Polk County |

James Casey says farming was never a question for him—it was a calling rooted deep in family history.

“I was born on a farm, and I never had any intention of doing anything but farm,” said James Casey, 2025 Georgia Farm Bureau Legacy Award winner. “Um, I went to school at the University of Georgia and my daddy really didn’t think I’d come back after I got a degree. But I, I didn’t intend to do anything else but. That’s how I got into it because I was raised in it and never wanted to do anything else but.”

That legacy stretches back generations, all tied to the same land.

“My father was a farmer, and his father was a farmer and uh, uh, both of them farmed right there in the same valley where, you know, where I farmed,” Casey said. “So, I went back to the family farm.”

For his daughter, Joan Mitchell, her father’s dedication to farming has always gone hand in hand with his faith.

“If you know my daddy, then you know what a man of faith he is,” said Joan Mitchell, Casey’s daughter. “So, I’ve seen him, you know, struggle with just trying to keep the farm was always an ongoing thing. Dairy farmers um, unfortunately, don’t make a lot of money. I mean, you got to struggle to just keep afloat.”

She says it was that faith that carried him through difficult times.

“He just has a way. He knows that God’s going to take care of the situation,” Mitchell said. “And I wish I had half of the faith that my daddy does.”

Chad Carlton, Georgia Farm Bureau District 3 Director, says Casey’s commitment went far beyond his own operation.

“Beyond anything else, he, he believes in the mission of Farm Bureau, right?” said Chad Carlton, GFB District 3 Director. “And everything we do and everything he does through the Polk County Farm Bureau was viewed through that lens on how are we going to promote and uh, you know, support agriculture?”

Carlton says Casey’s leadership left a lasting impression.

“So, just having that, having that person leading our county has, has been an inspiration to. Me,” Carlton said.

Mitchell says her father didn’t just talk about supporting agriculture—he lived it.

“My daddy walks the walk,” Mitchell said. “Farm Bureau has always been extremely important to my daddy. Um, he just, he knows how important agriculture is to our world. When I say daddy’s passionate about agriculture, that don’t, that don’t even begin to touch it.”

Carlton says Casey’s dedication was steady and intentional.

“He’s been a steadfast proponent for agriculture all through the years,” Carlton said. “And um, has, has just been the, the best asset for Polk County Farm Bureau.”

One moment, Carlton says, stands out above the rest.

“When he says a prayer at every board meeting, he says help us stay true to what we started out to do,” Carlton said. “And um, that’s something I always try to remember whether I’m in the board meeting or out in the counties is, you know, we have a mission that we started with and we want to always stay true to that. So, he, he’s just instilled that in me.”

For Casey, the recognition is less about himself and more about the people around him.

“I’m pleased with what we’ve accomplished here,” Casey said. “Uh, we’ve had good people to work with. Uh, and I’m very proud of the people that I’ve, I have gotten to come into Farm Bureau and meet them.”

Looking back, he says gratitude defines the journey.

“But uh, but because of my family and everything else that’s happened, Farm Bureau’s a part of it,” Casey said. “I can honestly say I feel like I’m of all men most blessed.”

By: Damon Jones