Tag Archives: Georgia Farm Monitor

Georgia Peanut Harvest Underway Despite Late-Season Drought Concerns

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Vienna, GA |

Peanut harvest is officially underway across Georgia, as combines roar to life and farmers work tirelessly to bring in this year’s crop. Despite a dry finish to the season, early summer rains helped stave off disaster and salvage yields in many areas.

“We started rain, I guess, right at the end of July,” said Teel Warbington of Warbington Family Farm. “I didn’t water from July 30th to about a week to ten days ago… But by and large, the timeliness of the rain was pretty good on the peanut crop here. Time will tell. I don’t think we’re going to set a record.”

Over the coming weeks, peanut fields across the state will be filled with activity from sunup to sundown as harvest ramps up. But according to Warbington, getting started is the most crucial step.

“That’s the most critical part of finishing any project—is starting,” he said. “Getting in a rhythm is key. Everybody knows what they’re doing, and we’ve got a common vision forward. Once you’ve got things settled a bit, it’s a good time of year.”

That timing is especially important given the rising cost of production. Warbington noted that everything from fuel to defoliants has become more expensive.

“Fuel is still up. Electricity’s up. Even some of our defoliants are up,” he explained. “It’s difficult. The Lord has seen us through it before, and I trust He will again—I just hope it’s in farming.”

Despite the financial pressure and unpredictable weather, Warbington says true farmers wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“By and large, to a fault, we’re producers,” he said. “We’re not always good marketers, but we love producing. A person that doesn’t get excited about gathering a crop—even if it’s not a bust—probably doesn’t need to be doing this.”

As farmers across Georgia dig in for the season, it’s clear that resilience, faith, and passion remain deeply rooted in the state’s peanut fields.

By: Damon Jones

Georgia Ag Issues Summit: Lawmakers Tackle Rural Challenges Ahead of 2026 Session

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Perry, GA |

As Georgia lawmakers gear up for the 2026 legislative session, agriculture leaders and industry professionals recently gathered in Perry for the annual Joint Agriculture Committee Chairmen Ag Issues Summit. Hosted by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Russ Goodman and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Robert Dickey, the event served as a platform to discuss both ongoing concerns and opportunities within Georgia’s largest industry.

“It’s a joint summit between the House and the Senate,” said Senator Goodman. “Chairman Dickey and I are the co-hosts of it and really just bring in people from across the state that are involved in the agricultural industry or extension, or people that have an interest in the industry, and come together and talk about issues, have guest speakers, and find out what our challenges are, what our opportunities are, things that we’re doing well.”

Goodman emphasized the importance of learning from university and extension professionals, noting the summit is essentially “about all things ag.”

For Representative Dickey, the event also plays a critical role in educating colleagues who may not have direct ties to farming or rural life. He says the summit helps bridge that knowledge gap between ag leaders and state lawmakers.

“Chairman Goodman and I are certainly up to speed on a lot of these issues, but so many colleagues are not,” Dickey explained. “That is the kind of information we need to get out to the rest of our colleagues in the House and Senate and the Governor’s office—what the problems are with agriculture in Georgia, what the challenges are that we need to be working on. And there’s lots of them. Rural Georgia and agriculture are facing a lot of headwinds right now.”

Among those headwinds is economic uncertainty—something Senator Goodman says threatens the future of many family farms. He believes public policy needs to be shaped with generational survival in mind.

“Right now, ag is struggling in a lot of ways with commodity prices,” Goodman said. “We’ve seen cost of input come down, but as you heard Dr. Dorfman say, they quadrupled, and now they’re just double what they were pre-COVID. Moving forward, it’s just going to continue to be about making sure we’re implementing public policy that hopefully enables the next generation to continue to farm.”

That message was echoed by Dickey, who says when agriculture suffers, the entire rural community feels the impact.

“Our rural communities are really suffering,” he said. “High cost inputs for farmers, low crop prices—a lot we can’t do on a state level. But we’ve got to support those communities, those rural ag communities, to have the infrastructure, to have the diversity that those communities really need. Agriculture is the largest industry in those counties. When ag constricts, it really puts a burden on our school systems, our roads, and those types of things.”

By: John Holcomb

Georgia’s Watermelon Capital Celebrates Bumper Crop Despite Market Challenges

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Cordele, GA |

It’s not hard to see why Cordele is known as the Watermelon Capital of the World—thousands of melons are now rolling out of the fields as harvest season hits its peak. While it’s one of the busiest times of the year, local growers say it’s also one of the most rewarding, marking the payoff for months of preparation and hard work.

“Yeah, it’s always the gratifying part—to take it to market after the months of growing,” says Greg Leger, President of Leger & Son. “It’s exciting. It’s a busy time of year. This is when we make it—this window is the abundance of our production throughout the summer.”

Ideal spring conditions have helped growers produce a bumper crop for 2025, with strong yields and top-quality fruit.

“The growing season was good—almost perfect,” says Leger. “The yields are great and the quality is second to none.”

Of course, that success relies on having enough workers in the fields, since watermelons remain a labor-intensive crop that must be harvested by hand.

“Labor is a huge part of watermelons,” Leger explains. “We have to pick several times. You can’t pick it with a machine—it’s all done by hand. It’s the same people each season. They start in Florida and move up the East Coast, so by the time they get to Georgia, everybody’s in good shape.”

Once the melons are picked, quality control at the packing facility helps ensure customers get the best possible fruit. But Leger says there are still a few tips for picking the perfect melon at the market.

“If we do our job as grower-shippers, we take a lot of the guesswork out of it for the consumer,” he says. “You want to find one that’s symmetrical in shape with no bruising and heavy for its size. Look for the ground spot—what we call the belly. If you turn the watermelon over, it should have a yellow spot—that means it’s mature.”

Even though recent heavy rains haven’t hurt this year’s production, the same can’t be said about demand across the country.

“Unfortunately, we’ve got oversupply this year,” says Leger. “The movement in the Northeast and Midwest just hasn’t been pulling like it normally does. But the good news is, we’ve got a ways to go, and movement increased starting last week. We’re excited about finishing up the season and getting the rest of this crop off.”

Despite the early marketing challenges, Georgia growers take pride in producing watermelons for families to enjoy during a short—but sweet—window of time.

“It’s really gratifying to take a product all the way through to the markets,” Leger says. “Our window here in Georgia usually starts the first of summer and goes to about the fifteenth of July. The month of June through mid-July is a big time for watermelon production.”

By: Damon Jones

UGA Launches Grand Farm in Perry: The Future of Georgia Agriculture Starts Here

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Perry, GA |

The future of farming in Georgia is taking root in Perry with the launch of the UGA Grand Farm—a 250-acre innovation hub designed to showcase the next wave of agricultural technology and sustainability. Created by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the farm is poised to become a leading destination for ag innovation in the Southeast.

“In essence, we want this to be the go-to place in all of the Southeast U.S. for the latest and greatest within ag innovation and technology,” says Nick Place, Dean of UGA CAES. “We’ve partnered with companies large and small—corporations and startups—to demonstrate their latest technology. We want to do that particularly for producers, extension agents, ag teachers, and young people—4-H and FFA members.”

The stakes are high. Agriculture is Georgia’s number one industry, and with producers facing mounting challenges, the timing for this initiative couldn’t be more critical.

“There are a lot of challenges facing agriculture—labor, water, pests, diseases, and more,” Place explains. “One way we address those issues is through technology. For example, autonomous tractors and equipment can help solve labor shortages. Technologies like see-and-spray systems use cameras to identify weeds or pests and apply targeted treatments—improving efficiency while reducing environmental impact.”

Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper echoed the importance of innovation in keeping the industry strong and competitive, particularly as net farm income has seen significant declines nationwide.

“It’s an opportunity to continue to propel our state’s number one industry,” says Harper. “We’ve seen over $40 billion in net farm income losses in just the last two years across the country. Innovation and technology are what’s going to ensure our farm families can succeed—helping them be more efficient, more effective, and able to keep more money on the farm at the end of the day.”

Beyond advancing farm operations, the Grand Farm is also being positioned as a platform to educate consumers and bridge the gap between urban and rural communities.

“This is going to be a showcase—not just for Georgia, but for the entire country and the world,” says Harper. “Visitors to the fairgrounds or the state livestock shows will get to see new technology and innovation in action. But even more importantly, this farm will help show that agriculture is more than what people traditionally think. Food doesn’t just show up on the grocery store shelf. There’s a hardworking farmer—especially Georgia farm families—growing those Georgia Grown products our consumers enjoy every day.”