Tag Archives: Farm Monitor

Dairy Industry 2025: Challenges & Optimism for Farmers

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Perry, Ga |

It’s been quite the roller coaster for dairy producers over the past few years as fluctuating prices and input costs have resulted in quite a bit of uncertainty. However, things are currently trending upward after a promising 2024.

“In 2022, you had some supply and demand. You had increased demand for milk. There’s not that supply to go with it. Prices went up, but like with everything else, with inflation, those input costs skyrocketed with it. So, you didn’t really have a margin. You just had higher prices for everything. Supply and demand will reverse itself. You get enough supply; demand goes back down. Price goes back down. But those input costs didn’t come with it. So, ’23 you saw the margins shrink or disappear completely. ’24 you finally had those feed costs, labor, fuel, some of these things the farmers really can’t control come back down to where the milk price was and demand had been relatively stable,” says Bryce Trotter, Executive Director of the GA Milk Producers.

With nearly twenty percent of all US milk products being exported, a recent trade war with Canada and Mexico is a point of concern as it has the potential to reduce that demand.

“Is the export market going to stay where it is? We don’t export a lot of milk products in the southeast. But the dairy economy nationwide kind of feeds off of itself. So, if those export markets go away, you got excess supply of milk. That all kind of trickles back down and affects the demand, which will affect the price for milk. So, export markets and what’s going on with tariffs and trade policy is going to a big thing that our farmers are going to watch,” says Trotter.

They will also be keeping a close watch on the current avian influenza outbreak that has found its way into more than 900 dairy herds across seventeen different states.

“Our producers are keeping an eye on it. I wouldn’t say that anyone is worried, but we’re paying attention and that’s what we should be doing. We’re in constant communication with the Department of Agriculture here in Georgia to come up with a plan if it does come to the Southeast. But our farmers are just keeping an eye on it, doing what they can on their farm to beef up biosecurity and prepare,” says Trotter.

The health of the industry will also depend on a number of dairy operations bouncing back from the storms that swept across southeast Georgia late last year.

“Not only did the storms come through during harvest season, but our harvest season is every day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. So, a lot of the impacts that we see aren’t just the day of and the day after the storm, but those effects on the cows and their milk production, the stress from the storm, you can feel that for weeks afterwards, decreased milk production,” says Trotter.

In spite of some of these issues and hardships within the industry, 2025 is shaping up to be a promising year for producers thanks in large part to the rising number of consumers around the region.

“We’re seeing a trend here in the Southeast where a lot more people are drinking fluid milk which is what we produce, especially whole milk. So, we’re quietly optimistic for a good year for dairy farmers and we’re just happy to see that trend in fluid milk consumption and dairy consumption overall continue to tick up,” says Trotter.

By: Damon Jones

Rising from the Ashes: Livestock Exhibitors Rebuild After Devastating Barn Fire

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Perry, GA |

Last Winter, these livestock exhibitors’ lives were drastically changed, as their school’s barn burned down, taking their animals and months of hard work, time, and energy along with it. It was a moment that can only be described as devastating, however, now just over a year later, they’ve rebounded, put in the work, and are competing at the show they missed last year.

“It burnt down just exactly two weeks before Perry. So, we had went in October and we kind of got to see that side of things, but it was very sad to get to see your animal grow, and you would put so much time and effort into it, and you were working up to this point. And then for you not to be able to go through with it, and then you got to watch everybody still go and compete without you; it was definitely sad, and you kind of just felt let down, like all you had done was kind of to waste, but definitely this year has been nice to get back in the swing of things, and I’ve been able to learn from it that you can still move on, you can still work better this next year, and it’s gonna be okay,” says Kate Bearden, Southeast Whitfield Livestock Exhibitor.

This year, their show team is significantly smaller, as only a handful were able to house their animals at their homes, which of course, as Bearden says, presented new challenges.

“It definitely has impacted us since it’s burnt down, because you’re not able to have as big of a show team. It’s nice whenever you have the convenience of sharing the stands and the blowers at the school. But once it burnt and it’s at you’re at your house, you don’t have all those things at your access and you’re not able to have as many members, because a lot of the kids rely on the school to provide for the things that they need,” says Bearden.

Though the incident was no doubt a tragedy, the team turned it into an opportunity – one that demonstrates passion, resilience, and determination, especially when you have a great support system.

“It doesn’t matter whether we have a barn at the school. It doesn’t matter whether our group’s small or big, we’re still able to compete. We’re still able to do good and be able to come to Perry. I still was able to work with my goat at my house. I was able to send pictures back and forth to my ag teachers, and they were still able to give me input, even though it wasn’t in person. They were still able to say, ‘hey, you should brace it this way. You need to work with walking it and here’s just a few tips.” So I was able to move past whether the barn was there or not,” says Bearden.

“Our kids are tough, and their parents are tough, and their families are tough, and they work hard. And so, obviously when that happened, it took some time to grieve and to look back and reflect, but these students that decided to take that adversity and learn from it. And so, they decided, I’m not going to let something that frankly, they can’t control hold them down. So, they decided we’re going to house our animals at home. We’re still going to work hard, and we’re going to do what we love to do and that’s show livestock. And essentially, I think that comes back full circle with exactly why we do this, exactly why our students show livestock. They show livestock to learn how to handle adversity, to work hard and work with one another to get through issues that might occur,” Logan Hunter, Agriculture Teacher at Southeast Whitfield High School.

By: John Holcomb

Labor Shortages & Rising Costs: Can the H-2A Program Save U.S. Farmers?

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Atlanta, GA |

Over the next few months some of Georgia’s signature fruits and vegetables like peaches, onions and blueberries, will all be ready to come out of the field. And in order to maximize both quality and quantity, it’s essential to have a reliable workforce.

“You have to have enough labor there on the busiest day to get them harvested, get them packed. This is timely work. It’s so timely to have harvest at the right days. So, we’re always very conscious. That’s our number one issue behind probably weather is labor availability,” says Robert Dickey, Chairman of the Georgia House Agriculture Committee.

That’s where the H2A program comes in, as it helps supplement a small number of domestic workers, while also complying with stronger immigration policies.

“If we’re going to continue to feed America with American grown crops, vegetables, and fruits, we got to have a labor force. Unfortunately, we don’t have a domestic force to do that. And that is why we have transitioned to this H2A program. You see other industries desperately wanting that, with our shortage of labor in this country. And so, this has been a good program for us. It has kept us all one hundred percent legal,” says Dickey.

Despite their workers being documented, many Georgia farmers are hoping there can still be some compromise on the recent immigration crackdown.

“I hope the administration can look at the history of some of our workers from whatever industry they’re in, in this state who have been here for many, many years and contributed to the economy and have families here, maybe even homes and things. Maybe give them some pathway to citizenship, some legal status so they can continue working and helping our industries,” says Dickey.

Labor shortages aren’t the only concern, as growers have seen wages increase exponentially over the past few years, which has opened the door for more foreign competition.

“So far, we haven’t had any real issues, a few little hiccups but, that program has worked well. I hope it’s no changes to it other than trying to get some costs back in line. Those costs for us have gone up over thirty or forty percent in the last two or three years and just raising our grower cost to not be competitive with foreign imports. So, that’s one of our big concerns,” says Dickey.

And it’s a concern that will likely continue into the future, unless some changes are made to the program.

“We don’t have that labor and don’t have it at a competitive rate, it’s just going to make foreign imports from Mexico, Chile, and South America much more available to domestic grocery stores. There’s going to be less costs and our industry will just really go away if we don’t do something to stem it,” says Dickey.

By: Damon Jones

Growing Georgia’s Citrus Future: Innovation, Challenges & Expansion into Juicing!

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Tifton, GA |

In Tifton recently, citrus growers gathered for their annual conference. This year’s theme: “Growing Georgia’s Citrus Future” – a fitting one, as attendees got to hear from experts and industry professionals on how to keep the citrus industry thriving in the state for years to come.

“It’s not only a membership meeting, but it’s a conference to talk about the challenges that Georgia Citrus has had and just how we can work to cultivate success. And it’s important to come and, network, not only network but just hear about the latest innovation and technology and what other people are experiencing; that’s how you grow and that’s how you learn is to hear from others and try to not make the same mistakes and come up with ways to solve problems,” says Lindy Savelle, Executive Director of the Georgia Citrus Association.

One problem that’s on the minds of most producers is citrus greening, which has decimated more than eighty percent of Florida’s citrus industry, however there is research being done that will hopefully eliminate the disease and will greatly benefit the industry in Georgia.

“It was four or five years before we realized we had it. By then it had spread throughout the entire state and the Florida Department of Agriculture declared that it was not able to be eradicated. We were going to have to try to live with it. As we’ve seen, that has been very, very difficult to do. We do have a number of therapies, though, that are working, and these are therapies that we hope are going to keep our industry alive long enough to get to where this tree of the future, this resistant tree, or a tree that’s more tolerant is going to bail us out once and for all, but what I mean for Georgia is that you’re going to be the beneficiary of this long runway. In other words, you have many years before your disease is going to become endemic, if it ever gets to that point. And my message today was, don’t let it get there. Your goal needs to be eradication. You can still do it,” says Rick Dantzler, C.O.O. of the Citrus Research & Development Foundation.

However, despite those concerns, Savelle says growers are still optimistic about what the future holds for the industry, as she explained there is some excitement around expanding from just being a fresh fruit industry to possibly a juicing one.

“I just see that this industry in Georgia is going to continue to grow. Continue to diversify. We are likely going to have a window of opportunity to go into the juicing industry as well as the fresh fruit industry. Florida has become known more for its juice industry, whereas Georgia has been fresh fruit, but I see that kind of turning the corner a little bit. And it’s not only South Georgia, but it’s North Florida that we’re joining forces together to kind of make this a regional citrus industry and I think those are all good things. Anytime you can collaborate with another state and have a bigger footprint, that’s a good thing,” says Savelle.

By: John Holcomb

Georgia Corn Comeback? Farmers Prepare for 2025 Amid Rising Costs & Drought Challenges

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Tifton, GA |

After seeing a significant drop in acres of corn being planted in Georgia last year, those numbers look to be on the rebound in 2025, especially with the issues other crops around the state are experiencing.

“I think that given some of the constraints with some of the other commodities, that we’re probably going to see an increase in corn acreage this year. I have a prediction but we’ll see if it comes to fruition this year, but I think there’s going to be a significant increase with the crop,” says Nicholas Shay, Extension Grains Agronomist.

Despite seeing prices surge by more than thirty percent over the past six months, growers must still walk a fine line in order to turn a profit, especially with the ever-increasing cost of production.

“To navigate that, we have to try to really manage our input efficiency the best we can, and really go back to the drawing board and count our pennies to make sure that we’re being as efficient as possible with our agronomic management or crop management plan in that, for the season,” says Shay.

Another major issue for growers is the long periods of dry weather throughout the state each and every year. It’s a factor that should always be accounted for when planning crop management.

“I think we can bet that every single year, there has been some sort of level of intermittent drought that has occurred. And so, I think really staying on top of your nutrient management and understanding how a crop responds to drought or to a treatment or a fertilizer application that you’re going to apply in the growing season,” says Shay.

The biggest defense against drought conditions is to implement preventative strategies as soon as possible.

“We have to prepare that crop for those stressful environments instead of reacting to a common symptom entomology we may see in the field. If we’d be proactive and have a proactive mitigation strategy, then maybe we can alleviate some of that stress in the growing season, especially when it comes to drought,” says Shay.

With that in mind, it’s never too early to start preparing, especially with planting season right around the corner.

“Growers should obviously be focusing on making sure their equipment is ready, land preparation this time of year, making sure that they have a good plan in place to start the year as far as fertility, as far as weed management, preparing that ground. Then making sure that they have that plan A, plan B in place to be proactive in their approach to mitigate those midseason or early season stresses that we can almost expect are going to occur,” says Shay.

By: Damon Jones

Georgia Cotton Growers Face Tough Times: Low Prices, High Costs & Hope for 2025

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Tifton, GA |

Recently in Tifton, cotton growers here in Georgia gathered for their annual meeting for a time of fellowship and education, which of course couldn’t come at a better time as growers saw one of the toughest years they’ve ever seen in 2024.

“This is really an opportunity for the industry as a whole, beyond the producer level, even to come together to really, come together and fellowship or, as it turns out, in 2025, maybe commiserate, with this really bad confluence of situations that we have here. Economic, weather, policy, all that have kind of come together and really detrimental to our cotton industry here in Georgia. But also to learn about solutions, how we’re going to improve the situation, what the industry is doing to to move us forward, how we’re going to meet our consumers, how our mills and manufacturer customers, and how we’re going to meet them where they are to move, to move cotton production forward in Georgia in 2025 and beyond,” says Taylor Sills, Executive Director of the Georgia Cotton Commission.

Most of the situation can be attributed to low commodity prices that aren’t covering the costs of their inputs, and unfortunately, according to Extension cotton agronomist, Camp Hand, the situation for 2025 isn’t looking much better.

“It’s the price of cotton and the cost of the inputs. I’d say it cost ninety cents per pound of  cotton to grow the crop, but then you are selling it for right now, today, a December 2025 contract is going for sixty-eight, sixty-nine cents. So you’re twenty cent below the cost of production. That’s serious, and so it’s tough. We’ve been put in some tough situations because the international market is just a different place than it was a few years ago,” says Camp Hand, Extension Cotton Agronomist.

However, according to Hand, even though growers are in a tough spot, the only thing that would make it worse is to not try to grow a good crop, which is why he and other extension experts are there to give growers the tools they need to do so.

“At the end of the day, these growers in Georgia, whether they want to be or not or are married to it. What we want guys to know is that if you put a crop in the ground, you gotta make it, and so we’re trying to give them the tools that they need to make the most out of a bad situation,” says Hand.

Despite the tough economic situation, there is some good news for growers heading into the 2025 season, as extension plant pathologist, Bob Kemerait says that disease pressure growers saw in 2024 shouldn’t be a problem this season, thanks to good, actual winter weather the state has seen.

“Going into 2025, I’m really excited. This cold weather, this snow we’ve had, freezing temperatures; I call it a reset button because what happens with the freezing temperatures is we kill off some of our volunteer cotton, which can bring forward, be a bridge. Also, those cold soil temperatures are going to start to send those nematodes to bed for a while; slow them down, maybe kill some of them, but certainly break their life cycle. So what we’ve had with this cold weather is we are now completely in 2025 season and not bringing 2024 along with us,” says Bob Kemerait, Extension Plant Pathologist.

By: John Holcomb

Unlocking Georgia’s Agritourism Revolution

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Peachtree City, GA |

With the goal of supporting local farms and spreading the story of agriculture, the GFB Certified Farm Markets program has seen their number of participating farms skyrocket over the past few years, providing a snapshot of the diversity of operations that can be found here in the state.

“This year, we have a hundred farms across the state of Georgia that invite you to come and visit them to see what they do. No two are alike. So, we have everything from farms like Alo Farms, who is hydroponic, to row crops, to hog farms, to farms that do both vegetables and beautiful flowers,” says Kelly Henry, GFB Certified Farm Market Coordinator.

To help guide you through all of these different choices is the GFB Farm Passport, which not only provides a detailed description of the more than one hundred operations, but also rewards for paying them a visit.

“You take your farm passport with you and just like if you’re visiting another country, you get stamps. Your stamps earn you prizes at the end of the year. Five is a T-shirt. Ten is Ag swag. Twenty is a farm to table dinner and tour, our signature event of the year. And then, thirty is goodies from the farm,” says Henry.

It’s not just the visitors that benefit from this program, but also the farms that are involved like Alo Farms, a unique operation in Peachtree City.

“We joined a few years ago and it’s just been an amazing partnership. All the participants in the stamp program are just excited to be here. They have great questions. We love being able to share and talk with them about the farm. So, it brings a lot of enthusiastic customers who appreciate agriculture and what it takes to run and operate a farm. It’s brought us a lot of local people who didn’t know we were here,” says Alec Brown – GM of Alo Farms. “So, Alo Farms is a family owned and operated company. My dad, Jefferson, he’s an architect, and he started our farm about 15 years ago on the design and innovation side as a means to address food insecurity on a large scale and specifically in urban environments. So, our commercial farm right now is less than 20 thousand square feet. We’ll out produce about 75-125 acres worth in soil of the same types of crops.”

This is just one of the many agritourism destinations that will be featured in the new, 2024 Farm Passport when it’s released in less than a month.

“Kickoff is exciting every year, March 16th and will run all the way through the year. So, we even get those Christmas tree farms in at the end of the year. So, if you haven’t gotten your passport yet, you can start it at any of the participating farms found at gfb.ag/passport. You can also pick one up at any of your local county Farm Bureau offices,” says Henry.

By: Damon Jones

Georgia Federal-State Inspection Service’s Important Role within the Peanut Industry

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Ty Ty, GA |

Each Fall, all across the state, peanuts are dug up, harvested, and taken to buying points that will shell them and market them to their final destination. However, an important part of that process is what’s called grading, which is completed by the Georgia Federal-State Inspection service, that ensures both the grower and shellers receive a non-biased grade that’s used to make sure all parties get compensated fairly.

“We’re an organization founded in 1927 to be a non-biased third party between the buyer and the producer. Mostly in Georgia it’s peanuts, but it’s different commodities also. What we really do is we ensure that the buyer isn’t paying too much for the peanuts and the producer is getting a fair amount for the peanuts as well. So, our organization doesn’t lean toward one side or the other. We’re here to be a nonbiased party,” says Willie Musselwhite, District Manager for the GA Federal-State Inspection Service.

According to Musselwhite, the job is one that’s taken very seriously, as they strive for uniformity so that it’s an equal playing field for everyone, which is why when they take samples from each truck, they work it in a very methodical way to ensure it’s done properly and consistently.

“To the farmer, he wants to get paid. He worked very hard to produce this product and he wants to get paid the ultimate price for his profit. So, once we are going in there and determine the grade, it really determines how much the farmer’s getting paid for his peanuts. So, if it grades really high, he wants a premium grade for his peanuts, but on the other hand, if it were to grade a lower grade, the buyer would not want to pay that premium price for it. So, what we’re doing is we’re telling the farmer, and the buyer; this this is what you have. We don’t set the prices for them, USDA and the buyers, they set the prices, but whatever grade it has that determines the price on the peanut,” says Musselwhite.

Musselwhite says that the grading process is also important because it can help further improve peanut production here in Georgia as it gives researchers, breeders, and growers information that can be useful in the future.

“Georgia produces technically 50 percent of nation’s peanuts and we strive every year to produce different varieties; University of Georgia, yield better yields and make higher quality peanuts. So, we do the research through grading, different trials and all that they’re trying to make a better product. Because after a while, the problems you have now, it fails to grade what it was . We’re always having different things come out the university system and different geneticists are making it happen. It’s very important for the peanut industry to have to have somebody doing that because it’ll provide more income for the farmers in the long run and a better quality peanut for the shellers, the candymakers, and the industry in general,” says Musselwhite.

By: John Holcomb

This Cobb County Company Finished Strong in Puerto Rico

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Acworth, GA

On the outside, these might look like just your ordinary shipping containers, but take a look on the inside and you might get a sneak peek into the future of mushroom production, as this prototype from MycoLogic implements controlled environment technology designed to maximize harvests.

“It’s about providing the optimized conditions to reduce the time for cropping as wells as to increase the yields of the mushrooms that were produced,” says Chris Cornelison. “So, the old adage time is money, right? So, the faster you can grow more mushrooms, the more profitable your operation is.”

The biggest obstacle to making a profit is the ever-rising cost of production. However, growing mushrooms in this kind of controlled environment keeps those expenses to a minimum.

“The biggest difference between plants and mushrooms is that mushrooms can grow in the complete absence of light. So, you save a lot of energy or save a lot of money on not having to um, use energy to produce light. In this container, we operate on about twenty to thirty dollars a month,” says Kyle Gabriel.

Another benefit to this type of production is farmers can make use of the byproducts their crops produce by fertilizing different types of mushrooms.

“One of our initiatives is trying to find locally sourced agricultural waste materials and then developing the correct formulation or the ideal ratio for different species of mushrooms to grow on. So, if we can find an area say in Georgia that has a large amount of cotton gin byproduct, peanut shells, corn shaft, we can sort of tailor what mushrooms will grow ideal for that particular region,” says Gabriel.

This would not only be beneficial to the farmer’s bottom line, but also the environment as a whole.

“You know, there’s a lot of byproduct in Georgia, whether it be peanut hulls or spent cotton gin byproduct that are perfectly suitable for mushroom cultivation. They’re produced in thousands of tons, right? And so, if we can recapture some of those residues to create a value-added product; not only is that good for sustainability, but that’s also good for the state’s economy,” says Cornelison.

“It will add to the circular economy where we’re recycling, we’re taking these byproducts that would be a burden to the farmer and they would sit in the field or they would be burned which is bad for the environment and then we can turn those into products that can grow mushrooms,” says Gabriel.

This idea already has a number of believers, as MycoLogic has partnered with multiple farmers across the state, which is the first step in their five-year journey finally coming to fruition.

“We are both applied scientists. So, we’re always looking move discoveries out of the academic laboratory and into the market to realize the full potential. So, the overall goal for the project is to continue to refine the technology based off of customer feedback and partnerships with existing growers and come up with a minimal viable product that we hope to launch in 2023,” says Cornelison.

By: Damon Jones

Fruits, Vegetables and More in Savannah

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Savannah, GA

For the past 21 years, fruit and vegetable growers from all over the Southeast have made their way to the annual Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable conference – a four-day event that’s purpose is to equip producers within the industry with all the tools they need to see success back on their operations.

“We are back in person in Savannah for the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference; our attendance is at record levels, but it’s the one place where you bring together all of the fruit and vegetable production side of the industry all under one roof, so everything a grower needs from seeds and equipment to fertilizer and then most importantly is knowledge,” says Chris Butts, Executive Vice President of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. “We’ve got four full days of education sessions, full of real-world information that our growers can take back and put to use on the farm.”

One of the educational topics discussed at the conference was food safety – an issue that Rob Martin with the UGA Small Business Development Center says is vital to the fruit and vegetable industry and believes it’s something that can be controlled.

“We know from the data that annually, one in six people in the United States gets sick from some kind of food borne illness,” says Martin. “So, of those numbers, the amount that are hospitalized, the amount that die, three thousand people a year die due to food contamination, so when you think about the importance, that’s the importance. I can handle getting ill and sick after eating something, but put me in the hospital, losing a family member because of something like that, that’s pretty serious, and when we know food safety is basically something we control.”

According to Alexis Hamilton, Extension Specialist with Virginia Tech, food safety is a matter that must be practiced by every single person working on the operation.

“There’s so many people that are involved in producing food and making sure that everyone is onboard with every action that they partake in; in the packing house or in your fresh produce operation, making sure that every one of those is aimed at producing safe food is going to go a long way to ensuring that the product that makes it to the market is one that we can safely enjoy,” says Hamilton.

However, making that a reality is a different story, which is why Martin believes the best way to make sure everyone is doing their part, is by making food safety a part of the culture within the operation.

“Just like anything else, with an operation, if the owner, the manager, the line down is not bought into the process, we can’t expect our employees and workers to be bought in. So, it’s important for us to understand as managers and owners that if we don’t show it and exude it, and give that example, then we can’t expect our employees to. So, that’s the importance of kind of building that culture, going about that process and just making sure it’s a, it’s a requirement and a focus on importance for the operation,” says Martin.

By: John Holcomb