Georgia Farm Bureau News - March / April 2012

FARM BUREAUThe Voice of Georgia Farmers

N E W S

G E O R G I AVol. 74 No. 2 March-April 2012GE

OR

GIA

FAR

M B

UREAU ★ CELEBRATING

75 YEARS

1937 2012The Voice of Georgia Farmers

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* Program #33834: $500 Bonus Cash offer exclusively for active Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee Farm Bureau members who are residents of the United States. Offer is valid from 1/04/2012 through 1/02/2013 for the purchase or lease of a eligible new 2011/2012/2013 model year Ford or Lincoln vehicle (not available on Shelby GT/GT500, Mustang Boss 302, Focus Electric, Edge SE AWD, F-150 Raptor and Taurus SE). This offer may not be used in conjunction with other Ford Motor Company private incentives or AXZD-Plans. Some customer and purchase eligibility restrictions apply. You must be an eligible Association member for at least 60 consecutive days and must show proof of membership. Limit one $500 Bonus Cash offer per vehicle purchase or lease. Limit of five new eligible vehicle purchases or leases per Farm Bureau member during program period. See your Ford or Lincoln Dealer for complete details and qualifications.

Now Georgia Farm Bureau members can get $500 Bonus Cash* savings off vehicle MSRP toward the purchase or lease of any eligible 2011/2012/2013 Ford or Lincoln vehicle.

Enjoy valuable savings on your choice of vehicles from our hard-working, technologically advanced new lineup of cars and trucks—including the 2012 Ford F-150 with available 4.2-inch productivity screen and 11,300 lbs. maximum towing capacity (when properly equipped).

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GeorGia Farm Bureau News march-april 2012/ 3

table of contentsmarch/april 2012

departmentswe, the farmers

PAGE 4

legislative updatePAGE 11

commodities updatePAGE 12

young farmer updatePAGE 18

around georgiaPAGE 26

ag in the classroom updatePAGE 30

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

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

(Photo by Matthew London) White County Farm Bureau member Matthew London won the 2011 Georgia Farm Bureau photo contest with this photo of his family’s Holstein heifers. GFB will accept entries for the 2012 photo contest until April 27. Read more about the contest on page 19.

GFB members talk priority issues during visit to state capitolThese Walker County Farm Bureau members were among the 500 Farm Bureau members who attended the an-nual GFB Day at the Capitol event. GFB members discussed the organization’s priority issues with elected leaders dur-ing meetings at the capitol and during the event luncheon at the Georgia Depot. PAGE 6

GFB Presidents’ Conference gives county leaders membership, legislative updatesCounty leaders attending the annual GFB Presidents’ Conference received information designed to help them build stronger county programs and heard remarks from American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman. PAGE 8

Crop outlook, labor & farm bill focus of Ag Forecast meetingsCrop prices should remain high this year, but production costs are expected to rise 15 to 20 percent, UGA Economist Nathan Smith said during the Georgia Ag Forecast meeting in Macon. He also said Georgia peanut acres could top 600,000 acres this year, while cotton acres are expected to decline. PAGE 10

4-H & FFA members take to the ring for Ga. Jr. National Livestock ShowMore than 1,600 Georgia 4-H and FFA members competed in the 2012 Georgia Junior National Livestock Show held Feb. 22-26 at the Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter in Perry. Geor-gia Farm Bureau sponsored the six grand champion prizes for all species shown in the show and is proud to introduce you to the winners. PAGE 14

Research & assessments hot topics at Peanut Farm ShowPeanut growers attending the Georgia Peanut Farm Show celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Georgia Peanut Commission while hearing industry updates and checking out new farm equipment. PAGE 16

Ga. cotton growers hear about importance of Chinese marketChina is the largest export destination for U.S. cotton, and Georgia cotton growers were encour-aged to learn about the customs of this foreign market, which is projected to continue its popula-tion growth and demand for cotton. PAGE 20

GFB hosts social media workshop Georgia Farm Bureau and the Georgia Agritourism Association joined forces March 1 to host a workshop that gave participants hands-on training on how to open accounts with social media websites and post content to them. The workshop was designed to help par-ticipants discuss agriculture on the Internet. PAGE 25

Farm Bureau celebrates Food Check-Out Week County Farm Bureaus celebrated Food Check-Out Week, Feb. 19-25, with a variety of activities to educate their communities about buying healthy food on a budget and eating healthy. PAGE 28

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4 / march-april 2012 GeorGia Farm Bureau News

On June 17, 1937, a group of 50 farmers from seven northwest Georgia counties met in Cartersville, Ga., at the invitation of Robert Stiles to discuss the extension of rural electricity and how to develop better roads for farmers to access their markets. On the state level, the group lobbied to reduce the record-ing fees farmers paid for Production Credit Association loans. Mr. Stiles and those 50 farmers started an organization we know now as Georgia Farm Bureau. Their mission 75 years ago was to pro-vide representation for farmers and their families in rural Georgia. After 75 years, our mission has not changed – we still respond to the needs of Georgia farmers and their families all over Georgia. In February, we held our annual Presidents’ Conference, and I am proud to report that 140 of our 158 county Farm Bureau presidents attended this year. The energy and dedication of our volunteers is alive and well. After 75 years we are still talking about membership and how to grow our organization. Excitement continues to build around our “75 Day” County Mem-bership Contest. This contest was designed to commemorate our organi-zation’s 75th anniversary. County Farm Bureaus across the state are looking for every opportunity to solicit new Farm Bureau members. We know that our small $25 membership fee is an invest-ment that offers access to many great services and benefits while support-ing our state’s number one economic engine – agriculture. Our membership contest ends April 30, and I want to

wish all our counties good luck. Our mission to be the voice of Geor-gia farmers has not changed in 75 years. What has changed is how we accomplish this task. In 1937, almost all Georgians were living on a farm or had close rela-tives who did. This made working with elected officials very easy because most had a firsthand understanding of agri-culture and how it touches the families of Georgia. In 2012, our task is more difficult because a large percentage of our elected officials have been removed from the farm for several generations. For this rea-son, it is important to support programs of agricultural education and keep them active in our school systems. These pro-grams are an investment in the future of agriculture. We must teach our children where their food comes from so, as they become the leaders of tomorrow, they will know how important agriculture and our way of life is to all of Georgia and Georgia’s rural communities. To achieve this, we are teaming up with county Farm Bureaus across the state to hold workshops for teachers to educate them about our Ag in the Class-room program. These workshops pro-vide teachers with the tools and know-how to tell our agricultural story. I’d like to congratulate Andrea Sea-graves of Crawford County for being rec-ognized by the American Farm Bureau Federation in November as the AFBF Ag Foundation’s volunteer of the month. Mrs. Seagraves is a kindergarten teacher who was recognized for her Farm Friday program, which she started after attend-

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

1st Vice President/South Georgia Vice PresidentGERALD LONG

North Georgia Vice President BERNARD SIMS

Middle Georgia Vice President ROBERT FOUNTAIN JR.

Treasurer/Corporate SecretaryWAYNE DANIEL

General CounselDUKE GROOVER

DIRECTORSFIRST DISTRICT: Wesley Hall, Cumming; Henry J. West, Rydal SECOND DISTRICT: Bobby Gunter, Dahlonega; Randy Ruff, Elberton THIRD DISTRICT: George Chambers, Carrollton; Nora Goodman, Temple FOURTH DISTRICT: Marvin Ruark, Bishop; William Hutchins, Winder FIFTH DISTRICT: Jim Ham, Smarr; Ralph Adamson Jr., Barnesville SIXTH DISTRICT: James Emory Tate, Denton; James Malone, Dexter SEVENTH DIS-TRICT: Ben Boyd, Sylvania; Gary Bell, Bellville EIGHTH DISTRICT: Kim Brown, Montezuma; Don Wood, Rochelle NINTH DISTRICT: Paul Shirah, Camilla; Lucius Adkins, Elmodel TENTH DISTRICT: David Lee, Alma; Daniel Johnson, Alma YOUNG FARMER CHAIRMAN: Jake Carter, McDonough WOMEN’S COMMITTEE CHAIR: Linda Crumley, Winder

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 2012 by the Georgia Farm Bureau Federa-tion. Printed by Panaprint, Macon, Georgia.

Georgia Farm Bureau has a 75-year tradition of representing farmers

More than 1,600 Georgia 4-H and FFA members, including these in the photo above, competed in the 2012 Georgia Junior National Livestock Show. GFB spon-sored the six grand champion prizes awarded at the show.

See WE, THE FARMERS page 29

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Almost 500 Georgia Farm Bureau members participated in GFB Day at the Capitol on Feb. 14, taking

the opportunity to discuss the organiza-tion’s priority issues with elected leaders. Though the Georgia General Assem-bly was in recess, GFB members were still able to interact with their state represen-tatives and senators, many of whom at-tended the GFB luncheon at the Georgia Freight Depot. “It reaffirmed some of the things we’ve been working on. We met with Farm Bu-

GFB members talk priority issues during visit to state capitolArticle & Photos by Jay Stone___________________________________ reau folks early in the year to see what was

most important to them,” said Sen. Jesse Stone (R-Waynesboro), no relation to au-thor. “We wanted to report to them the progress that has been made in areas like metal theft, and water and other issues of concern to Farm Bureau.” Stone said he got a lot of feedback from the GFB visitors on metal theft. “It affects insurers, homeowners, churches, farmers, the whole spectrum. We’ve worked hard with the industry to try and come up with a solution to that problem. But that’s just one of many,” Stone said.

Participants in the event were encour-aged to raise legislators’ awareness on all of GFB’s 2012 priority issues - water, taxes & budget, animal agriculture, metal theft and farm labor. “It’s vitally important,” said GFB Presi-dent Zippy Duvall. “We’re here every day during the session, working the issues ev-ery day. But when 500 people leave their farm on their dollar to give their time to talk about the issues that we’ve been talking about all during the session, it puts a force behind it that brings it to a reality level. The representatives and senators up here realize

GFB members assembled in the blue room at the Georgia Depot for an overview of the day from GFB President Zippy Duvall and GFB Legislative Director Jon Huffmaster.

Gov. Nathan Deal spoke at the luncheon during GFB Day at the Capitol.

Pictured from left, Georgia Tobacco Commission members Daniel Johnson and Paul Folsom presented Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black with a framed collec-tion of photos depicting tobacco production. The artwork will be hung in the Georgia Department of Agriculture building with similar works from the state’s other agricultural commodities.

Pictured from left, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens visits with Jeffrey Har-vey and Tas Smith of the GFB Legislative Department.

(Continued on next page)


we’re speaking for a lot of people.” Gov. Nathan Deal spoke at the lun-cheon, praising GFB for being a cohesive element in the state’s social fabric. Deal dis-cussed a variety of topics, including recently announced education initiatives, steps the state is taking to improve health, taxes and emerging overseas markets for Georgia ag-ricultural commodities. Deal pointed out that pine trees grown in Georgia are now being used to generate electricity in the European Union, noting that the venues at the London Olympics this summer will be lit using energy gen-erated through the use of Georgia pine tree pellets. He also discussed the ongoing chal-lenges Georgia faces with its water supply, praising farmers for their willingness to participate in various water-related conser-vation and measurement projects the state is conducting. He also referenced the ongo-ing water dispute Georgia is having with Florida and Alabama. “I am working hard to get this water war over with,” Deal said. “It is being used as a negative tool against us in the recruit-

The GFB group posed for a photo with Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black.

(Continued from previous page)

ing of businesses, because most business-es when they come are going to want to know that there is an adequate water re-source, especially if they are manufactur-ers, and that is the kind of new business

and new jobs we are looking for.” On Feb. 13, Florida and Alabama peti-tioned the Supreme Court to review the ap-pellate court ruling that gave metro Atlanta access to water from Lake Lanier.

Georgians in 31 counties have each been awarded a $2,500 donation for their favorite charity through the Monsanto Fund’s America’s Farmers Grow Commu-nities. The program drew more than 500 applicants in Georgia. In addition to the $2,500 direct charitable donations, Mon-santo plans to give $1 on behalf of each ap-plicant to local United Way Chapters. The program was open to farmers ages 21 and older who actively farm a minimum of 250 acres of corn, soybeans and/or cotton or 40 acres of open field vegetables, or at least 10 acres of toma-toes, peppers and/or cucumbers grown in protected culture in one of the 31 Georgia counties eligible to participate. Counties qualified for the contest by meeting the following criteria: a total of at least 30,000 acres of corn, soybeans and/or cotton, or 30,000 acres of vegetables (peppers, toma-toes, onions, broccoli, cucumbers, melons, watermelons, spinach, squash, pumpkins, sweet corn, lettuce, peas and garden beans)

planted per calendar year based on Janu-ary 2011 USDA data; or the county was eligible to participate in prior Grow Com-munities programs. Georgia winners, their counties and their designated charities are: Paschol Pearce (Appling), Appling County High School Track Team; Chad Mathis (Baker), Patmos Volunteer Fire Department; Wil-liams Brothers Farm (Berrien), Young Farmers of Berrien County; Wanda Da-vis (Bleckley), Bleckley County FFA; Johnny Hagan (Brooks), Brooks County High School FFA; Keith and Elise Boyett (Bulloch), Bulloch Academy; Sam and Julie Story (Burke), The Center for New Beginnings; Thomas Jackson (Calhoun), Edison Community Chest; Kerry Van Moore (Coffee), Citizens Christian Acad-emy; Garrett Wingate (Colquitt), Colquitt County Young Farmers; Steve Bullard (Cook), Cook County FFA; Wesley Ma-this (Crisp), Crisp County Young Farmers; Steve Brock (Decatur), Decatur County

Young Farmers; Peavy Farms (Dooly), Vienna Volunteer Fire Department; Mike Grebel Family (Early), Early County Mu-seum; Godwin Farms (Grady), Grady County 4-H; Brenda Morris (Irwin), Irwin County Library; Stephen Nikkel (Jeffer-son), Hillcrest Volunteer Fire Department; Rodney Harrell Family (Lee), Terrell Acad-emy; Ray Henley (Miller), Miller County Nursing Home; Kent Grogan (Mitchell), Mitchell County 4-H; Teresa Thompson (Screven), United Way of Screven County; Brad Clarke (Seminole), Seminole County 4-H; Jesse Williams Jr. (Sumter); Sumter County 4-H; David Neil Rogers (Tattnall) Reidsville Volunteer Fire Department; Lee Trice (Terrell), Bronwood Volunteer Fire Department; Ashley Rowland (Thomas), Hands on Thomas County; Branch and Branch Farms (Tift), Tiftarea Academy; Marilyn Collins (Turner), Turner Coun-ty 4-H; David and Tammy Selph (Wil-cox), Wilcox County 4-H; Dennis James (Worth) Worth County 4-H.

Monsanto announces donation program winners


County Farm Bureau leaders from across the state gathered in Ma-con Feb. 7-8 for the Georgia Farm

Bureau Presidents’ Conference. The lead-ers attended workshops designed to help the county Farm Bureau chapters recruit members, strengthen their grassroots leg-islative efforts and build stronger county programs. “A lot of organizations lose their way, but if you look at what our organization set out to do when it was founded in 1937, we are still carrying on the same mission,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said. “The efforts GFB made in 1937 to expand electricity coverage into rural areas and to make roads better is no different than our efforts today to extend broadband coverage into all rural communities, to protect the global posi-tioning satellite system and to deepen Sa-vannah’s port. Seventy-five years ago Geor-gia Farm Bureau’s mission was to bring all areas of agriculture together to provide a voice for Georgia farmers. Today our orga-nization still touches the lives of every per-son in rural Georgia and this state.” American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman delivered the key-note speech, discussing the uncertainties surrounding the pending farm bill in light of the national budget crisis. “It’s going to be very difficult to get a farm bill passed in 2012. There’s talk about extending the current farm bill, but I don’t think that’s going to happen without strip-ping out some funding for some programs,” Stallman said. Stallman said the key to a success-ful farm bill is flexibility and that AFBF is proposing that the next bill include a deep loss safety net program where the federal government would cover crop loss up to 70 percent with farmers buying crop insur-ance to cover the remaining 30 percent, if they choose to purchase additional cover-age. Market loans would be maintained as a cash flow tool. Stallman said the proposal would work with specialty crops and is a

way to expand the farm bill from helping just a few crops to benefiting any crop cov-ered by crop insurance. Stallman also said the organization will continue to evaluate the U.S. Department of Labor’s reproposed changes to the child labor rules pertaining to youths working on farms. GFB Legislative Director Jon Huffmas-ter gave an update on the 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly and dis-cussed the importance of building relation-ships with elected officials. “The key to the success of Farm Bureau is that when we, your legislative staff, meet with your state or national legislators, they visualize you, their constituents whom they have met back home,” Huffmaster said. During the membership workshop at the conference, Clayton County Farm Bu-reau President Paul Jones, Lamar County Farm Bureau President Ralph Adamson and Johnson County Farm Bureau Presi-dent William Tanner gave tips on how their counties were able to expand their mem-bership in 2011. GFB Field Services Director Mike Copeland announced GFB’s 2012 “75 Day” membership contest. The contest will run for 75 days in honor of the organization’s 75th anniversary. The county from each of the organization’s 10 districts that has the

largest percentage increase in active mem-bership during the contest will win Kindle readers for all county employees and $150 in Lowe’s gift cards for the county presi-dent. In addition, one county from each of the organization’s three membership divi-sions will win a large smoker grill for win-ning the GFB Membership Award, which recognizes county Farm Bureaus for grow-ing membership and member programs.

GFB Presidents’ Conference gives county leaders membership, legislative updatesBy Jennifer Whittaker___________________________________

Farm Bureau leaders from Henry, Polk, Lamar and Paulding counties were among the county officers who attended a workshop on promoting Farm Bureau’s member services.

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AFBF President Bob Stallman delivered the keynote speech of the conference. He discussed the pending farm bill and changes the U.S. Department of Labor has proposed to rules impacting youth who work on farms.

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Finance or refinance and save with low rates and:• Flexible payment terms• Vehicle protection plans*• Dedicated member serviceTake advantage of your member benefits today! Contact your local Farm Bureau agent to apply.Rates subject to change without notice.*Rate disclosed as Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and is based on automated payments (ACH) and acquiring one of the following collateral protection products: Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP), Debt Cancellation (DC) or Major Mechanical Protection (MMP). Additional discounts do apply for purchasing more than one collateral protection product. The advertised APR of 3.99% is effective as of 6/7/2011. Final APR may differ from the loan interest rate due to additional fees (such as a loan documentation fee) which may be applicable. Suppose you borrow $19,000 and there is a $50 documentation fee for a total loan of $19,050, with an interest rate of 3.99%, the calculated APR for a 60 month loan with a 45 day first payment date would be 4.09%, with payments of $351.39. To qualify for the disclosed rate, customer must be a Farm Bureau member. Existing Farm Bureau Bank vehicle loans are excluded from this offer. Finance charges accrue from origination date of the loan. Rates and financing are limited to vehicle models 2004 and newer. All loans are subject to credit approval, verification, and collateral evaluation. Other rates and financing options are available. Non-member rates may be 1-3% higher than posted rates. Loans for RVs, motorcycles, trailers, ATVs, watercraft and commercial vehicles may be 1.5%-2% higher. This offer is not available in all states and rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Banking services provided by Farm Bureau Bank, FSB. Farm Bureau Bank, FSB is a service to member institution that provides banking services to Farm Bureau members. Services are not available in AL, IL, MI, MO, MS, OH or WY and may not be available in some counties or parishes. Farm Bureau, FB and the FB National Logo are registered service marks owned by the American Farm Bureau Federation and are used under license by FB BanCorp and its subsidiaries, including Farm Bureau Bank FSB.

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GFB President Zippy Duvall, pictured far right, welcomes first-term county Farm Bureau presidents to the GFB headquarters for an orientation meeting Feb. 7. New presidents attending the meeting, pictured from left, were: Stanley Bass, Colquitt County; Lee Nunn, Morgan County; Gene Brunson, Taylor County; Donny Jones, Evans County; Russ Moon, Madison County; Hank Youngblood, Worth County; Clegg Griggs, Dooly County; Wayne Talton, Houston County; Chris Rogers, Jefferson County; Butch Copelan, Monroe County; and Greg Bird, Camden County.


By Jennifer Whittaker__________________________________________________________________________

The farm gate value of Georgia’s ag-riculture commodities hit a record high of $12 billion in 2010, and the

2011 farm gate report, to be calculated this year, is expected to be higher, University of Georgia Economist Nathan Smith told members of Georgia’s agriculture com-munity attending the 2012 Georgia Ag Forecast meeting held in Macon, Jan. 23. A series of five meetings were held across the state Jan. 23-27. “Crop prices should remain relatively high because of the tight supply situation,” Smith said, but he tempered this by saying farmers will see production costs rise 15 to 20 percent in 2012. Higher fertilizer and seed prices are the main reasons for rising production costs, but equipment costs are expected to increase 10 percent. UGA economists ex-pect interest rates to remain low through-out 2012, Smith said, which is good for ag-riculture as farmers borrow money to plant their crops and buy equipment. Smith predicts rent for row crop land will increase this year as farmers compete for more acreage to take advantage of high-er commodity prices. Smith predicts Georgia peanut acre-age could top 600,000 acres this year as

the market looks to correct the low sup-ply of peanuts resulting from high cotton prices in 2010. Smith predicts fewer cot-ton acres this year. “Corn acreage increased in Georgia last year, and if we have good planting weather, and we get a little bit more rain to help re-plenish surface water, corn will probably hang on to the acres it claimed last year,” Smith said. Agribusiness lawyer Nowell Berreth, with the Atlanta law firm Alston & Bird, gave an overview of the H-2A guest worker program. He said about 33 Georgia farmers are currently using the program to bring in about 7,000 workers each year. Berreth said one of the biggest problems with H-2A is that it only helps farmers secure seasonal workers for a maximum stay of 10 months in the U.S. while segments of agriculture, like dairy and poultry, need year-round workers. American Farm Bureau Congressio-nal Relations Senior Director Mary Kay Thatcher gave the farm bill update at the Macon meeting, saying she thinks there’s only a 50 percent chance Congress will pass a farm bill this year. Congress must pass an extension of the current bill if it fails to pass a new one by Oct. 1, when the current bill expires. Georgia Farm Bureau Legislative

Director Jon Huffmaster gave the update at the other meetings. “Agriculture is proven to be the rock of the economy of the state, but we need not sit back and get comfortable,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said at the Macon meeting. “We need you to be part of our organization and take part in our commu-nications with Commissioner Black and the College of Agriculture because we’re all working on these issues to make sure we protect our industry and rural Georgia. It’s going to be an exciting year.” Scott Angle, dean of the UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, said his college is working hard every day to solve some of the most pressing issues facing agriculture to ensure that farmers in Georgia and the Southeast can continue to feed the world. “The real solution to the immigration issue is mechinization. We’re going to have to find ways of mechanizing these jobs. We’re going to have to find solu-tions with mechanization and technology and that’s what the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences is all about.”

Pictured from left, front row, Middle Georgia Extension Agents Karol Kelly, Jan Bag-garly, Britney White and Jeff Cook visited with Jones County Farm Bureau members, back row, from left, Judd Chambers, Billy Moore, Pat and Harold Daniels during the Ag Forecast meeting in Macon.

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Crop outlook, labor & farm billfocus of Ag Forecast Meetings

USDA field daysApril 21 • Dillwood Farms • LoganvilleMay 17 • Camp Westminster • Conyers

June 14 • Love is Love and Oakleaf Mennonite Farm • Atlanta

These three workshops, offered by the Upper Ocmulgee River Resource Conservation and Development Coun-cil from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., will let at-tendees observe organic crops in various stages of development grown with a va-riety of production practices. Local chefs will conduct cooking demonstrations utilizing Georgia-grown produce. In-formation on USDA program eligibilty and instructions on how farmers can ac-cept EBT payments at farmers markets will be discussed. The event at Camp Westminster will include a special pas-ture management and equine field day. Registration is free but must be done in advance. To register, visit http://tiny.cc/LBdf2b. For more information, call the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service at 770-963-9288 or contact Wil-lie Torrey at 678-376-9518 or visit http://www.ebtfarmersmarket.com.


legislative updateJon Huffmaster, Legislative Director

Undocumented workers: farm labor’s elephant in the room Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and the GFB Legislative Board Committee discussed farm labor during a meeting with Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black Jan. 31. “The elephant in the room is the un-documented folks who are already here,” Black said during the meeting, and the GFB group agreed. Last summer, Duvall broached the subject of undocumented workers when he sent a letter discussing the need for labor reform to all members of Georgia’s U.S. Congressional delegation. In the July 8, 2011 letter, Duvall wrote that federal immigration reform must include a way to “allow undocumented workers already in the country to apply for a work visa...farmers need to be able to retain their ex-perienced workforce...” On Feb. 9, Black testified in Wash-ington, D.C., before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy & Enforcement. He boldly proposed a “pen-alty-based work authorization permit” to address the issue of undocumented work-ers already in the country, the biggest stumbling block to federal immigration reform. To read Commissioner Black’s testimony in its entirety, visit http://www.gfb.org/legislative/black_testimony.html. No one knows for sure how many un-documented people are in the U.S., but estimates range from 10 to 15 million per-sons. Most of these people are hard work-ers. Although they are in our country il-legally, most abide by the state and county laws where they live. Large numbers of them have lived in the U.S. for years, and some have children who were born here and have never visited their parents’ homeland. Some of these children have served in the U.S. military. What to do about illegal immigrants has a polarizing effect on both sides of the political spectrum. Some people ar-gue that amnesty is best because everyone starts with a clean slate, and the work-

ers are needed in this country. That line of thinking ignores the fact that amnesty would encourage a new wave of immi-grants to cross our borders making the problem worse. The opposite view considers all illegal aliens as lawbreakers who deserve noth-ing less than punishment, incarceration or deportation. This viewpoint overlooks the complexities involved in crafting a real solution to the immigration problem. Imagine a life so bad that a person would leave everything and go to a foreign country to pick squash and cucumbers in the hot sun all day. Without an incen-tive to come forward, things will never get bad enough here for this person to return home. A realistic solution must offer illegal workers, who are otherwise abiding by our laws, an incentive to come out of hiding. Currently, there are several bills in Congress dealing with immigration re-form. Only Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ HAR-VEST Act, S.1384, addresses the issue of undocumented workers. Chambliss’ bill allows undocumented workers to apply for an H-2A visa. Workers could make application while in the U.S. but would have to return home to obtain the visa. Georgia Farm Bureau supports Cham-bliss’ bill. Since being introduced on July 19, 2011, HARVEST has languished in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and no addi-tional sponsors have signed onto the bill. Black’s plan is a straightforward ap-proach to the problem of undocumented workers. It calls for a limited signup pe-riod during which undocumented farm workers would come forward, plead guilty of illegally entering the country and be subjected to a $10,000 fine payable over five years. Undocumented workers would also be required to purchase a biometri-cally secure, agriculture-only work permit at an annual cost of $500. Under Black’s plan, permit holders would be able to remain in the U.S. and work but would face immediate depor-

tation for violating requirements of the permit. The workers would be required to forfeit prior social security withhold-ings. Future social security withholdings, both the employer and employee por-tions, would be dedicated to a mandatory market-based health insurance product. “A program of this nature should re-quire fierce employer sanctions immedi-ately following the end of the signup pe-riod,” said Black. In other words, once employers have a program where they can actually deter-mine who is legal and who is not, there would be severe ramifications for employ-ers who knowingly hire workers without the work permit. Black outlined his plan with the GFB Legislative Board Committee during their January visit. The GFB leaders praised the positive aspects of the plan, such as allowing skilled workers to remain in the country, the agriculture-only aspect of the permit and the plan’s efforts to ease the burden on government health services used by immigrant workers by using their social security withholdings to fund an in-surance plan. Black readily acknowledges the plan is not perfect. Duvall and the GFB Legisla-tive Committee questioned the $10,000 fine, due to concerns that the penalty would essentially be borne by farmers. “Commissioner Black’s proposal is a starting point, and we have to start some-where,” said Duvall. Right now, the penalty-based work au-thorization permit is nothing more than an idea. Until a federal legislator agrees to in-troduce a bill that includes these concepts, it will simply remain a topic for discussion. No matter what people think of Black’s proposal, it directly addresses the elephant in the room that most elected officials are ignoring - the millions of undocumented workers already in the country. Jon Huffmaster is director of the GFB Legislative Department.


with mill use at 3.50 million bales. Off-take stands are estimated at 15.50 million bales with beginning stocks of 3.90 million bales. This would result in U.S. ending stocks of 5.4 million bales or a stocks-to-use ratio of 34.8 percent. This scenario does not bode well for prices, especially if the economy fal-ters. Georgia is forecast to plant about 12.7 percent less acres this year. Farmers are scratching their heads try-ing to determine which crop to plant. The Georgia Farm Bureau Commodities/Mar-keting Department has a program to assist our members in marketing grain as well as procuring feed ingredients. GFB offers forward contracting, cash trades and basis contracts for grain marketing. We have a professional staff to serve our membership. Contact the Commodities/Marketing De-partment at (800) 342 -1196. Jesse Patrick is a commodity specialist in the GFB Commodities/Marketing De-partment.

Boddiford & Burch renominated to GPC

Georgia peanut producers Joe Boddi-ford of Screven County and Tim Burch of Baker County were renominated to contin-ue serving on the Georgia Peanut Commis-sion Board of Directors during nomination meetings in December. Boddiford represents the commission’s 3rd District. Burch represents the commis-sion’s 1st District. Since both directors were renominated without opposition, no elec-tion is required, and each will begin another three-year term in May.

Ga. Senate Ag Committee makes appointments

The Georgia Senate Agriculture Com-mittee recently appointed Crisp County Farm Bureau member Buddy Leger as an ex officio member of all of Georgia’s agricul-tural commodity commissions and Jimmy Clements of Baker County to the Georgia Seed Development Commission.

commodities/marketing updateJesse Patrick

2012 Commodity Outlook This is turning into another stellar year for Georgia commodities. Prices have fallen from the record highs of 2011 but are still strong compared to the past. Input costs, however, have risen to some of the highest in recent memory. Once again this year, there is a battle for acreage among crops in the United States as well as Georgia. Drought conditions and access to water will play a pivotal role in the crops farmers plant. Strong prices are driv-ing farmers to plant more acres this year. The combined corn, soybean and wheat acreage is projected to be a record high and up three percent from last year. Corn will be a big player in the acreage battle with a projected 94-95 million acres to be planted in the U.S. this year. This is up from the record corn set last year of about 92 million planted acres. Only 87 million acres were actually harvested last year due to adverse weather across the country. This year, if growers get normal weath-er, the USDA predicts the record corn pro-duction will overshoot demand, pushing ending stocks up and pulling down prices. Exports for corn were lower last year and adversely affected by the uncertain world economic situation. Lower U.S. ethanol consumption and declining ethanol exports will lower the expected corn use for ethanol production. In Georgia, corn is looking to compete with peanuts and cotton again this year with estimates of around 400,000 planted corn acres. Soybean planted acres are projected to stay the same this year as last at 75 million acres with a slight increase in yield nation-wide. Soybean prices continued to improve on the heels of a tight stocks-to-use ratio as well as continued decreasing outlook for pro-duction in Brazil and Argentina. China con-tinues to be a huge buyer of U.S. soybeans. New invasive pests, like the kudzu bug, and continued drought conditions in Geor-gia may put a damper on soybean acres. Ex-treme conditions saw a dramatic decrease in acres and yield in 2011 with many dry-land acres abandoned. However, prices are

up, global demand continues to show gains and an increase in wheat acres give support for double-cropped soybeans going into the 2012 production year. Wheat acres nationwide are projected to be 58 million, up four million acres from last year. There are many factors this year that will affect the wheat crop and price. World wheat ending stocks are near record highs and exports will play a key role in de-termining prices. The dollar value as well as exports out of Russia and the Black Sea area could play a critical role in U.S. wheat ex-ports for 2012. The corn market will also affect wheat prices and demand. If corn prices stay strong, feeders will substitute rations with other feeds like wheat. In Georgia, abnor-mally warm winter weather conditions have pushed wheat growth ahead of schedule causing concern from many farmers. Dis-ease and any late frost will play a large role determining yields this year. Planted acres will be the key in deter-mining the direction of the peanut market. U.S. peanut acres in 2011 totaled about 1.14 million, and many feel it will be 1.35 million or higher in 2012. The pipeline supply has declined and stocks need to be increased. Some farmers were lucky to get $700 plus contracts, but many have yet to secure a contract, which could be very risky as we move into the season. Manufacturers and shellers appear at odds over pricing. Farmers seem to be will-ing to grow more peanuts but may not get an optimum price. Corn and cotton will get their share of acres in Georgia and neighbor-ing states, especially to the west, will dra-matically increase their planted peanut acres. Availability for peanut seed should be ad-equate but at much higher prices this year. In the U.S., mill use for cotton contin-ues to fall as demand remains soft. Ending stocks for 2011-12 are projected to be 3.90 million bales with an ending stocks-to-use ratio of 27.1 percent. The USDA released 2012-13 projections in February. U.S. pro-duction is estimated to be 17 million bales


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Washington County row crop farm-er Glenn Waller, long one of the state’s highest-yielding soybean producers, was named chairman of the Georgia Agricul-tural Commodity Commission for Soy-beans during the commission’s monthly meeting on Jan. 25. Waller, who won the 2010 high yield and production efficien-cy awards, succeeds Billy Wayne Sellers as commission chair. Waller’s term is scheduled to run through Aug. 8, 2013. The commission is one of 12 state commodity commissions funded through check-off assessments and provides leadership on research, educa-tion and promotion of soybeans grown in Georgia. During the 2012 Soyban/Small Grain Expo on Jan. 26, the Georgia/Florida Soybean Association presented its Agri-business Awards to Roebie Burriss and

Dar Bohnen-stiehl. Bohnenstie-hl, a retired air-line pilot, is the owner and man-ager of Milner Farms in Lamar County, where he and his son Kyle grow soy-beans, cotton and wheat on 2,000 acres. Burriss is an area manager for Pioneer Hi-Bred for Georgia, South Carolina and much of Florida. A Georgia native, Burriss is a University of Georgia graduate and serves as president of the Georgia Seed Association.

Waller chairing Soybean Commission, soybean awards presented

Glenn Waller

2012 Young Harris/UGA beekeeping institute

May 10-12 This event at Young Harris College begins at 8 a.m. each day and offers classes for beekeepers at all levels of experience. May 10 is dedicated to training and certi-fication exams for journeymen and mas-ter beekeeper qualifications, as well as the Welsh honey judge training, a licens-ing program for honey judges in North America. May 11 and 12 provide entry-level training and certification, including individual and colony biology, low-tech beekeeping, equipment construction and more. Registration fees for ages 18 and older is $96 for one day and $152 for two days. For ages 11-18, fees are $44 for one day and $70 for two days. Participants are urged to register by April 30. For more in-formation, visit http://www.ent.uga.edu/bees/young-harris/index.html or contact Samantha Holland at [email protected] or 706-769-1736.

14 /march-april 2012 GeorGia Farm Bureau News

Article & Photos by Jennifer Whittaker_________________________________________________________

What has the pleasant sound and sweet aroma of a barn-yard, is crackling with youthful energy and wrapped in ribbons? If you guessed the 2012 Georgia Junior Nation-

al Livestock Show, then you’re right! Residents of Perry, Ga., and the staff of the Georgia National Fair-grounds & Agricenter welcomed more than 1,600 4-H and FFA mem-bers from across Georgia for the annual competition held Feb. 22-26. The exhibitors showed more than 4,000 head of cattle, sheep and hogs in showmanship and species competitions. “We were very happy with our [participation] numbers with the economy the way it is. These families have pulled together and they continue to bring livestock, and our supporters continue to support these livestock programs,” said Heather Shultz, Georgia 4-H live-stock program coordinator. Georgia Farm Bureau sponsored the grand champion prizes for all species competitions in the show. “Georgia Farm Bureau is proud to be the sponsor for the grand champion animals during the 2012 Georgia Junior National Livestock Show,” said GFB President Zippy Duvall. “Georgia Farm Bureau has served as the voice of Georgia’s farmers for seventy-five years. Part of this mission is developing the future leaders of Georgia agriculture. We are excited about our partnership with 4-H and FFA. This event teaches our youth valuable life skills such as work ethic and responsibility. We want to help grow the future crop of Georgia’s agriculture community.” Colquitt County FFA member Jonathan Mobley won the Grand Champion Breeding Heifer Award. Jonathan, a senior at Colquitt County High School, has shown cattle for seven years and

GFB sponsors grand champions 4-H & FFA members take to the ring at Ga. Jr. National Livestock Show

Colquitt County FFA member Jonathan Mobley, far right, won the Grand Champion Breeding Heifer Award with his crossbred heifer at the 2012 Georgia Junior National Livestock Show Feb. 24. A Monop-oly bull sired the prize-winning heifer. Pictured from left, GFB Presi-dent Duvall presents the $2,500 grand champion prize to Mobley as fitters Jerrod Arthur and Tyler Atwood join judges Les Wankel and Doug Satree in congratulating Mobley.

Decatur County 4-Her Bo Bailey won the Grand Champion Mar-ket Steer Award with his Charolais steer at the 2012 Georgia Junior National Livestock Show Feb. 25. Pictured from left, GFB President Duvall presents the $5,000 grand champion prize while judge Kevin Jensen presents the trophy to Bailey.

Putnam County FFA member Magen Moore won the Georgia Junior National Livestock Grand Champion Commercial Dairy Heifer Award with her Holstein calf at the 2012 Georgia Junior National Livestock Show Feb. 25. GFB President Duvall presents the grand champion $1,000 prize to Moore.

GeorGia Farm Bureau News march-april 2012 / 15

is the son of Mike and Torina Mobley. Jeff Davis County FFA member Balie Herndon won the Grand Champion Market Barrow Award with her crossbred hog. Balie, a sophomore at Jeff Davis High School, is the daughter of Wayne and Rhonda Herndon and has been showing hogs for five years. Putnam County FFA member Magen Moore won the Grand Champion Commercial Dairy Heifer Award with her Holstein calf. Magen, a senior at Putnam County High School, has been showing for four years and is the daughter of James and Terri Moore of Eatonton. Decatur County 4-H member Bo Bailey won the Grand Champion Market Steer Award with his Charolais steer. Bo, the son of Cliff and Cindy Bailey of Bainbridge, is a freshman at Grace Christian Academy and has been showing for five years. Mitchell County 4-Her Mattison Barnes won the Grand Cham-pion Market Gilt Award with his crossbred hog. Mattison, a sopho-more at Baconton Community Charter School, has been showing hogs since he was three. Elbert County 4-Her Anna Ruff won the Grand Champion Breeding Ewe Award. Anna, a home-schooled sophomore who has been showing lambs for two years, is the daughter of Greg and Shannon Ruff of Elberton. “This is a great opportunity for these students to come here to the state show at this wonderful facility and get to show off their animals,” said Ben Lastly, Georgia FFA executive secretary. “These students have had these animals for months, so this is a great opportunity for them to showcase their project animals with their friends and their parents and get some type of a ribbon or recognition.” GFB will host a celebration dinner for the grand champion win-ners and their parents on April 13 at the GFB home office in Macon.

4-H & FFA members take to the ring at Ga. Jr. National Livestock Show

Mitchell County 4-Her Mattison Barnes, kneeling, won the Grand Champion Market Gilt Award with his crossbred hog Bandit, at the 2012 Georgia Junior National Livestock Show Feb. 25. GFB President Duvall, standing, left, presents the $1,500 grand cham-pion prize to Barnes as judge Travis Platt congratulates Mattison’s mother, Jeri, sister, Malone, and father, Matt.

Jeff Davis County FFA member Balie Herndon won the Grand Champion Market Barrow with her crossbred hog at the 2012 Geor-gia Junior National Livestock Show Feb. 24. Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall, left, presents the $1,500 grand champion prize to Herndon.

Elbert County 4-Her Anna Ruff won the Grand Champion Breed-ing Ewe Award at the 2012 Georgia Junior National Livestock Show Feb. 26. GFB President Duvall presents the $1,000 grand champion prize to Ruff.


By Jay Stone__________________________________________________________________________

While celebrating the Georgia Peanut Commission’s (GPC) 50th anniversary and looking at the newest equipment for peanuts displayed at the 2012 Georgia Peanut Farm Show, the state’s peanut growers also heard about the importance of the industry self-funding research and economic factors to consider as they make their planting decisions. GPC Executive Director Don Koehler led a town hall discussion centering on checkoff assessments during the show, held Jan. 19 at the James H. Gray Sr. Civic Center in Albany. The organization held a referendum in 2011 on whether to raise the assessments to offset cuts in govern-ment funding for research programs, but it was voted down by the growers. “We’ve got this research crisis staring us in the face,” Koehler said. “We’re los-ing researchers. We’re losing dollars. We can’t depend on the federal government

or the state government any longer to fund research the way it’s always been.” Multiple peanut farmers spoke in favor of raising the assessment during the dis-cussion, during which Koehler pointed out that the original assessment of $1 per ton started in 1961 and was raised to $2 per ton in 1980. It has not been increased since. “I feel like we could increase the checkoff another dollar and it wouldn’t hurt any of us,” said one anonymous grower. “Regardless of how many acres of peanuts you grow, a few dollars out at the end of the day to work on what we’re going to need 10 years down the road is a terrific investment.” UGA Associate Professor and Exten-sion Economist Dr. Nathan Smith gave a presentation on the 2012 economic out-look for peanuts, saying that an expan-sion of peanut acreage is likely. Smith said price outcomes in 2012 could be

similar to those in 2007 and 2008, and he predicted that more growers would enter into more production contracts in 2012 to limit their exposure to price volatility. “If you plant peanuts without a con-tract, you run the risk of getting lower prices because the production is likely to be greater this year,” Smith said. Kelley Manufacturing Company pre-sented the Georgia Peanut Commission with a check for $50,000 in honor of the GPC’s 50th anniversary. KMC gave $1,000 for each year of the GPC’s history to help fund the construction of the GPC’s new headquarters building in Tifton. The building will be the first net-zero energy building for state government in Georgia. “We are recognizing the 50th anniver-sary of the Georgia Peanut Commission,” said Kelley CEO Lanier Carson. “They have been involved for a long time help-ing farmers and it’s exciting to be a part of some of those festivities.” The GPC gave out its annual awards at the Peanut Farm Show, which drew more than 1,600 participants. Seminole County Farm Bureau mem-ber Brad Thompson won the 2012 Out-standing Young Peanut Farmer Award, which his father Raymond accepted on his behalf. “I’m really excited that I was honored with the award,” Thompson said. “I really appreciate all the help I received from my peanut scout, Jimmy Miller, our exten-sion agent Rome Etheridge and the Geor-gia Peanut Commission.” Retired GPC staff member Joan Sut-ton Underwood and Frank Boddiford of the Georgia Federal-State Inspection Service each received a Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Mark Manary, a pediatrician with Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis, received the Research and Educa-tion Award. Manary developed a peanut-based ready-to-use therapeutic food that is used to treat malnutrition in underde-veloped countries Georgia Public Broadcasting reporter Josephine Bennett received the Media Award for her coverage of the peanut industry. Virginia Acord of the Georgia Peanut Festival in Sylvester accepted a Special Award for the festival’s efforts to promote peanuts.

Research & assessments hot topics at 2012 Peanut Farm Show

Members of the Georgia Peanut Commission accepted a $50,000 check from Kelley Manufacturing CEO Lanier Carson, second from left, in celebration of the commission’s 50th anniversary. The money is to be used in the construction of the GPC’s new head-quarters building in Tifton.

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Monroe County H.E.R.D. Sale

SELLING 80 BRED HEIFERSON MAY 12, 2012 • 12:30 p.m.

Sleepy Creek Farm near Forsyth, GA

All heifers will sell confirmed safe in calf to calving ease Angus Bulls. All heifers were A.I.’d at least once to Sydgen Trust 6228 (CED +13, BW -0.4, WW +53, YW +90, Milk +30).

For more information or to receive a catalogue, call the Monroe County Extension at (478) 994-7014. Web info at http://www.ugaextension.com/monroe/ • Email [email protected]; Type HERD in the subject line.

Data Available:• A.I. Breeding & Sire EPD’s• Pelvic Area • Frame Score • Disposition Score • Weight per Day of Age • Average Daily Gain

Cooleys, Massey receive poultry awards Georgia Farm Bureau Poultry Com-mittee Chairman Larry Cooley was one of six regional winners of the 2012 Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award, and Georgia Poultry Federation President Emeritus Abit Massey received the Harold E. Ford Lifetime Achieve-ment Award. The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association presented both awards dur-ing the 2012 International Poultry Expo at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Cooley serves as a Crawford County Farm Bureau Director. The Environmental Excellence Award recognizes exemplary environmental stewardship by family farmers engaged in poultry and egg production. Applicants were rated on dry litter or liquid manure management, nutrient management plan-ning, community involvement, wildlife

management, and participation in educa-tion or outreach programs. Environmental professionals from universities, regulatory agencies, and state trade associations also visited applicants’ farms during the selec-tion process. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual whose dedica-tion and leadership over the years have ex-ceeded the ordinary and impacted both the

poultry industry and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association in an exemplary manner. Massey is the organizer and first presi-dent of the State Poultry Executives Asso-ciation. He has twice been listed by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the 100 Most In-fluential Georgians and received the inau-gural Medallion of Honor for his service to the UGA College of Agricultural and Envi-ronmental Sciences in 2006.

Terri and Larry Cooley received the 2012 Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award. The Cooley family has 18 broiler houses with a capacity of 450,000 chickens. They also raise beef cattle. Cooley serves as a Crawford County Farm Bureau Director.

Abit Massey, left, president emeritus of the Georgia Poultry Federation, accepts the Harold E. Ford Lifetime Achievement Award from Ford, for whom the award is named and a past president of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.

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young farmer updateJed Evans, Young Farmer Coordinator

Ga. delegation attends AFBFLeadership Conference

Georgia Farm Bureau Young Farmer Committee members attending the 2012 American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmer & Rancher Leadership Conference, pictured from left, were: Joe & Leigh Rush of Floyd County, Committee Chairmen Jake & Jennifer Carter of Henry County, Garret & Nydia Ganas of Ware County, Brad & Ashlee Wood of Wilcox County and Alicia & Thomas Harrell of Madison County. Sam & Emily Watson of Colquitt County, not pictured, also attended the conference held Feb. 17-21 in Grand Rapids, Mich. The theme for the conference, attended by nearly 1,000 young farmers from across the U.S., was “Your Voice, Our Future.” The Georgia delegation participated in leadership development activities and heard several motivational speakers. Vir-ginia Commissioner of Agriculture Matt Lohr inspired the crowd with his personal story of perseverance in overcoming the

loss of his wife with support he received from the agriculture community. Bryan Townsend, of Alabama, challenged the crowd to follow their dreams and pursue their passion for farming while leading the

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way as the next generation of agriculture. The group also toured some of Michi-gan’s farmland, attended multiple breakout sessions and judged the AFBF Collegiate Discussion Meet.

YF Achievement Contest deadline May 11

If you’re a young farmer between the ages of 18 and 35, you should consider applying for the 2012 Georgia Farm Bu-reau Young Farmer Achievement Award. Eligible contestants must not be older than 35 as of January 31, 2013. Applications for the award are available at your county Farm Bureau office. May 11 is the deadline to enter the contest. All qualified applicants will be judged in district competi-tion. Ten district winners and three state finalists will be an-nounced in July at the GFB Young Farmer Leadership Con-ference. The three finalists will be judged on their written application and financial statement. The three finalists will be recognized at the GFB Conven-tion on Jekyll Island, Dec. 2-4, where the state winner will be announced. The state winner will receive a $500 cash award, the free use of a Kubota L or M series tractor for one year and an expense-paid trip to the 2013 AFBF Convention in Nash-ville, Tenn., to compete for national honors. The national winner will receive a 2013 Chevrolet or GMC pickup truck. The four runners-up in the national con-test receive their choice of a compact Case IH tractor or 250 hours use of a full-size Case IH tractor, as well as a Stilh Boss Chainsaw.

YF Discussion Meet, YF Conference registration deadline May 31

The preliminary rounds of the 2012 GFB Young Farmer Discussion Meet will be held during the GFB Young Farmer Leadership Conference on Jekyll Island, July 12-15, where the final four will be determined. The four finalists will com-pete for the state title at the GFB Convention on Jekyll Is-land, Dec. 2-4. May 31 is the deadline to entering the competition and is also the date to register for the leadership conference. The state winner of the GFB Discussion Meet will re-ceive an Arctic Cat 500 4x4 ATV and an expense-paid trip to the 2013 AFBF Convention in Nashville, Tenn., to com-pete for national honors. The national winner will receive a 2013 Chevrolet or GMC pickup truck. The three runners-up will receive a $6,000 U.S. savings bond. The GFB Young Farmer Committee is making big plans for the leadership conference. All young farmers, ages 18-35, are encouraged to attend. In addition to the preliminary rounds of the discussion meet, the conference will feature multiple breakout sessions, motivational speakers and activ-ities for children of all ages. Visit your county Farm Bureau for more information about these exciting events.


A group of 31 young farmers from all 10 GFB Districts descended on Washing-ton D.C., March 6-9 as part of the annual trip hosted by the GFB Young Farmer Committee. After AFBF and GFB legislative staff gave the group a briefing of the issues, the young farmers discussed a number of key issues with Georgia’s congressional del-egation including the 2012 farm bill, fed-eral estate taxes, attacks on animal agri-culture, immigration policy and proposed child labor laws.

April 27 deadline to enter GFB Photo Contest

Young Farmers travel to Washington, D.C.The GFB Young Farmer group met with Sen. Saxby Chambliss while in Washington, D.C.

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Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isak-son met with our group in a meeting in the Russell Senate Office Building on March 7. Following the meeting with the senators, the young farmers set out to Capitol Hill to visit with their congressmen. Rep. Jack Kingston joined the group for breakfast on March 8, a highlight of the trip. GFB President Zippy Duvall also addressed the group, encourag-ing young farmers to share their passion for agriculture with their elected officials. In addition to visiting Capitol Hill, young farmers had the chance to tour our

nation’s capitol, many seeing this historic city for the first time. This is a tremendous opportunity for young farmers to visit Washington and discuss important issues facing us as pro-ducers,” said GFB Young Farmer Com-mittee Chairman Jake Carter from Henry County. This year marked the 27th annual Young Farmers to Washington trip. The GFB Young Farmer Committee hosts the annual trip with assistance from the GFB Legislative Department.

The Georgia Farm Bureau Young Farmer Committee is accepting entries for its 3rd Annual Picture Agriculture in Georgia Contest - open to any Georgia Farm Bureau member who is an amateur photographer (receives no income from photography). Cash awards will be presented in two categories - Farm Bureau Members and Farm Bureau Employees. Prizes for the member category are: 1st Place - $150 and 11 Honorable Men-tions - $75 each. The winner of the member category will be featured on the front of the 2013 GFB Young Farmer Calen-dar. Prizes for the employee category are: 1st Place - $100, 2nd Place - $75, 3rd Place - $50. Only digital photos that are a minimum of 1 megabyte (MB) in file size may be submitted with a limit of two entries per person. All photos must have been shot in Georgia in 2011 or 2012. Photos altered in any way will not be judged. All pho-tos become the property of GFB. Digital photos must be sent as a JPEG file attachment via email to [email protected] by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 27. If chil-dren or people are included in photos, you must complete a

Model Release Entry Form that must be received by GFB by 4:30 p.m. April 27 via fax or U.S. mail. Visit your county Farm Bureau office for contest rules, entry instructions and the Model Re-lease Form or visit the GFB website at http://www.gfb.org. Contest winners will be posted on the GFB website in early August and featured in the fall issue of GFB’s Georgia Neigh-bors magazine.


Georgia’s cotton growers might not be altering their plans to com-memorate 2012 as the Year of the

Dragon, but one speaker at the Georgia Cotton Commission (GCC) annual meet-ing advised them to pay attention to it and its implications. Mike Watson, vice president for fiber competition with Cotton Incorporated, discussed how the industry can remain competitive in global markets, pointing out that China is projected to have sig-nificant population growth, enhancing demand for cotton and cotton products. China is the largest export destination for U.S. cotton according to the USDA. “Your customer is in an entirely dif-

ferent culture. They celebrate in different ways; different things are important to them. If you’re going to be competitive globally, learn as much as you can about your customer,” Watson said. He noted that the Year of the Drag-on, which began Jan. 23, carries special significance in Chinese culture, and typi-cally more children are born in China, Taiwan and Singapore during the Year of the Dragon than in other years of the Chinese zodiac. “That’s going to have a ripple effect on economies throughout that region,” Watson said. “Imagine bringing 60 mil-lion extra babies into that region. I’ve recently acquired two grandchildren. I

know what kind of money grandmothers spend on grandchildren, so I expect this to cause a big economic ripple out there with your customers.” Engaging customers – including those overseas – was a key message heard by approximately 350 people who attended the meeting in Tifton on Feb. 1. They also received updates from leaders of the GCC, the National Cotton Council, South-ern Cotton Growers, the Cotton Board and Cotton Inc. The one-day conference included updates on the 2012 farm bill and recognition of the winners of the 2011 Georgia Quality Cotton Awards. GCC Executive Director Richey Seaton gave a review of the commission’s activi-ties for the past year, noting that the GCC hosted a group of German cotton farmers on one visit and conducted tours for textile industry groups to continue promotional work on behalf of cotton growers. “It never hurts to talk to your custom-ers to build understanding,” Seaton said. “Communication is extremely important. We’ve had a chance to go back and visit the Parkdale Mill in Gaffney, S.C., and see some of their newest technology and learn what the future needs of those folks are, because we feed them and they feed us. We’ve all got to stay in business to keep our industry strong.” Southern Cotton Growers President Mike Tate gave an update on SCG’s activi-ties, emphasizing the importance of cotton commodity groups’ continued support of research funding programs. Cotton Board President Bill Gillon dis-cussed research and promotion of cotton, and National Cotton Council Senior Vice President John Maguire reviewed the 2012 farm bill deliberations, noting that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction missed a chance to enact the next farm bill without it being subject to amend-ments, which could result in more cuts under the normalized farm bill proceed-ings now underway. Maguire discussed factors affecting the 2012 farm bill, such as 2012 being an election year and that U.S. farm policy must comply with the U.S.-Brazil framework agreement. Maguire also reviewed STAX, the cotton industry’s shallow-loss crop insurance program. “This is going to be a long, grueling year,” Maguire said.

Coley, Webb elected to NCC positions Chuck Coley of Dooly County was elected chairman of the National Cotton Council (NCC), and Jimmy Webb of Calhoun County was elected president of Cot-ton Council International (CCI) during the NCC’s annual meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, Feb. 10-12. Coley, a Dooly County Farm Bureau member, has been active in national, regional and state associations. He is a current board member for Southern Cotton Growers Association and has served as president of the National Cotton Ginners Association and the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association. Webb, who is vice president of Calhoun County Farm Bureau, will preside over CCI, the NCC’s export promotions arm. He serves on the Edison Gin Co-Op board and chairs the NCC’s Conservation Task Force. Kent D. Fountain of Appling County was re-elected to the CCI board.

Ga. cotton growers hear about importance of overseas markets

Attendees at the 2012 Georgia Cotton Commission annual meeting heard updates from several U.S. cotton organizations, including a review of the GCC’s 2011 activities.

By Jay Stone__________________________________________________________________________

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2011 Ga. Quality Cotton Award winners named

For the seventh year, Georgia cotton growers and ginners of high-quality cot-ton fiber were recognized in the annual Georgia Quality Cotton Awards program. The University of Georgia Cotton Team administers the program, which is co-sponsored by the Georgia Cotton Com-mission and Bayer CropScience. The 2011 winners were recognized during the UGA Cotton Workshop and GCC annual meet-ing on Feb. 1.

The awards are given in three cot-ton acreage categories: 1) less than 500 acres, 2) 500 to 1,000 acres and 3) more than 1,000 acres within the four regions of the state. Winners in these categories are determined by the loan value and premiums. The producers and their gins received a plaque and the winning growers received a $500 cash award. The winners’ Extension agents were also recognized as they work closely with the farmers during the growing season.

Dennis and Jerry Rhodes of Wilcox County won the Best Cotton Award for producing cotton with the highest loan value and premium out of all of the awards given in the program. The Rhodes, nomi-nated by Pitts Gin Company, also won Cat-egory 1 (less than 500 acres) in Region 1.

Other winners were: Region 1- Cat-egory 2 (500-1,000 acres) Jeff Wilson of

Turner County and Worth Gin; Category 3 (more than 1,000 acres) Gary Oliver & Ben Shivers of SOS Farms in Turner County and Arabi Gin. In Region 2, both winners are from Jefferson County and gin with Midville Warehouse. Stephen Nikkel won in Category 1; Heath Wilson won in Category 3. In Region 3, all three cat-egory winners farm in Brooks County and

gin with BCT Gin Company: Category 1, Brandon Mitchell; Category 2, Charles Dodd and Category 3, Randy Dewitt of Dewitt Farms. Region 4: Category 1, Trav-is Braswell of Seminole County and Clover Leaf Gin; Category 2, Joe Sapp of Mitchell County and BCT Gin Company; Category 3, Raymond Thompson of 3RT Farms in Seminole County and Clover Leaf Gin.

Winners of the 2011 Georgia Quality Cotton Awards are, from left, front row: Jerry Rhodes and Dennis Rhodes of Wilcox County, Gary Oliver and Ben Shivers of SOS Farms in Turner County and Jeff Wilson from Turner County. Pictured from left, back row are: Heath Wilson of Jefferson County, Travis Braswell and Raymond Thompson of Seminole County, Joe Sapp of Mitchell County and Brandon Mitchell and Charles Dodd with his son, Allen, of Brooks County. Not pictured are Stephen Nikkel of Jefferson County and Randy Dewitt of Dewitt Farms in Brooks County.

Equine impact study results

The Georgia Equine Commission recently announced preliminary find-ings of an equine economic impact study conducted by the UGA Center for Agribusiness & Economic Devel-opment. The study indicates the 2011 economic impact of Georgia’s horse industry was $868.7 million. Among the other findings, 2.4 percent of Georgians own horses and the equine industry creates more than 6,500 jobs in Georgia.

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Although some streams in the lower part of the Flint River Basin appear likely to go dry during summer months, the Georgia Environmental Protection Divi-sion (EPD) has announced it won’t issue a severe drought declaration, saying that reducing irrigation would be ineffective in increasing stream flows. EPD is required by the Flint River Drought Protection Act to make an an-nouncement by March 1 of each year re-garding severe drought. The law authorizes the compensation of farmers who volun-tarily stop irrigating their crops following

a severe drought declaration, although no funds are currently appropriated for this purpose according to the EPD. The only severe drought declarations were made in 2001 and 2002. “EPD has analyzed data on stream flows and determined that a reduction in irrigation that might be achievable through operations of the Flint River Drought Pro-tection Act would have a negligible impact on surface water flows this year,” EPD Di-rector Jud Turner said in a release. “South-west Georgia has experienced historically low basin inflow within several areas of the

lower Flint River basin for several months, and it’s going to take a significant amount of rain to improve conditions.” According to the EPD release, the agency will use data collected in the past decade, such as the number of acres un-der irrigation in the region, location of ir-rigated acres most likely to impact stream flows and the amount of irrigated water expected to be used in dry years along with hydrologic data from the current climatic cycle, to make recommendations regarding changes to the Act in the 2013 legislative session.

A group of stakeholders, including farmers, are participating in a water aug-mentation pilot project on Spring Creek in Miller County to test the viability of using groundwater from nearby wells to preserve native species of mussels during times of drought. “Evaluating the use of groundwater to supplement stream flows in dry periods was recommended by the Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Regional Water Planning Council in their recently adopted plan for managing water resources in the Lower Flint River basin,” said Tim Cash, assistant branch chief, Chattahoochee and Flint Riv-er Basins, Watershed Protection Branch, Georgia Environmental Protection Divi-sion. “This project is an important first step in implementing the Council’s recommen-dations as part of the statewide water plan-ning process.” Two wells were drilled east of the pi-lot project site, which is directly north of the city of Colquitt’s wastewater treatment ponds. This area contains a number of na-tive mussel species, native fish and turtles. Georgia’s Department of Natural Re-sources’ Wildlife Resources Division, in cooperation with other project partners, developed a monitoring plan to assess the effectiveness of the project in maintaining habitat and enhancing survival of mussels. The high diversity of mussels, as many as 14 species in one survey, makes Spring Creek a mussel hot spot for the Southeast. Three federally-listed mussel species, the shinyrayed pocketbook, oval pigtoe and

Ga. EPD won’t issue Flint River Basin drought declaration

Stream augmentation test seeks to maintain mussel habitat

The Spring Creek Sustainable Habitat Project strives to sustain water for aquatic species in severe drought conditions. If the streams drops to an identified low flow level (one foot at the USGS gauge near Spring Creek Park), water is pumped into an important stretch of the creek to keep the mussels alive until rains return.

Gulf mocassin shell used to live there, but only the pocketbook and pigtoe have been found in recent years. If the pattern of low flows continues, more mussel species will be eliminated from Spring Creek. Spring Creek Sustainable Habitat Project partners and supporters include the Spring Creek Watershed Partnership Program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-vice, the Golden Triangle Resource Con-servation Development Council and the

City of Colquitt. Georgia Sen. John Bulloch, chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, and Georgia Sen. Ross Tolleson, chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and the Environment Commit-tee, have also lent support to the project. Sen. Bulloch attended the activation of the pumps held Dec. 7, 2011, and Sen. Tolleson remotely started the pumps via the internet from his office in Perry.

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Equine champions honored More than 170 championship horse riders were honored during activities at the 2012 Youth Equine Champions Day Feb. 7 at the Georgia Capitol and the Georgia Depot in Atlanta. The youth champions, all of whom either won a state championship through 4-H or the Georgia Federation of Saddle Clubs or qualified for national or world competitions, sat in the gallery of the Georgia House of Representatives. Each champion was presented a cer-tificate during lunch activities at the Depot, which included a brief speech from Gov. Nathan Deal and video messages from Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and Georgia Agriculture Commis-sioner Gary Black.

Georgia youth equine champions were honored in ceremonies at the state capitol on March 7, including having their picture made with Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal, in the second row wearing pink.

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“You may not ever, as an adult, show a horse or do anything other than just have a few that you can ride, but I assure you that

the things you have learned as a young per-son will stand you in good stead no matter what you choose to do,” Deal said.

GPC referendum underway Georgia peanut growers have until April 15 to cast their bal-lot in a 30-day referendum being held to let growers determine if they will continue the commission. State law mandates that a referendum be held every three years. Georgia growers invest $2 per ton of peanuts sold to fund the commission and its research, education, promotion and communication programs. “I urge all peanut producers to vote in this referendum,” said GPC Chairman Armond Morris in a released statement announc-ing the referendum. “With continuing budget cuts at the federal and state level it is extremely important for growers to continue to focus their efforts on supporting research and promotional efforts through their checkoff dollars. One way for farmers to do that is by continuing their support of the Georgia Peanut Commission.” GPC Executive Director Don Koehler urges producers who have any questions about the commission’s activities or the refer-endum to contact him by email at [email protected] or to call toll free at 1-800-346-4993. Peanut producers who did not receive a ballot may get one by calling the aforementioned toll-free number. The commis-sion asks anyone who received a ballot but is no longer farming to write, “no longer producing” on the certification envelope and return it to the commission. This will assist the commission in updating its mailing list. The commission’s address is P.O. Box 967, Tifton, Georgia 31793. The Certified Public Accounting Firm of Allen, Pritchett, and Bassett will count the votes. During the last referendum in 2009, 87.4 percent of Georgia’s peanut growers who voted reaf-firmed the commission.

Reps. Bishop & Crawford form Chicken Caucus

Georgia Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-2nd District) and Arkan-sas Rep. Rick Crawford (R) have formed a bipartisan Congres-sional Chicken Caucus. In a release an-nouncing the formation of the caucus in late January, the congressmen said it is “intended to educate members of Con-gress about the history, contributions and concerns of the U.S. chicken indus-try, which emanate from a wide range of issues pertaining to food safety, trade, labor, immigration and the environment.” Founding members of the caucus include Georgia Reps. John Barrow (D-12th Dist.), Paul Broun (R-10th Dist.), Phil Gingrey (R-11th Dist.), Tom Graves (R-9th Dist.), Jack Kings-ton (R-1st Dist.), and Austin Scott (R-8th Dist.). According to a joint press release from Bishop and Craw-ford, U.S. chicken companies directly employ more than 300,000 workers, producing products worth a wholesale value of more than $45 billion with major operations in more than 30 states. In Georgia, the 2010 farm gate value of broiler produc-tion was $4.591 billion, the largest in the nation and by far the largest commodity produced in the state. Georgia is also the number one poultry exporter in the nation, with more than $555 million in annual exports. Arkansas was the No. 2 broil-er-producing state in 2010 according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.


The National Association of Conser-vation Districts (NACD) awarded its distinguished service award to

Walton County resident John Redding dur-ing its annual meeting in recognition of the 32 years he served with the Walton County Soil & Water Conservation District (WC-SWCD). The NACD is a non-profit orga-nization that represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts and 17,000 people who serve on their governing boards. Redding grew up in Clay County on a row crop farm, which he owns and on which cotton, peanuts and pine trees are grown. He became involved with the WCSW-CD in 1978 when he was appointed a direc-tor. In 1979 he was elected chairman of the district board and began collaborating with the area’s cities and counties to support planning and construction of a regional water supply reservoir, Lake Varner. In the 1990s Redding worked with the Georgia legislature to secure funding for Georgia’s Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Districts to purchase no-till plant-ers and lagoon pump-out equipment. Af-ter the equipment was purchased, the 40 RC&D districts contracted with farmers to plant and reseed pastures to prevent soil from washing into the streams and the pump-out equipment was used to recycle wastewater from lagoons as fertilizer on

farmland. The rental of the equipment gen-erated revenue to offset its cost. In addition to his leadership with Geor-gia conservation organizations, Redding also held numerous leadership positions with the NACD beginning in 2004 includ-ing secretary/treasurer and president from Jan. 2008-March 2009. President George W. Bush invited Redding to participate in the 2006 Collaborative Conservation event in St. Louis, Mo., and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asked Redding to serve as a panelist at the 2010 National Rural Summit. As NACD president, Red-ding presented the organization’s proposals to the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees. “This is a well-deserved honor, and John is to be commended for the work he has done during his 32-year involvement with the Soil and Water Conservation program that has helped farmers not only in his district but throughout Georgia and nationally,” Georgia Farm Bureau Presi-dent Zippy Duvall said. “As a farmer, I can testify that the programs the Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts offer provide a great service to Georgia’s farmers by helping us reduce soil erosion, conserve and protect the water on our farms.” After graduating from Clay County High School in 1960, Redding graduated from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural Col-

lege and UGA. He began his professional career as a vo-ag teacher at Monroe Area High School in 1964 and went on to be-come a vocation director, assistant princi-pal and later principal. He began working as an insurance agent with the Walton County Farm Bureau (WCFB) in 1970 and became the WCFB agency manager in 1978. He and his wife, Levon, have two daughters Cynthia Walker and Dr. Carly Redding-Ledbetter and one granddaugh-ter, Lucy Walker.

Redding receives NACD Distinguished Service Award

Pictured from right, Gene Schmidt, presi-dent of the National Association of Con-servation Districts (NACD) presents the NACD Distinguished Service Award to John Redding, of Monroe, during the asso-ciation’s annual meeting held in Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 29-Feb. 1.

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The Georgia Vocational Agricul-ture Teachers Association recognized Habersham County Farm Bureau Vice President Danny Brooks for his 29-year teaching career by inducting him into the Georgia Agricultural Education Hall of Fame during their winter conference at the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center in Cov-ington, Jan. 17. Brooks also serves on the Georgia Farm Bureau Pecan Commodity Committee. Brooks, who grew up on a farm in Northwest Georgia decided teaching ag

education was the best way to be involved in agriculture if he wasn’t going to farm. He began teaching at Union County High School in 1970. After a year, he was draft-ed into the military and served in South Korea for a year and a half. When he came home, Brooks and his wife, Sue, relocated to Habersham County where they continue to live. “One of my goals as a teacher was not to be in the limelight. I wanted to build a relationship with my students,” Brooks says of his teaching philosophy. “I emphasized the classroom. If you don’t teach, you don’t have any business doing

the other parts of ag education.” As a result of putting his stu-dents first, Brooks had 15 state FFA degree recipients, a state FFA officer and top three finishes in both district and state contests during his teaching tenure. “I really felt that the Lord wanted me to work with young people and ag-ricultural education was my vehicle to do it,” he said.

Brooks inducted into GA Ag Education Hall of FameBy Katie Moody_________________________________

Danny Brooks

(See BROOKS page 29)

By Jennifer Whittaker___________________________________


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GFB hosts social media workshop A group of 25 people received direct, hands-on training on how to open accounts with social media websites and post con-tent to them during a one-day social media workshop on March 1 at the Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) home office in Macon. GFB conducted the training in con-junction with the Georgia Agritourism As-sociation (GAA), with the goal of helping its members develop social media skills that can be used to communicate agricultural topics on the Internet. GFB President Zippy Duvall and GAA President Jeff Manley welcomed the partici-pants and stressed the importance of using social media to advance agricultural causes. The training, facilitated by GFB staff members Brandon Ashley, Bill Ander-son and Mark Brose, walked participants through the set-up and content-loading pro-cesses for social networking sites Facebook,

Gmail, Twitter, WordPress and YouTube. Elbert County Farm Bureau Director Mandy Williams enrolled to enhance her skills to promote community service proj-ects ECFB is already implementing, includ-ing serving as a collection point for dona-tions to assist the local school system. She said she hoped using social media would help inform the public about ECFB’s activi-

ties and prompt visits to the ECFB office by people who wouldn’t go there otherwise. “I think it’ll be a good tool,” Williams said. “It’ll also create interest and hopefully get some people in to the local office that would not normally stop by. Because a lot of people maybe would pull off a Camp-bell’s Soup label and not have a child that would be in the school system.”

Pictured from left, Tanya Poppell of Wayne County and Pat Daniels of Jones County follow along as instructions are given to set up user accounts for Gmail, Youtube, Face-book and Twitter.

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By Jay Stone___________________________________

The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded grants to the University of Georgia for studies looking at the sustainability of America’s water sup-ply and the nutrition-al benefits of pecans. The grant for the water study, totaling $567,000, was an-nounced on Jan. 20. It will fund research, education and exten-sion efforts to pro-mote science-based decision-making on water-related issues, according to a USDA release. It was one of 26 grants funded by NIFA through the National Integrated Water Quality Pro-gram, which aims to “solve water re-source problems by advancing scientific

knowledge about water quality.” In October, UGA was awarded a four-

year, $1.2 million grant to study the nutritional and health benefits of pecans. The study, to be led by UGA food scientist Dr. Ron Pegg, will include collabora-tive horticultural work with Texas A&M and New Mexico State University. The study will also include work by Dr. John McKiss-ick and Sharon Kane of the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Eco-nomic Development to examine the pro-duction and marketing economics of pecans. Georgia orchards

produced 75 million pounds of pecans in 2010, the largest crop among U.S. pecan-producing states.

UGA receives grants to study water, pecans


AROUND GEORGIANews from County Farm Bureaus

BAKER COUNTY Baker County Farm Bureau celebrated Georgia Arbor Day Feb. 17 by helping the 350 students at the Baker County K12 School plant 50 longleaf pines on the school grounds. The school received the trees through the Disney Donate a Tree Seedling to Schools Program. BCFB Office Manager Dianne Sheffield entered the school in the program and worked with the school’s principal Dr. Torrance Choates to organize an Arbor Day event for the school. During the Arbor Day celebration, Georgia Forestry Commis-sion Chief Ranger Chris Cross talked to the student body about Georgia’s forestry industry and the characteristics of longleaf pines. Dr. Daniel Mehat, a science teacher at the school, discussed how trees help the environment, and Sheffield gave an overview of Arbor Day, the importance of planting trees for beautification and the impact forestry and agriculture have on the state economy. Smokey Bear was also on hand to help the school celebrate. Each grade adopted three to four trees to plant.

BERRIEN COUNTY The Berrien County Chamber of Commerce (BCCC) presented the Berrien County Farm Bureau (BCFB) with its Agriculture Business of the Year Award at its annual awards banquet in January. Pictured from left, BCCC Director Bo Lovein presents the award to BCFB Secretary/Treasurer Tim McMillan.

COOK COUNTY Last fall, the Cook County Farm Bureau (CCFB) Member Services Committee participated in “A Day for Divas,” an event hosted by the Memorial Hospital of Adel that recognizes and honors breast cancer survivors. The CCFB promoted Farm Bureau’s member benefits with an emphasis on our wellness programs. Nearly 300 men and women attended the event.

Pictured from left are CCFB Office Manager Michele Waters, CCFB volunteer Melissa Williams, CCFB Member Services Committee Chair Amy Howell and CCFB Women’s Committee Chair Irma Lee Howell.

CRAWFORD COUNTY The American Farm Bureau Agriculture Foundation recog-nized Crawford County kindergarten teacher Andrea Seagraves in November as its volunteer of the month in its monthly e-newslet-ter. Seagraves attended one of the Ag in the Classroom workshops held by Georgia Farm Bureau last summer at the invitation of Crawford County Farm Bureau (CCFB). Attending the workshop inspired her to start having Farm Fridays during which she does lessons and activities to teach her students where their food comes from and about the farmers who grow it. Many CCFB members have visited Seagraves’ class to talk about the commodities they grow and their various ag careers. Pictured from left, Seagraves welcomes beekeepers Tommy and Ramona Boss to her class as Dr. Lauren Harrison, standing far right, and class parapro Nee Cee Coryell, kneeling, display bee-keeping equipment. If you have an outstanding volunteer in your county you would like to see the Agriculture Foundation recognize, visit http://www.agfoundation.org/, click on What We Support and then Volunteer Recognition.

GLYNN COUNTY Students at Oglethorpe Point Elementary School on St. Simons Island recently learned about the importance of honey-bees thanks to the Glynn County Farm Bureau. GCFB volunteers


gave a 30-minute presen-tation about honeybees to five second-grade classes as part of the school’s annual Georgia History Day activities. Beekeeper Susan Shipman showed the students her obser-vation hive that she uses for speaking engage-ments and beekeeper Gale Smith, pictured left, told the class how she makes candles with bees wax. HARRIS COUNTY Each month, Harris County Farm Bureau presents an Ag in the Classroom lesson to second and fifth grade students featuring differ-ent Georgia commodi-ties. In December, HCFB volunteer Barbara Short taught the students about peanuts, one of Georgia’s top commodities. Short explained that peanuts aren’t really nuts but are instead legumes, related to beans and peas, and are grown in the ground. She discussed the four main types of peanuts grown in the U.S. - Runner, Vir-ginia, Spanish and Valencia. Students Gavin Koepfer and Kayla Johnson crack roasted peanuts during a taste-testing poll to see if they prefer boiled or roasted peanuts. Roasted peanuts were the favorite of the second grade class while the fifth grade class preferred boiled peanuts. MARION COUNTY Marion County Farm Bureau held a Member Apprecia-tion Day last fall. MCFB member Penny Creel Spann volunteered to wave members in to the event dressed as a cow to promote beef, Georgia Farm Bureau’s commod-ity of the year, About 100 existing MCFB members attended the event and enjoyed a menu of beef hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and cake along with games, prizes and give-a-ways.

OCONEE COUNTY On Feb. 29, the Oconee County Farm Bureau (OCFB) visited Colham Ferry Elementary School kindergarten students. OCFB Director Brandon Wilkes, Office Manager Martha Jo Dalton

and Secretary Alecia Provenzano showed the children the PowerPoint presentation “My Cheeseburger Came from the Farm.” Wilkes talked to the children and asked questions after the presentation. Each child was given a gift basket containing pencils, stick-ers, a cow coloring book, Beef has Zip activity book and a Farm Bureau cup. The teachers were given a gift bag containing Farm Bureau calendars, key chain, pen, beef fact cards and cups.

TROUP COUNTY Realizing that many Americans can’t afford to buy the food they need and that many local food banks were in need of donations before Christmas, Troup Coun-ty Farm Bureau donated 2,880 jars of peanut but-ter to local food banks and organizations that help feed the needy. The peanut butter, all pro-cessed in Georgia using Georgia-grown peanuts, was divided between the Emmaus House, Harmony House and Pineland Sheriffs Youth Home. Pictured from left loading the donation are TCFB volunteer Zane Landreth, TCFB Agent Josh Spears and TCFB President Harrell Landreth.

PAULDING COUNTY Paulding County Farm Bureau (PCFB) recently held a legisla-tive dinner for local and state officials. Georgia Commissioner of Agri-culture Gary Black, pic-tured, delivered the key-note speech. Black shared changes he has imple-mented at the Georgia Department of Agricul-ture (GDA) since taking office last year and dis-cussed the new Georgia Grown program the GDA is initiating to connect consumers with Georgia farmers and their commodities. Legislative guests included Paulding County Commissioners David Austin and David Barnett, Dallas Mayor Boyd Austin, Rep. Howard Maxwell, Rep. Paulette Braddock, Sen. Bill Heath, Darren Kendall of Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ office, GFB Legislative Director Jon Huffmaster and the PCFB officers and directors.


Food Check-Out Week (FCOW) was Feb. 19-25, and County Farm Bureaus held a variety of activities to educate their communi-ties about eating healthy and buying healthy food on a budget. In addition to the nutrition education aspect of the annual event, the GFB Women’s Committee encouraged counties to col-lect money or food supplies for their local food banks and for the Ronald McDonald House (RMH). Many counties raised funds for RMH and local food banks by selling raffle tickets for gift baskets. Since beginning the RMH donation in 2002, GFB has made do-nations to all of the RMHs in Georgia on a rotating schedule. This year Farm Bureau raised $10,000 that was presented to the RMH of Macon, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The Macon RMH was the first recipient of GFB’s Food Check-Out donation in 2002 when the house was under construction. To see all of the photos county Farm Bureaus submitted visit the GFB Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaFarm-Bureau click on photos and then the FCOW album.

COFFEE COUNTY Coffee County Farm Bureau celebrated Food Check-Out Week (FCOW) by vis-iting the first through fifth grades at Citizens Christian Academy (CCA) to teach the 71 students about FCOW and healthy eating habits. Students received information to take home about eating healthy on a budget and the USDA eating guide, “Choose My Plate.” CCFB also asked the students to collect nonperishable food items for food banks in the county. The students collected non-perishable food items for two weeks and gathered 900 nonperish-able food items to feed the hungry in the county. Mrs. Deems’ second grade class collected 485 of those items! CCFB President Derek Pridgen, pictured back row, left and CCFB Office Manager Carla Palmer, back row, right, congratulate Mrs. Deems, back row, center, and her students for their generosity.

DAWSON COUNTY On Feb. 20, Dawson County Farm Bureau kicked off FCOW in their community by manning a booth at the local Food Lion from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. DCFB Of-fice Manager Tammy Wood and DCFB Wom-en’s Committee Chair Lois Bennett distributed healthy recipes and in-formation about healthy eating habits and reading food labels. Wood also bagged groceries and discussed FCOW with customers.

The county collected food for the local food bank using a food donation box that was left in place throughout FCOW week. Pictured from left, Rona Skeens makes a donation to Wood and Bennett.

DOUGHERTY COUNTY Dougherty County Farm Bureau observed FCOW by setting up a table at the county of-fice stocked with FCOW handouts. Pictured from left are DCFB Office Manager Debra Cleve-land, DCFB Secretary/Treasurer Hazel Masters and DCFB Secretary Cin-dy Drew. They manned the table and talked to office visitors about eating healthy. Visitors were encouraged to sample healthy snacks such as veggie sticks, fruit juice and fruit. The county accepted $1 donations for the Macon Ronald Mc-Donald House and the local food bank in exchange for a chance to win a food basket and a $25 Harvey’s Supermarket gift card. DCFB matched the donations in addition to its normal donation.

EVANS COUNTY Evans County Farm Bureau celebrated Food Check-Out Week by teaming up with local grocery store Food Fresh. ECFB Women’s Commit-tee Chair Angela Todd, right, and Food Fresh owner Chris Gay, left, presented a $50 gift certif-icate to Kyle Vliet (back, center) and his son Lake for guessing closest to the correct amount of money farmers receive from a $113.36 grocery purchase. Vliet guessed $16.50. The actual amount is $18.14.

FORSYTH COUNTY Forsyth County Farm Bureau Young Farmer Committee member Rex Cox, left, and FCFB President Wesley Hall visited Wilkes Meat Market during FCOW to educate consumers about nutrition. They passed out bags containing beef promotion items for kids, recipe brochures and nu-trition sheets. FCFB also sold raffle tickets for a gift basket to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House and Hightower Baptist Association Food Bank. FCFB donated a check for $112.18 to the local food bank.

County Farm Bureaus celebrate Food Check-Out Week

See FOOD CHECK-OUT WEEK next page


HANCOCK COUNTY Hancock County Farm Bureau Director and Women’s Committee member Debbie Meads is pic-tured bagging groceries at Sandy’s IGA during FCOW. HCFB Women’s Committee Chair Nancy Kennedy and HCFB Office Manager Kellie Webster also participat-ed in the event during which HCFB handed out beef stickers and coloring books to all the children to promote the nutritional benefits of beef.

PIKE COUNTY Pike County Farm Bureau promoted FCOW during the annual health fair that PCFB co-sponsors with the Pike County Co-operative Extension. About 250 attended the fair at the Pike County High School, Feb. 24. Upson Regional Medi-cal Center and Spalding Regional Medical Cen-

ter, along with local doctors, dentists and pharmacists offered a variety of medical services including blood work, eye exams, hearing exams and bone density tests. PCFB President Tom Lacey is pictured talking with an at-tendee at the FCOW booth about buying food on a budget. PCFB Women’s Committee Chair Peggy Harned, Women’s Commit-tee member Tammy Mobley and P & E Committee member Jerry Grant served healthy snacks and drinks to the fair attendees.

TURNER COUNTY Turner County Farm Bureau celebrated FCOW by giv-ing the 105 staff members of the Turner County Elementary School FCOW gift bags. Some of the staff are pictured with their bags, which included FCOW grocery lists, nutrition fact cards, Ag Fact pencils and peanuts. This activity allowed TCFB to show the elementary school staff how much they are appreciated while educating the teachers about nutrition and agriculture.

FOOD CHECK-OUT WEEK from previous page

ing an Ag in the Classroom workshop GFB held last summer at ABAC. Agriculture and the production of our food is real-life stuff and our children get it. It’s hands-on - something they can touch and feel at an early age. One way thousands of youth have an opportunity to experience agriculture is by showing livestock. To support the Georgia 4-H and FFA members and their families who participate in the state live-stock shows, Georgia Farm Bureau spon-sored every grand champion award at the Georgia Junior Livestock Show this year. We are proud of all our youth show par-ticipants and want to congratulate the ones who emerged with their grand champion animals. There are a lot of lessons to be learned in showing livestock and it is good family fun. As Christians, Jesus challenges us in Matthew 28:18-20 with the Great Commis-sion to share the good news that he is the resurrected Son of God. Our love for God and appreciation for the salvation Jesus offers us by dying on the cross for our sins

WE, THE FARMERS from page 4motivates us to tell others so they can enjoy eternal life. As farmers, our passion for farming and our way of life should motivate us to teach our children and neighbors about agricul-ture and a love for God’s creations so that future generations will understand where their food comes from and the importance of having thriving farm communities.

Oh how loving our Father is as he says in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Brooks worked hard to make sure his students knew they were valuable. If a stu-dent had a great idea, Brooks implemented it. This approach not only earned him the respect of his students, it also grew his pro-gram. Three years after Brooks began teach-ing vo-ag in Habersham County, enroll-ment in the program had grown so much it was necessary to add another teacher. Brooks smiles when remembering all the memories he has from a lifetime of teaching. Those memories range from great moments in the classroom to hauling stu-dents to a cattle show or helping a student birth a litter of pigs. By the end of his teach-

ing career, Brooks was teaching students whose parents he also taught. In 2001, Brooks retired but his involve-ment with agriculture hasn’t stopped. He has served on the Habersham County Farm Bureau Board of Directors since 2004 and is a past chairman of the GFB Environmental Horticulture Committee. He is also actively involved with the Northeast Georgia Cattle-men’s Association for which he has served as president and vice president. Brooks and Sue, his wife of 41 years, have three daughters, a son-in-law and one granddaughter. Moody is the HCFB program coordinator.

BROOKS from page 24


Georgia Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom Program kicked off a new series of one-day workshops

for teachers last fall. Douglas, Madison and Washington County Farm Bureaus hosted educator workshops and tours attended by more than 50 teachers. Participating teachers learned about agriculture from county volunteers and GFB Field Services staff, participated in a variety of agriculture activities for the classroom, went on a tour of a farm in the host county and received teaching materi-als valued at $100 per teacher. Habersham, Cook, Elbert, Crawford, Columbia, Harris, Cherokee, Emanuel and Wilcox counties will host workshops dur-ing the 2012 series of training sessions. A third series of workshops will be held in 2013. If your county is interested in being a host county during the 2013 school year please contact your GFB dis-

trict field representative. The National Ag in the Classroom Conference will be held June 19-22 in Loveland, CO. Registration is $375 until April 15. The cost is $425 from April 16-May 14 and is $475 after that. Visit https://www.agclassroom.org for more informa-tion about the conference. Dates are also being set for the 2012 Ag in the Classroom Staff Development Course to be held this summer for teachers.

Information will be sent to county Farm Bureau offices this spring and posted on the Georgia Farm Bureau website. If your county Farm Bureau currently works with a teacher or school to promote agriculture you may want to consider sponsoring the teacher to attend one of these workshops. If you are a teacher interested in learning about the Ag in the Classroom program, please contact Donna Rocker at [email protected] or 478-474-0679,ext. 5365.

Jones County Farm Bureau member Teresa Chambers was named the Southeast re-gional winner of the 2011 America’s Farmers Mom of the Year Contest. The 2012 South-east winner or national winner could also live in Georgia; you just need to nominate her! Visit http://www.americasfarmers.com until 11:59 p.m. on April 23 to nominate a farm mom. Explain in 300 words or less how your nominee contributes to her family, farm, and community and how she shares her passion for ag with others. Nominations may also be submitted by mail. Entry forms are available at the afore-mentioned website and must be postmarked before April 23 and received at the following address by April 26: Osborn & Barr, Attn: America’s Farmers Mom of the Year, 914 Spruce Street, St. Louis, MO 63102. Mail-in entries from children under 18 must be accompanied by the written consent of the nominator’s parent or legal guardian. Five regional winners - Southeast (Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., Ky., La., Miss., N.C., S.C., Tenn., and Va.), Northeast, Midwest, Southwest and Northwest - will be selected and posted on the contest website by May 1. Between May 1 and May 12, visitors to the contest website will be able to vote for a regional winner to win the national title to be announced around May 13, Mother’s Day. Each regional winner will win a $5,000 prize, and the national win-ner will get another $5,000. To be eligible for nomination, a mom must be at least 18 years old and work on a farm that grows at least 250 acres of corn, soybeans, cotton, vegetables and/or specialty crops (canola, sorghum, wheat or alfalfa) or a farm that grows at least 40 acres of fruits and vegetables or raises at least 100 head of cattle or hogs or raises at least 50 head of sheep or raises at least 25 head of goats or raises at least 50 head of dairy cows or raises at least 20,000 broilers or layers. Monsanto and the American Agri-Women are sponsoring the contest.

GFB educating teachers about agriculture

Pictured from left, Madison County Farm Bureau (MCFB) Director Terry Chandler welcomes a group of teachers, who attended the educator workshop MCFB hosted last fall, to his farm.

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Nominate a farm mom to win $10,000


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Citing testing and analysis by the Na-tional Telecommunications and Informa-tion Administration (NTIA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Feb. 14 suspended a conditional waiver to allow LightSquared to develop its wire-less broadband network using satellite spectrum. The NTIA, a Department of Commerce agency tasked with advising the president on telecommunications and informa-tion policy issues, conducted studies of the LightSquared network and concluded that it is currently unavoidable to have the Light-Squared network interfere with signals used by global positioning satellite (GPS) devices, including those used by many farmers to execute precision farming practices. Light-Squared disputed these findings. In a statement, the FCC emphasized that interference with GPS would not be allowed and that the NTIA “has now con-cluded that there is no practical way to miti-

gate potential interference at this time.” Farmers use GPS systems to map fields in order to maximize use of available land area and GPS technology aids in dispensing correct amounts of fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides on their fields. “I think there’s a place for LightSquared in the future, but if they were to launch their network right now it would alienate millions of people and their tens of millions of pieces of equipment,” said Dooly County diversi-fied row-crop farmer Gene Roney. “From an agriculture standpoint, losing GPS would be very harmful. We have autosteer tractors and use grid sampling that depends on GPS. Using GPS technology saves us energy and time. We use GPS technology to check our pivots and turn the position they are spray-ing. Sometimes farmers have irrigation piv-ots that are located in fields 20 or more miles from their farms. If we lost our GPS capabil-ity we would have to travel that distance to check on our pivots.”

FCC suspends LightSquared waiver

The Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation (BWEF) of Georgia installed its 2012 officers during its board meeting Feb. 15 in Perry. Herbert Price of Brooks County was named chairman of the BWEF board for 2012, Billy Sanders of Dooly County was named vice chairman and Ronald Lovell of Polk County was named secretary/treasurer. The board received reviews of program activities and updates on web mapping schemes now in use. Statewide, a total of 1,587,777 acres of cotton were certified in the program. When the boll weevil eradica-tion program began in 1987, the state’s cot-ton growers planted an estimated 250,000 acres. The 2011 acreage was the most since the program began. While the targeted trap ratio for 2011 was one for every 120 acres, the state’s cotton growers averaged one for every 65 acres. With no boll weevils trapped during 2011 and with the last reported weevil re-production in the state being in 2002, the board agreed that the current program is working well and voted to continue the 50-cents per bale assessment that was in place for 2011, which was down from 65

BWEF announces new officers cents per bale in 2010. The board also approved giving the Georgia Agriculture Commissioner au-thority to require use of EPA-approved pesticides on organic farms where organic treatments for boll weevil outbreaks are insufficient to prevent infestations from spreading to other farms.

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NRCS offers Pigweed Program The USDA Natural Resources Con-servation Service (NRCS) in Georgia is providing an additional $1.1 mil-lion for an existing program to control glyphosate-resistant palmer amaranth, commonly known as pigweed, in the current participating counties of Bibb, Crawford, Dooly, Houston, Macon, Peach, Pulaski, Taylor and Wilcox. The project has received approval to expand into the counties of Appling, Atkinson, Ben Hill, Berrien, Calhoun, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Crisp, Irwin, Lanier, Lee, Lowndes, Mitchell, Schley, Sumter, Tift, Telfair, Turner and Worth. The project is being funded via the Environmental Quality Incentives Pro-gram (EQIP) and is targeted to cotton farmers, who must meet the regular EQIP eligibility requirements. Payment rate will be up to $75 per acre for two years. The contracts are for three years with a minimum of 100 acres of cropland and a maximum of $13,000 per contract. Participants will work with NRCS to design a conservation plan and agree to implement several practices that will assist with the control of the gly-phosate-resistant pigweed. Applications must be received by April 18 to be considered for funding. Contact your local USDA Service Cen-ter for more information or visit http://www.ga.nrcs.usda.gov.

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Georgia Farm Bureau News - March / April 2012

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