Tag Archives: Farm Monitor

UGA Researchers Are Working to Protect Georgia’s Honeybees — and the Crops That Depend on Them

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Watkinsville, GA |

They may be small, but honeybees are responsible for pollinating billions of dollars’ worth of crops across the country every year — and Georgia has long been at the center of the supply chain that keeps those bees moving and the crops that depend on them thriving.

“Georgia historically was the largest beekeeping state in the Union. We only very recently were overtaken by California and Texas, but we still prop up a large amount of the beekeeping across all of North America,” said Lewis Bartlett, Assistant Professor in Honeybee Health and Pollinators at the University of Georgia. “Because we can raise honeybees here much earlier in the year, they can go up to places like Maine, other parts of New England, Canada, the central prairies, even California — and pollinate crops there in large colony sizes that otherwise wouldn’t be possible in those local environments.”

ALARMING LOSSES IN THE HIVE

That supply of honeybees, however, isn’t guaranteed. In recent years, colony losses have reached alarming levels — with consequences that extend far beyond the hive.

“In very severe years, as we saw one or two years ago, we can lose as many as fifty to sixty percent of the commercial honeybee population in the U.S. That’s a massive loss, particularly when certain commodity crops that are very valuable to U.S. agriculture rely on very large numbers of colonies being brought in to allow pollination to happen,” Bartlett said. “And it’s not just the number of colonies — it’s the size of those colonies. We’re not just looking to have as many honeybee colonies in the U.S. as possible. We need them to meet some minimum standard in size and ability, so that when they’re deployed in these crop scenarios, they’re actually able to do the job we’re charging them with.”

A BEETLE THAT TRICKS ITS HOST

Among the biggest drivers of those losses are diseases and parasites. In Georgia, one of the most notable culprits is the small hive beetle — a deceptively clever pest that has proven particularly difficult to manage in the Southeast’s warm, humid climate.

“It’s a rather intrepid small beetle that comes into the colonies, sneaks in through the cracks, and actually imitates and mimics the bees — begging them for food and tricking them into thinking it needs to be taken care of,” Bartlett explained. “They then lay their eggs in the colony, and those larvae — maggots, essentially — will ruin an entire honeybee colony by burrowing through and causing the honey to ferment. It causes the colony to become very slimy and will kill them outright. That’s a particularly challenging problem here in the Southeast, where it’s warm and humid and very permissive for this specific sort of beetle.”

STUDYING BEE HEALTH AT EVERY SCALE

That’s where Bartlett and his team at UGA’s bee health research lab come in. Working at scales ranging from individual insects to hundreds of colonies at a time, their research is focused on understanding what threatens honeybee health — and what can be done about it.

“We investigate how infectious diseases affect these animals in these colonies — everything from large field studies at the apiary where we’re physically going into colonies, counting the numbers of parasites, assessing how many bees are in there, how many baby bees they’re able to raise, the overall health of the colony,” Bartlett said. “All the way through to bringing individual bees into the laboratory, where we take samples and are able to quantify just how much virus they have, and test all sorts of aspects of their behavior and their response to certain challenges.”

For Georgia’s farmers and the broader agricultural supply chain that depends on healthy pollinators, the work being done in Watkinsville couldn’t be more critical — or more timely.

By: John Holcomb

Forever Young Aquaponics Opens State-of-the-Art Facility in Jonesboro, Georgia

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Jonesboro, GA |

A decade’s worth of planning, researching, and building finally came to fruition as Forever Young Aquaponics celebrated the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art facility in Jonesboro. Inside, old-school production principles meet new-school technology, combining fish farming and plant cultivation in a closed-loop system designed to maximize every inch of land and every drop of water available.

“The fish produce nutrient-rich water for the plants to grow in. And since you plant everything in water, you plant it very densely — so you get ten times more produce in much less time, using only ten percent of the water it would take in soil-based agriculture,” said Gaurav Kumar, President of the Andrew J. Young Foundation.

That efficiency extends to every part of the system. According to Arvind Venkat, CEO and Managing Partner of Forever Young Aquaponics, the closed-loop design means virtually nothing goes to waste.

“The crops are in water all the time, and because they’re in water all the time, they consume water and nutrients as needed. There’s no wastage, nothing runs off into the environment. What the plants require, they consume. What is not required just continues to recirculate in the system,” Venkat said.

A BLUEPRINT FOR THE WORLD

The location of the new facility wasn’t chosen by accident. Situated just fifteen minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Andrew J. Young Foundation hopes the Jonesboro operation will serve as a model for countries around the globe looking to expand access to fresh, sustainable produce.

“People from all over the world can come here, visit the farm, take the idea behind it with them — and we’ll provide our operational intelligence and intellectual expertise that we’ve learned over the last two or three years building this,” Kumar said. “We want to empower other countries around the world to become food sovereign.”

For Venkat, two principles have driven the design from the start: water conservation and low energy consumption — both critical for countries where those resources aren’t guaranteed.

“In any country that’s not as blessed as the US, where you have a strong energy grid and strong water infrastructure, you often run into situations where water is scarce and energy is scarce as well,” Venkat said. “The energy footprint of this greenhouse is less than one refrigerator — that’s as much as one acre of greenhouse consumes. If we can take that to countries that are energy and water deficient, we can do farming that is environmentally responsible and responsible for human health as well.”

A SUPPLEMENT, NOT A REPLACEMENT

While aquaponics isn’t designed to replace traditional farming, the Forever Young team is clear about the role it can play — particularly in major urban centers like Atlanta, which are often classified as food deserts.

“Aquaponics doesn’t compete with the traditional farmer. The traditional farmer still focuses on the staples — corn, the heavy consumption crops that are required. You can’t do that in aquaponics, not today at least,” Venkat said. “What we focus on is short shelf-life crops. And most of these crops are consumed by urban cities — they’re not actually consumed in the larger part of the rural country.”

For Jonesboro and the broader Atlanta metro, the opening of Forever Young Aquaponics represents more than a new farm. It’s a proof of concept — one its founders hope will ripple far beyond Georgia’s borders.

By: Damon Jones

GFB Young Farmers Chair Garrett Hurley Has Never Strayed Far From Home — or the Farm

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Lyerly, GA |

For most people, life takes them far from where they started — a different town, a different career, a different path. For Garrett Hurley, home has never been very far away at all.

“My house is actually on my childhood farm. The farm I live on has been in our family for five or six generations. I’ve actually moved once, and it was across a cow pasture,” said Hurley, Chair of Georgia Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee. “I’ve been within about 200 yards of the same place my entire life.”

A DREAM THAT STARTED IN THE LIVING ROOM

Northwest Georgia may not look like the sprawling row crop country of South Georgia, but to Hurley, the patchwork of fields and tree lines that make up his corner of the state has always been exactly where he wanted to be.

“Riding down some back roads up here in Northwest Georgia, it might look a little different. We may not be wall-to-wall fields — we’ve got plenty of trees packed in and we’ve got little patches, as we like to call them,” Hurley said. “But I can never really remember a time where I wasn’t a farm kid. If I wasn’t out on the farm with my dad, I was in the yard playing with farm toys and tractors. Having my own farm was always the goal — to come back and farm for my career.”

That goal never wavered, even when other opportunities came knocking.

“There was one point in my life that I was going to go to trade school. I ended up talking myself out of that and came straight back to the farm,” Hurley said. “Now that I’m doing it, it’s the greatest blessing ever.”

CHALLENGES FACING THE NEXT GENERATION

As Chair of GFB’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, Hurley has a front-row seat to the obstacles facing young producers across the state — and two themes come up over and over again: capital and land access.

“One thing that just keeps coming up is the availability of capital. Things just cost so much — trying to buy equipment to get started, or trying to buy cattle now that prices are at all-time highs,” Hurley said. “But also the availability of land. A lot of times a piece of land comes up for rent and the younger person gets overlooked. The younger generation may not do things the way the older generation did back in the eighties, but a lot of times new ideas aren’t a terrible thing. I would encourage the older generation to give some of the younger guys a chance.”

BUILDING SOMETHING TO PASS ON

When Hurley talks about the future, he isn’t just talking about his own farm. He’s thinking about what comes next — and whether the life he’s built can be passed down the same way it was passed to him.

“I hope that in twenty years I can be farming full-time with one or both of my kids. The end goal is to have a sustainable business that my children can come back into,” Hurley said. “I want them to know that if they don’t want to come back, we’ll still have the land and they’ll always have somewhere to call home. But if they do want to come back, I hope I’m in a position to help them — with financial resources as well as years of knowledge — and just present them with the opportunity.”

In the end, Hurley’s story isn’t really about cotton or cattle or even farming. It’s about home — and a dream that never took him far from it.

By: Ray D’Alessio

Warner Robins Middle School Brings Hydroponic Tower Garden Into the Ag Classroom

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Warner Robins, GA |

Inside James Judson’s agriculture classroom at Feagin Mill Middle School, the sound of water trickling through a hydroponic tower garden is now a familiar backdrop. Thanks to a Bright Ideas Grant from Flint Energies, Judson — an ag teacher and FFA advisor — was able to bring the technology into his classroom and give students in Warner Robins a hands-on look at the future of agriculture.

“It funded the purchase of the tower garden and the first materials to get it started — the rockwool, nutrients, fertilizer,” Judson said. “It’s not difficult at all. It’s really easier than traditional gardens because it’s using more technology.”

BRINGING AGRICULTURE TO WHERE STUDENTS ARE

For Judson, the tower garden is more than a classroom tool — it’s a bridge. In a city like Warner Robins, where many students live in apartments and subdivisions, traditional row crop agriculture can feel distant. Hydroponics offers a different entry point.

“Agriculture is a little different here than in more rural Georgia, where agronomy and row crops may not relate as much to these students. But they can see technology being used, and gardens — that’s something they can relate to,” Judson said. “Agriculture is Georgia’s biggest industry, and one in seven Georgians work in agriculture. It’s important for all of our young students to realize that in each class I teach, about four of them will end up working in agriculture someday.”

A FIELD TRIP THAT CHANGED PERSPECTIVES

To take the learning even further, Judson’s class toured a large commercial hydroponic facility in Houston County — and for eighth grader Kinley Harter, the visit left a lasting impression.

“Seeing the plants, the machinery, the outside, the process, the packaging — it was really impactful because it got me thinking, like, I could do this someday,” Harter said.

HOW THE TOWER WORKS

Back in the classroom, the hydroponic tower runs almost entirely on its own. A reservoir at the base pumps water to the top, where it trickles down over the roots before cycling back and repeating — all on an automated timer, including the grow lights.

“It’ll cut on every few minutes, supply water to the roots, then sit and turn on again,” Judson explained. “The lights are all on a timer so we can adjust how much sunlight they get. It’s just all automated.”

The process starts small — seeds placed in rockwool cubes and covered with vermiculite — before moving into the tower after about six days. From there, it takes roughly a month for lettuce to reach harvest size. For Harter, watching that growth cycle from start to finish is one of the best parts of the class.

“You walk in and you see the growth of it — it grows on its own,” she said.

A FULL AG PROGRAM IN THE MAKING

The tower garden is just one part of a broader agricultural education program at Feagin Mill. The school also maintains a greenhouse and raised garden beds, with students starting plants from seed as early as sixth grade. Each year, they hold a plant sale to showcase everything they’ve learned.

“You have to really learn the balance. Sometimes when you grow plants you can tell — the leaves are getting brown, so there’s too much sunlight, or it’s not growing because there’s too much water,” Harter said.

Before taking Judson’s class, Harter says her gardening experience didn’t go much beyond holding the watering can for her mom. Now, she’s got a message for students who might be hesitant to try something new.

“Don’t be afraid to do something you’ve never done before just because you don’t have the experience. Go in and learn — go in and say, ‘I can do this.’ If you have the mindset, you have the mobility, you have everything. You can do it.”

By: Jennifer Parson

Bulloch County Farmer Will Anderson’s Story Is One of Endurance, Faith, and Family

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Register, GA |

At first glance, Will Anderson’s farming operation looks like a lot of South Georgia farms. There’s cotton, peanuts, poultry houses, and long hours trying to keep everything moving. But spend a day with him here in Register, and it becomes clear there’s a lot more riding on this farm than just this year’s crop.

“We farm mainly cotton and peanuts, a little bit of corn. We’ve got eight broiler houses with Claxton Poultry. I’m also a quarter owner in Candler Peanut — we buy for Golden Peanut, do processing for them, and sell CPI peanut seed,” said Anderson, a Bulloch County row crop farmer.

RECOGNITION, AND A LITTLE DISCOMFORT

It’s the kind of operation that takes years to build — and recently it’s earned Anderson recognition, including stewardship honors and awards within the peanut industry. But for him, the attention still feels a little uncomfortable.

“We try to take care of the land like we’re supposed to — do soil samples, do a good job raising chickens,” Anderson said. “There have been a lot of good growers, a lot better than me, who’ve gotten that award over the years. It was an honor to get it.”

A FAMILY FARM TESTED EARLY

The humility makes more sense once you understand the road it took to get here. Anderson comes from a multi-generational farm family built through years of hard work — and eventually, hard times. His father returned home after college to farm, but was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at a young age. As his health declined, Will found himself stepping into a much bigger role far sooner than expected.

“He started getting sick physically pretty bad when I was probably 18 or 19. You could tell he physically couldn’t do what he needed to do on the farm,” Anderson said. “And during that time — that was in the late nineties — it was a really bad time to farm. Three or four years of consecutive drought and low prices.”

For many operations, that kind of combination is devastating. Low commodity prices, bad weather, and a family health crisis all hitting at once. But somehow, the farm kept going.

“I reckon it goes back to your relationship with the Lord. If he wants you to keep doing it, you’ll keep doing it,” Anderson said. “I’m old enough now to look back and see where times were pretty rough and you came out of it — whether through commodity prices changing or just good yields. Things can change pretty quickly in farming. Cotton was 64 cents three months ago and now it’s 85 cents. That’s how fast it moves. It honestly needs to be about 95 cents, but I think you can look back and see that things can change. Right now though, it’s pretty bad. Our inputs are just too high.”

THE NEXT GENERATION

Even as technology continues to change the way farmers operate, Anderson says the mission really hasn’t changed much at all — keep the farm moving forward, and hopefully create an opportunity for the next generation to do the same.

“My son graduated from high school a couple years ago, and that’s all he’d ever wanted to do. He’s back here now, so hopefully that gives you a little pump — we can keep going and make it work,” Anderson said.

Which may be why, after all the years, all the pressure, and all the uncertainty that comes with farming, the thing Anderson sounds most proud of isn’t an award. It’s endurance.

“There are a lot of good farmers that are not still in business. I’m proud that we’re still moving in the right direction, and I’m proud that my son has been able to come back,” he said. “Whenever you can keep going, it’s a blessing.”

GIVING BACK TO THE INDUSTRY

Beyond his own operation, Anderson serves in a number of agricultural leadership roles across the state, including the Georgia Conservation Tillage Alliance, where he continues to advocate for conservation and research-based farming practices — carrying the same commitment to stewardship that has defined his farm for generations.

By: Ray D’Alessio

Georgia Mobile Dairy Classroom Coordinator Brings Dairy Farming to Life Across the State

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Perry, GA |

For more than seventeen years, Nicole Duvall has traveled across Georgia helping connect consumers with the dairy industry as Program Coordinator for the Georgia Mobile Dairy Classroom. But long before stepping into that role, her love for dairy farming began much closer to home — on her family’s small farm.

“I actually grew up on a dairy farm, a small farm with my family, and we were very involved in our day-to-day operations,” Duvall said. “That’s where I began my interest in dairy. My family sold out of the dairy business in the early two thousands — along with a lot of dairies in our area — and I was, quite honestly, devastated. I was hoping to continue working with my dad on our family farm at some point, but that didn’t pan out.”

A NEW WAY TO STAY CONNECTED

Though that chapter closed, Duvall’s passion for the industry never faded. She found a new way to stay connected — and to bring others along with her — through hands-on education that brings the milking process to life for students and consumers of all ages.

“I believe in this industry even more today than I did seventeen years ago — in what dairy farmers do on a day-to-day basis just to care for their animals and produce a quality product for consumers to enjoy,” Duvall said. “But I also really enjoy bringing the whole milking process to life for people. Watching kids learn — they interact a lot differently outside the classroom. It’s a lot more fun for them to come outside and see a live cow than to sit in a classroom watching a video of it.”

MAKING CONNECTIONS THAT STICK

Through that educational outreach, Duvall is helping bridge the widening gap between consumers and agriculture — giving people a firsthand look at where their dairy products come from and the care that goes into producing them.

“I love making that connection for them, just seeing the awe on their face. Everything a cow does is kind of funny to a kid,” she said. “But even yesterday at the fair, I had a forty-year-old woman come up and tell me she had never seen a cow get milked and how much she enjoyed it. It’s making those connections. It never gets old.”

A SHRINKING INDUSTRY, A GROWING COMMITMENT

For Duvall, those moments of curiosity and excitement are what make the long days worthwhile. They also underscore a broader challenge: as the number of family dairy farms continues to decline, the distance between consumers and their food keeps growing.

“We’re even more removed from family farms than we used to be. Before, someone might say, ‘oh, my grandfather was a dairy farmer.’ You rarely hear that now because our industry has gotten so much smaller,” Duvall said. “But we have expanded in herd size, and our producers have made huge efforts to stay in business — building freestall barns, focusing on cow comfort. I believe in the industry even more today because I see what farms are investing in their cows and their future.”

For Duvall, each visit — whether to a school, a fair, or a community event — is one more chance to ensure that connection doesn’t disappear entirely.

By: John Holcomb

UGA Hosts Inaugural Southeastern Specialty Crop Technology Conference in Tifton

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Tifton, GA |

From drones spraying crops to robots scouting fields, technology has become a constant presence in Georgia’s number one industry. To help growers make sense of what’s available — and what actually works — the University of Georgia recently hosted the inaugural Southeastern Specialty Crop Technology Conference, giving attendees a firsthand look at the latest research and development shaping the future of agriculture.

“The reason behind the conference is to bring growers, academia, students, and the industry together and see how we can bring these technologies to the Southeast — and how they can actually help growers be more efficient, more sustainable, and more economically successful,” said Luan Oliveira, Precision Agriculture Specialist with UGA.

A CROSSROADS FOR AGRICULTURE

The timing of the conference couldn’t be more relevant. Producers across the region are navigating record-high input costs while working with an ever-shrinking amount of available farmland — a combination that makes efficiency not just beneficial, but essential.

“Agriculture is at a real crossroads across the country, but particularly here in the southern United States. We have got to come up with ways to more effectively produce the food and fiber to feed a growing world,” said Dr. Michael Toews, Associate Dean for Extension at UGA. “This is the opportunity for us to introduce some of those technologies to our growers that will adopt them and allow us to get over that hurdle — and mind you, that’s on less and less land each year. So we have to get more and more efficient, as well as meet that growing population. It’s critically important that we continue this march forward.”

DATA BEFORE THE DECISION

That march forward does come with a higher startup cost — which is exactly why events like this one matter. Producers can evaluate the latest data before committing to new technology, weighing both performance and return on investment.

“Agriculture is a highly scientific field, and it is critically important that we look at all these new technologies — not just from the perspective of how well they work, but the scalability, so that we can use them to feed a growing country,” Toews said.

Oliveira echoed that sentiment, noting that ROI remains one of the most pressing questions for growers considering adoption. “How reliable is it? What is the return on investment? When is the ROI? Is there an ROI? How much is the return on a machine like that?” he said.

EFFICIENCY THAT ADDS UP

For at least one technology on display, the numbers are starting to make a compelling case. Field robots like the Leaf Deck may move slowly — topping out at one to two miles per hour — but the savings they generate in chemicals, labor, and fertilizer tell a different story.

“What we’re talking about here is truly efficient — on chemical savings, on labor savings, on fertilizer savings. That’s the efficiency we’re talking about,” Oliveira said.

THE FUTURE IS ALREADY HERE

For UGA’s agricultural leaders, the conference also served as a reminder of just how far the industry has come — and how central technology has become to staying competitive.

“Agriculture and technology are almost synonymous. You have to be invested in technology in order to stay in business,” Toews said. “First and foremost, farmers are businessmen. In order to stay productive, you have to constantly be looking at what the next attribute is going to be that will allow your farm to continue to produce food and fiber for a growing world. Agriculture today is about sensors, controls, and satellites — we have some of the most cutting-edge approaches going on right now.”

For Georgia’s growers, the message from Tifton was clear: the technology is here, the data is growing, and the farms that embrace it will be the ones best positioned to thrive in the years ahead.

By: Damon Jones

Rome’s Artisan Milling Company is Keeping the Southern Grits Tradition Alive

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Rome, GA |

Walk into any pantry around the state and you’re more than likely going to find grits on the shelf. The Southeast is responsible for more than three quarters of the grits consumed in the United States — and operations like the Artisan Milling Company in Rome are a big part of why. Owner Brad Swancy has spent the better part of two decades perfecting his craft.

“It got started about twenty-two years ago when I first started milling from our farm — it was Riverview Farms Milling for the past twenty years,” Swancy said. “Once you do that so long, you learn a lot about being a miller and the ins and outs of doing it. We grew all the corn that we milled initially, and we still do most of that. We try to grow all the white corn and yellow corn that we need.”

A NEW CHAPTER, A NEW NAME

Always looking for a new challenge, Swancy recently expanded his operation into a larger warehouse space, partnering with local business owner Josh Baker and branching out into new milling territory.

“When I moved the mill shed off the farm and partnered with Josh Baker, who owns the warehouse, the Artisan Milling Company was born out of twenty years of milling and just wanting to make it a company that could also produce other things,” Swancy said. “We’re gluten free, so we experiment with some millet and buckwheat. But predominately what we do is grits and cornmeal anyway — that’s the song of the South.”

THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY

Unlike the brands lining grocery store shelves, Artisan Milling Company produces its grits the traditional way — ground between two stones, with the germ and hull left intact. That difference in process makes a significant difference in both flavor and nutrition.

“Fresh is best — that’s one thing we really stand by. We mill every week, mill to order, and we don’t sit on product,” Swancy said. “A lot of the commercialized grits, like Quaker, are degermed before they’re even milled. But if you’re doing stone ground, some of the germ and nutrient value of the grain ends up in the product.”

GROWING DEMAND, GROWING REACH

That commitment to quality hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Artisan Milling Company’s grits have found their way onto menus at well-known restaurants in Atlanta and Chattanooga, and demand has grown enough that Swancy recently launched the company’s first-ever online storefront.

“We ship a lot to the Chattanooga and Atlanta markets — those are our closest neighboring cities — and we sell to restaurants, farmers markets, and individuals through mail order,” Swancy said. “One of our new things is our online presence. I’ve never really had that in the past twenty years.”

For Swancy, what started as a farm-based operation has grown into something much bigger — a testament to what can happen when craftsmanship, patience, and a love for a southern staple come together.

By: Damon Jones

Rep. Angie O’Steen Brings a Farmer’s Perspective to Georgia’s State Capitol

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Ambrose, GA |

Agriculture wasn’t always part of Representative Angie O’Steen’s plan. But after marrying into a farming family in South Georgia, she quickly gained a firsthand appreciation for the industry — and the vital role it plays in rural communities across the state.

“I grew up in Jeff Davis County. I’m an only child, and I had never been on a farm before I married Danny,” O’Steen said. “I married Danny, went to nursing school, and started working on our farm — what I considered working, which was hauling tobacco for his daddy. His dad grew vegetables, peanuts, some corn, and tobacco.”

FINDING HER VOICE UNDER THE GOLD DOME

Now serving in the Georgia House of Representatives for District 169, O’Steen says those early experiences on the farm have shaped her perspective as a lawmaker and driven her to be a stronger voice for agriculture in Atlanta.

“I realized really quickly that there were a whole lot of relationships I was not a part of yet. Thankfully, I got placed on the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, Public Health and Rural Development — all of those. I’m a nurse by trade, so I speak those languages,” O’Steen said. “But I realized that agriculture really didn’t have very many advocates in Atlanta.”

RELATIONSHIPS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE

For O’Steen, effective advocacy means building relationships across the board — with colleagues from both parties, and even with the lobbyists who help inform legislation on complex issues.

“You have to make relationships on both sides of the aisle, whether Republican or Democrat. But you also have to make relationships with the lobbyists that are there,” she said. “In my experience, the lobbyists are our best friends, because you can’t be an expert in everything — even in agriculture. There are things going on in the state that I’m not aware of. When bills come up, they are great resources to help educate me and my colleagues on legislation that’s coming up, or even on concerns that may not be a bill yet.”

PROTECTING THE FAMILY FARM

At the heart of O’Steen’s work in the legislature is a clear priority: protecting the family farm. With economic pressures continuing to mount for farmers and producers across the state, she knows the stakes firsthand.

“We’re not growing very much cotton this year because you can’t afford to lose several hundred dollars an acre before you ever even start growing it — you’re losing money before you even get it out of the ground,” O’Steen said. “My priority would be taking care of agriculture and working with my colleagues in the House who speak my language, and figuring out what kind of policy we can create to ensure the future of the farm.”

For a lawmaker who came to farming by way of marriage and a nursing career, Representative O’Steen has become one of agriculture’s most committed voices in the state capitol — and for Georgia’s rural communities, that advocacy couldn’t come at a more critical time.

By: John Holcomb

Georgia Blueberry Growers See Bumper Crop as Drought Boosts Quality

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Manor, GA |

Georgia’s blueberry growers are having a season worth celebrating. Both the quantity and quality of this year’s harvest have exceeded expectations — and surprisingly, the historically dry conditions that have plagued much of the state’s agriculture this year deserve much of the credit.

“This year’s berries look really good. Honestly, this is some of the best quality we’ve had in years,” said Alex Cornelius of Cornelius Farms. “Mother Nature has been good to us. It’s been a drought, and during a drought, the quality is always better. When it’s wet — particularly in South Georgia where it’s humid — fungus, disease pressure, pest pressure, everything is just worse. And blueberries, if you get too much rain, they’ll split and cause problems.”

DODGING THE FREEZE

Growers also caught a break on the weather front when a damaging February freeze that hit Florida farms hard largely spared operations further north in Georgia.

“The February first freeze hit Florida so hard, and it did affect some farms with early varieties that were sticking out pretty bad,” Cornelius said. “But we were blessed that it did not affect our farm. The later freeze that came along was minimal.”

A MUCH-NEEDED BOOST AFTER HELENE

The timing of this bumper crop couldn’t be better. Many growers in the region are still working to recover financially from the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene — and for Cornelius Farms, that recovery has been a years-long process.

“Helene took out a hundred and twenty acres of our production. We first planted those plants, and then in 2022 they got wiped out with Helene and we went back and replanted them again,” Cornelius said. “So we’re four or five years into no return on that hundred and twenty acres. That’s been pretty devastating to us and all the farmers in this area.”

A REGION BUILT ON BLUEBERRIES

The stakes are high for this part of the state, which dedicates more than eighteen hundred acres to blueberry production this season alone. For operations like Cornelius Farms — which has been growing blueberries for more than thirty-five years — keeping the entire process in house has proven to be a key competitive advantage.

“When you have your own packing facility, if the quality is poor, you can focus on it more. You can respond to what the market needs — different sized packs, different deadlines. It’s a constant change,” Cornelius said. “But when you have your own facility, you can react.”

DEMAND KEEPS GROWING

That adaptability is increasingly important as consumer demand for blueberries continues to rise, driven by a decade of positive press around the fruit’s health benefits.

“The positive health benefits have really grown our business,” Cornelius said. “We continue planting new varieties and new breeder programs everywhere to improve what we put in the ground — to make a better berry, better taste, and a better result for the consumer.”

For Georgia’s blueberry growers, this season offers more than just a strong harvest. It’s a much-needed sign that after years of setbacks, the industry is resilient and moving forward.

By: Damon Jones