm, the university’s new livestock and teaching farm that straddles the Clarke/Oglethorpe County line. Worley made a presentation on lagoon operation and maintenance, and Dr. Rob-ert Dove gave an overview of the swine unit project at Double Bridges.

By Jay Stone___________________________________ Georgia pork producers attending the Georgia Pork Producers Association annual meeting June 22 at the GFB home office in Macon heard updates on CAFO rules and CAES programs.

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Pork producers briefed on rule changes, UGA programs


By Jennifer Whittaker___________________________________

Georgia’s peanut industry will soon have a more visible presence on Interstate 75, once the new Geor-

gia Peanut Commission (GPC) head-quarters is built off of Exit 63B in Tifton. Industry leaders and local government officials participated in a groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 1 for the 6,400-square-foot building the commission hopes to occupy by July 31, 2012. Located on the former site of a Georgia State Patrol post, across the interstate from the Georgia Agrirama, the new GPC build-ing will include a gift shop to sell Georgia peanut products, exhibits explaining how farmers grow peanuts and a test kitchen to prepare new peanut recipes. “To me, this building is a monument to the peanut farmers of Georgia. Rather than simply being an office building, it will incorporate a museum to highlight what farmers are doing today,” GPC Director and GPC Building Commit-tee Chairman Donald Chase of Macon County said. “We all know there’s a tre-mendous opportunity for us to tell the message of peanut farmers and agricul-ture in general to all of the people driving up and down I-75 and this building will allow us to do that.” Chase said the GPC board considered several potential locations in Turner and Tift counties but decided on the new site after Tift County and Tifton officials of-fered an affordable deal. Construction of the building coincides with the GPC’s 50th anniversary year. “Through the past 50 years the peanut commission has been very important in supporting and selling peanuts and telling peanut farmers about the peanut research that’s going on,” GPC Chairman Armond Morris said. “If you look back through the years at all the accomplishments that have been made by the peanut farmers of

the state of Georgia and the peanut com-mission board, we’re excited about where we’re at and where we’re going with the fu-ture of agriculture. We have seen demand increase for peanuts, and we have seen pea-nut production increase per acre.” An estimated 100,000 cars travel past the building site each day making it an ideal spot, GPC officials say, to erect the commission’s new office. “We need to be dealing with folks on a personal basis and this will give us the opportunity to do that,” said GPC Ex-ecutive Director Don Koehler. “If people come off the interstate to buy a can of peanuts, we can tell the peanut story and

do it in a way that’s really cost effective.” The GPC’s new building will be the first net-zero energy building for state government in Georgia. Cadmus Con-struction, LLC of Roswell, Ga., designed the new building. The sale of the existing GPC build-ing located in downtown Tifton, energy grants, sponsorships and a commemora-tive brick program will cover the cost of the new building, which GPC officials an-ticipate will be less than $1 million. Anyone interested in purchasing a commemorative brick or bench may con-tact the GPC at 229-386-3470 or [email protected].

Ga. Peanut Commission breaks ground for new building

A sketch of the new GPC building designed by Cadmus Construction, LLC of Roswell, Ga.

Carroll Co. Farm Bureau wins Market Bulletin contest On Sept. 12, Carroll County Farm Bu-reau will enjoy a steak dinner to be cooked by Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black and staff for securing 62 sub-scriptions to the Farmers & Consumers Market Bulletin during a contest the Geor-gia Department of Agriculture (GDA) held earlier this year. The contest, which ran Feb. 11 - May 31, was first announced by Com-missioner Black during the Georgia Farm Bureau Presidents’ Conference and was in-tended to encourage county Farm Bureaus to assist the GDA in obtaining enough paid subscriptions to make the 94-year-old-pub-lication self-sustaining. “We greatly appreciate the support from county Farm Bureau offices throughout the state in helping to save the Market Bulletin,” said Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black. “We sincerely thank all those who helped re-cruit new subscribers, and although the con-test is over, we hope Farm Bureau employees will continue to spread the word about the Bulletin and the services it provides.” The 92 county Farm Bureau chapters that participated in the contest secured 629 subscriptions, Market Bulletin Editor Carl-

ton Moore said. Barrow and Elbert County Farm Bureaus each secured 38 subscrip-tions. The Coffee and Glascock County Farm Bureaus each secured 25 subscrip-tions while Irwin and Madison counties each secured 23 subscriptions. “Commissioner Black asked us to join the Department of Agriculture in rallying to save the Market Bulletin, and I am very proud of the effort our county Farm Bu-reaus made to continue publication of the biweekly newspaper that serves as a mar-ketplace for Georgia residents to buy and sell livestock, hay and farm equipment,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said. The annual subscription fee for the Market bulletin is $10 (26 issues) for Geor-gia residents and $20 for out-of-state sub-scribers. If you would like to subscribe, visit http://www.thegamarketbulletin.com or send a check or money order made payable to Market Bulletin along with your name, complete mailing address and daytime phone number to the following address: Market Bulletin, Georgia Dept. of Agricul-ture, 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW, Atlanta, Ga. 30334-4250.


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Georgia’s fruit and vegetable grow-ers now have to comply with new soil fumigant management plan requirements placed in effect on Jan. 1 by the U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA rules target the use of meth-yl bromide, chloropicrin, metam sodium, metam potassium and dazomet used on farms and require growers to have a detailed fumigant management plan in place along with specialized breathing equipment. According to the EPA, one self-con-tained breathing apparatus (SCBA) must be on site for use in rescue operations when a methyl bromide or chloropicrin combo product is used that contains 20 percent or more chloropicrin or when a methyl bromide product that contains less than 20 percent chloropicrin is used. The designated SCBA user has to have medical clearance and a fit test. The EPA also requires a minimum of two handlers at each operation to be medically cleared and fit-tested for air-purifying respirators (APRs). The APRs are to be used at the onset of symptoms of sensory irritation when methyl bromide/chloropicrin combo products are used containing 20 percent or more chloropi-crin and when methyl bromide products that contain less than 20 percent chlo-ropicrin are used. A minimum of one handler has to be medically cleared and fit-tested for an APR when an operation is using metam sodium/potassium or dazomet. In Georgia, compliance with the fumi-gant regulations is being overseen by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. The rules apply to handlers of the fumigants methyl bromide, chloropicrin, dazomet and metam sodium/potassium. The EPA is taking recommendations from the states on how to address the SCBA issue. Some growers are concerned the fumigant requirements will make it too

costly for them to continue producing their crops. In March, Calhoun Produce owner Joyce Calhoun wrote Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black on behalf of the Georgia Strawberry Grow-ers Association asking that the SCBA requirements be removed. “For the small producers, the cost is going to outweigh the benefits,” said Brad Calhoun of Calhoun Produce. “There’s no gain on my part. There’s just going to be a cost and no gain.” The APRs can cost hundreds of dol-lars each. Costs for the SCBA, which includes a mask and a strap-on oxygen tank, start around $1,500 and can run $5,000 or more, while the medical clear-ance can run $100 or more per worker.

The Worksmart Occupational Health Clinic in Tifton is one clinic providing the two-part medical clearance certifica-tion process. The medical clearance process includes a seven-page Occupation-al Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) questionnaire, measurement of vital signs and respiratory function tests conducted by medical personnel. Once medical clearance is obtained, the test to fit the respirator mask is conducted. Growers are also required to con-duct air monitoring if sensory irritation is noted with these fumigants, and the air monitoring equipment is extremely expensive. Additional regulations by the EPA are expected for most fumigants, including buffer zones that in some cases can reduce the amount of land available for cultivation. For more information contact Tommy Gray at the Ga. Dept. of Agriculture at 404-656-9378 or [email protected] or contact the Worksmart Clinic at 229-353-6320.

New fumigant management plans for produce growersBy Jay Stone__________________________________________________________________________


AROUND GEORGIANews from County Farm Bureaus

BACON COUNTY In July, Bacon County Farm Bureau hosted a meeting for its farmers to discuss labor issues with Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) staffers. GDA Policy Director Sydne Moody Smith and Martin Sullivan, special assistant to Agricul-ture Commissioner Gary W. Black, attended the meeting along with 17 farmers. The discussion ranged from government bureaucracy, the impact of Georgia’s new immigration law and the H-2A program. The farmers expressed their frustrations over lim-ited access to farm laborers and discussed the fact that Bacon County is losing income due to the new immigration law. Pictured from left are BCFB leaders and GDA staff who attended the meeting: Winston Miles, GDA Policy Director Sydne Moody Smith, Joe Cornelius, Martin Sullivan, special assistant to Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black, Steve Greenway, GFB 10th District Field Representative Michael Purvis, BCFB President David H. Lee and Lane Wade.

CHEROKEE COUNTY In May, Cherokee County Farm Bureau treated the fifth grade students at Free Home School to a tour of Cherokee County farms. At Cagle’s Family Farm, CCFB Director Len Cagle (pictured far right) talked to the students about growing lettuce. The tour also visited Buckeye Creek Farm where Liz Porter planted plants with the students, the Ross Berry Farm where the children learned how honey is processed, and Rockin’ S Farm where Tim and Nichelle Stewart gave the students a tour of their farm and the students ate lunch. CCFB also treated the winners of its annual First Grade Color-ing Contest to a day of family fun at Liz Porter’s Farm Buckeye Creek on May 14.

COLQUITT COUNTY Nutty McBuddy made a special appearance at the Ag Aware-ness event Colquitt County Farm Bureau held in May. McBuddy was a big hit with the 600 fourth grade students who attended the three-day event.

FAYETTE COUNTY In June, the Fayette County Farm Bureau Women’s Com-mittee held its 4th Annual Farmer Appreciation Day Celebration at Minter’s Farm. The event is designed to honor Fayette County farmers and to show how much their ser-vice to Farm Bureau is appreciated on both a state and local level. This year’s Farmer of the Year Award was presented to Bobby Nipper (pictured), a local farmer known throughout Fayette and surrounding counties for his delicious muscadines and strawberries.

HABERSHAM COUNTY In June, Habersham County Farm Bureau held a legislative farm tour attended by 28 people including local, county and state leader-ship. The tour began at the HCFB office where HCFB President Gil-bert Barrett (pictured) gave an overview of agriculture’s impact on Habersham County.



Tour participants visited two farms in the county and learned about the specific practices of these operations that enable them to thrive. The first stop was a hay and cattle operation where the owners are implementing many stewardship practices to get the most out of their land. The second stop was Hazel Creek Orchards, a local cider company that markets their product nationally. “This tour is a great way to showcase all that our farmers and ranchers do to make agriculture so successful in our area to a group of people who may not otherwise have the opportunity to see it firsthand,” Barrett said. HARALSON COUNTY The Haralson County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee sponsored a Stroke Detection Plus screening in July attended by 64 people including HCFB member Greg Hindmon (pictured). Participants had their choice of four tests: stroke screening, abdominal aortic aneu-rysm, peripheral arteri-al disease and osteopo-rosis. Participants who needed further testing received ultrasound pictures to take to their doctor. HCFB recruited three new members that day.

MARION COUNTY Marion County Farm Bureau visited LK Moss Primary School in the spring to give a presentation on peanuts. MCFB Office Manager Crys-tal Drew gave a Pow-erPoint presentation and set up four activity stations for the kids. At the first station the children sorted peanut products from non-peanut products. The kids were blindfolded at the second station and looked for hidden objects in three bowls of roasted peanuts. At the third station, the students colored a labeled drawing of a peanut plant. At the last station, the kids were blindfolded and given bites of peanut butter crackers, Reese’s miniatures and peanut butter cookies and then guessed which peanut product they were eating. OCONEE COUNTY Oconee County Farm Bureau held a Dairy Day in June to honor our nation’s dairy farmers during June Dairy Month. Free samples of milk, ice cream, cheese and yogurt were given to all who attended. The

Georgia Milk Producers’ mobile dairy classroom (pictured), operated by Nicole Karstedt, showed the children and adults how to milk a cow. The children were excited about getting close to a dairy cow and being able to pet it. OCFB staff handed out “What’s Up with Milk?” color-ing books, “Got Milk?” stickers, dairy silly bands and information on peanuts. The children played games and had their faces painted.

PIKE COUNTY Pike County Farm Bureau held its first Membership Apprecia-tion Day in June. The GFB Member Services Department exhib-ited a display about GFB services. PCFB also dedicated a booth to promote beef. Inflatables, games and balloons were available to all the kids. Kevin Pierce from Thomaston Ford displayed a brand new 2011 Ford F-150 to promote the $500 discount on Ford vehi-cles. Stroke Detection Plus also held a screening at the office that day with 45 attending. Thomaston Ford gave away Six Flags tickets and tickets to Lake Winnie in Chattanooga. Numerous door prizes were awarded to attendees.

TALIAFERRO COUNTY Taliaferro County Farm Bureau Promotion/Education Com-mittee Chairperson Donna Taylor (left) and TCFB Women’s Committee member Sandra Ingram (right) are pictured teaching the fifth grade class at Taliaferro County School how to make butter last spring. Donna makes 10 or more visits to the school during the school year to educate the kids about Farm Bureau and agriculture. Agriculture Awareness during the 2010-2011 school year included a trip to a breeder chicken farm where stu-dents learned about fertilizing eggs.

(Continued from previous page)


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young farmer updateJed Evans, Young Farmer Coordinator

GFB photo contest winner named

Matthew London of White County shot the winning photo in Georgia Farm Bureau’s 2011 Picture Agriculture in Geor-

gia Photo Contest with his picture titled “Heifers at the Mound” (#11 in dis-play photo). As the overall grand prize winner, Lon-don receives the distinc-tion of having his photo featured on the cover of the 2012 Young Farmer Calendar. He won $150 for being the grand prize win-ner in the Young Farmer Category “The Young Farmer Committee was thrilled with the support given from Farm Bureau mem-bers across the state for the photo contest,” said GFB Young Farmer Com-mittee Chairman Wesley

Hall. “More than 300 photos were submit-ted by GFB members, young farmers and employees, resulting in a great collection of pictures representing every aspect of Geor-gia agriculture.” Steve Willis Jones of Walker County won the grand prize of $150 in the Gen-eral Membership Category with his photo

“Cream of the Crop” (#3 in display photo). Carlene Hart of Washington County won the grand prize of $100 in the GFB Staff/Family Category for her picture “From Generation to Generation.” Honorable mention prizes of $75 were awarded to Cretia Ariail of Franklin Coun-ty (#1 in display photo), Sarah Besosa of Heard County (#4 in display photo), Londa Champion of Jasper County (#8 in display photo), Amy DuBois of Twiggs County (#10 in display photo), Moriah Eavenson of Franklin County (#7 in display photo), Vicki Franklin of Baldwin County (#6 in display photo), Brooke Hitchcock of Wash-ington County (#12 in display photo), Ed Smith of Coffee County (#2 in display photo), Mike West of Habersham County (#5 in display photo) and Anna Wilson of Hart County (#9 in display photo). Lindsay Turner of Crawford County won $75 and second place in the GFB Staff/Family Cate-gory, and Rena Booker of Crawford County won third place and $25 in the category. A panel of professional photographers selected 12 photos from which young farm-ers attending the 2011 Young Farmer Lead-ership Conference voted for their favorite photos to determine the winners. The 2012 GFB Young Farmer Calendar will feature the grand prize winners and honorable mentions in the general mem-bership and young farmer categories. These calendars were marketed to county Farm Bureaus and insurance agents. More than 25,000 calendars were sold statewide with all proceeds going back to the GFB Young Farmer program to fund GFB Young Farmer activities. “The GFB Young Farmers are thankful to everyone who participated in the photo contest, as well as the county Farm Bureaus and GFB Insurance Agents for the support shown towards the Young Farmer calendar this year,” Hall said. Visit the GFB website http://www.gfb.org to view the winning photos. The photos will also be featured in the fall issue of the Georgia Neighbors magazine.

A panel of professional photographers narrowed more than 300 entries in the 2011 GFB photo contest to 12 photos from which young farmers attending the 2011 Young Farmer Leadership Conference vot-ed to determine the grand prize winners.

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