Tag Archives: georgia farmers

Rooted in Faith and Farming: James Casey Honored with 2025 Georgia Farm Bureau Legacy Award

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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

A Life Rooted in the Land: Walt Pridgen Honored with 2025 Georgia Farm Bureau Achievement Award

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Pitts, GA |

Walt Pridgen has spent his entire life in agriculture, following a path shaped by family, tradition, and a deep sense of purpose.

“I’ve been in agriculture my whole life, I guess you could say,” said Walt Pridgen, 2025 Georgia Farm Bureau Achievement Award winner. “Went to college, got an ag degree. Went into equipment sales out of college. Had the opportunity to come back and kind of help dad. So, I came back in 2018 and was farming alongside dad and got the opportunity to kind of build my own operation.”

That return to the family farm marked the beginning of Seven Creek Farms.

“So, I bought a herd of cows,” Pridgen said. “Then the opportunity presented itself to build some chicken houses. So, I was like, well, we’re already in the chicken business, so that kind of makes sense. So, I bought my first herd of cows in 2018 — that’s when Seven Creek Farms started. And then built the chicken houses. I signed the contract to build the chicken house the first part of 2020. So, I’ve been farming poultry since 2020, 2021.”

Even with different ventures along the way, Pridgen says agriculture has always been central to his life.

“I’ve been around agriculture basically my whole life in some capacity,” he said.

For Pridgen, farming carries a responsibility that extends far beyond the fence line.

“Knowing that what I’m doing is feeding somebody,” he said. “I feel like at some point you’re probably going to need a doctor. You’re probably going to need a pharmacist. Depending on how your life shakes out, you may need a lawyer. But you’re going to need a farmer at least once a day. You know — food, fiber, shelter, that kind of thing.”

That understanding fuels his passion not only to farm, but to educate others about agriculture.

“Just being able to make a difference and feed the world and educate people at the same time about why we do what we do,” Pridgen said. “It’s something that I never really intended to do. Being in a position where I can go and talk and do the things that I’ve been able to do wasn’t really in the bingo cards, but it’s just how the deck of cards shook out, and here we are.”

Despite the challenges, Pridgen says there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.

“Farming is hard,” he said. “It would be a lot easier most days to just use the degree that I got, sell fertilizer or chemicals or seeds, or I could be a loan officer at AgSouth or something. But there’s just something about being out here on this place.”

That connection runs deep.

“My family’s been here for 200 years farming the same dirt,” Pridgen said. “Even if I had to go back to town, I’d still try to find a way to be out here doing something. It’s an itch that you just can’t scratch unless you’re scratching it to the level that we’re trying to scratch it here.”

Being recognized with the Georgia Farm Bureau Achievement Award, he says, reflects more than individual effort.

“Being recognized for that award in itself is a pretty big undertaking,” Pridgen said. “But I don’t think I can take all the credit for that myself. Farming is a team effort these days.”

That team includes family, helpers, and Farm Bureau support.

“My dad’s on his operation, and he helps me on mine,” he said. “We’ve got a helper that helps both of us. The people in the local Farm Bureau support me with all the stuff that I do. So as much as it’s an individual award, I kind of feel like it was a win for everybody that’s helped me get to this point.”

After nearly a decade of involvement at a competitive Farm Bureau level, the recognition brought a moment of reflection.

“I’ve been doing Farm Bureau stuff for going on ten-ish years,” Pridgen said. “So it was cool to finally kind of see all that come full circle and give those guys opportunities to see their hard work pay off, because they have just as much to do with it as I do, I feel like.”

By: John Holcomb

Georgia Producers Tackle Labor Uncertainty at Annual Ag Forum

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Tifton, GA |

For Georgia farmers, securing a reliable workforce is vital to a successful harvest—especially when it comes to fresh produce and specialty crops. That’s why many of them gathered in Tifton for the annual Agricultural Labor Relations Forum, an event aimed at keeping producers up-to-date on the latest changes to the country’s guest worker programs.

Beth Oleson, Director of Education for the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, says the forum continues to build momentum and foster productive dialogue between growers and regulatory agencies.

“I feel like we actually have gained some momentum. We’ve gained some, some real positive strides with our regulatory agencies. They’re here, they come every year, and they’re actually excited to be here. They’re listening to us. Changes are happening because our growers, our packers, our shippers, our processors are present and they’re having conversations. That’s what this forum is all about,” said Oleson.

According to Will Bentley, President of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, the H-2A guest worker program is essential to Georgia agriculture—especially since the domestic labor force is no longer a viable option for many growers.

“Georgia farmers are, you know, a top user of H-2A labor, typically between number one and number two, state of using the program in the country. So, I mean, it’s obviously important to our industry, especially on the fresh produce side and specialty crops and dairy and green industry and other things like that. So, it’s extremely important to us.”

“Unfortunately, the domestic labor force has shrunk to the point where it’s not really a reliable source of labor for picking crops or working in the fields. It’s become harder, and finding that labor has been more of a challenge. So really, having a dependable labor force through the H-2A program is really what makes Georgia agriculture successful in our ability to be diverse in the crops that we grow here in the state that we just simply couldn’t do if we weren’t able to have a dependable labor force.”

However, that reliance on guest labor has brought added uncertainty—especially as changes to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) continue to strain farm budgets.

“Ten, twenty, thirty percent increases on your labor rate—especially when those decisions aren’t rolled out until kind of late winter when farmers are already making planting decisions, already making hiring decisions—and then they get an increase in their adverse wage rate that they’re required to pay. That’s been the biggest challenge is just offsetting that when farmers can’t just simply raise their prices,” Bentley explained. “We’re price takers. So, the commodity is kind of set on the market for what that’s going to go for a farmer. But then they get a huge increase on the labor side—not to mention the increases on inputs, whether it’s equipment or fertilizer or chemical. So, it’s just really been a challenge on the cost side for our farmers. And that’s really been the biggest obstacle for them being successful.”

Despite the challenges, organizers and attendees of the forum remain hopeful that continued education, conversation, and collaboration can help move the industry forward—ensuring that growers have the tools and labor they need to keep Georgia agriculture thriving.

By: John Holcomb

Georgia Farmers Advocate for Relief & Reform at State Capitol

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Atlanta, GA |

Recently in Atlanta, Georgia Farm Bureau showed off its grassroots strength as nearly 600 members attended this year’s GFB Day at the Capitol event – an annual gathering full of advocacy, education, and fellowship between members and their legislators.

“As a true grassroots organization, that is what we’re here for. We’re connecting the constituents and our members back home with their elected officials so they can hear directly from the experts what kind of hurdles they’re having to deal with on the farm. And there are thousands of bills that get introduced every year, they cannot be experts on every topic. So they rely on not only the folks that represent organizations, but especially when we can bring the members here directly so they can hear from them,” says Alex Bradford Director of Public for GFB.

Of course, the timing of the event couldn’t come at a better time as there are several ag issues being discussed this year; the main one being Hurricane Helene Relief, like increasing funding for the Safety 24 low interest loan program that would put money into farmers’ pockets.

“The Georgia Development Authority is overseeing the safety twenty-four low interest loan program. So one of the things we’re doing is advocating for more funding to be made available through that loan program so that low interest loan offers producers the loan at two percent, which is, well below market rate right now. Helps get them some cash quick as they begin the rebuild process and prepare and plan for this coming up growing season,” says Adam Belflower, GFB State Affairs Manager.

Another huge Hurricane Helene Relief measure comes with House Bill 223 – a bill that aims to provide relief to the sixty-six counties under disaster declaration: First and foremost, it would exempt state income tax on federal disaster assistance. Second, it would create a reforestation tax credit for all trees in the commercial production of timber, food, or wood products. Lastly it would provide a sales tax exemption for building materials for poultry houses and livestock barns – all things Belflower says would be great for the ag sector, but says they’re still working to find other helpful relief measures.

“There’s some other ideas in the chambers right now of what we can do to build on the work that’s already happening. So we’re working with members to try to see what the best path forward is, just to provide relief for our folks,” says Belflower.

Another big issue being worked on this year is tort reform as insurance premiums have undeniably gotten out of control, which has left small businesses, farmers, and their operations in a vulnerable position.

“What we’re seeing is it becoming more and more expensive to get insurance, access to insurance for some of these people that carry really high liability coverage, for different things whether that might be commercial trucking, different businesses in general. And really on all Georgians, it’s driving up the cost of doing business, and it’s driving up the cost for just everyday insurers to keep that coverage that they need. But overall, the goal is to drive down the cost of doing business and to ease a burden on Georgians that are really just constantly getting hit with skyrocketing insurance rates, small business owners, farmers that are constantly at threat of a lawsuit,” says Belflower.

By: John Holcomb

Georgia Farm Bureau Unites County Leaders to Strengthen Agriculture Advocacy

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Perry, GA |

Georgia Farm Bureau recently hosted more than one hundred and fifty county presidents from all over the state under one roof – an event that’s meant to facilitate the chance for county, grassroot leaders to fellowship, communicate, and learn more about the organization they are representing on a local level.

“Everything we do and everything we advocate for starts at the county level. At the local level, it doesn’t come from top down, it comes from the counties up. Which is why we say we are the grassroots organization, for agriculture in Georgia. So when you get all of the people from all over the state together in one place where they can talk to each other, and they all got similar problems, they all have some of the similar solutions. And, when they can talk to each other and maybe sit in some of these breakout sessions that we’re doing, it speaks some ideas that they can take back home, or they can tell us how they want things to be done as a state organization,” says Georgia Farm Bureau President, Tom McCall.

Of course, being a grassroots organization that is the voice for the state’s ag industry comes with an active and engaged membership, which is why during one of the breakout sessions, county presidents were educated on the political landscape and empowered to become advocates and promote advocacy efforts back in their counties.

“Legislators, they are very busy people and it makes the most difference when they can put a face with a name behind an organization. So when we have this huge member base behind us and more members reaching out, calling, even texting, writing, or hosting events and meeting those legislators face to face, then it creates more of a physical community for them to connect with rather than sending a letter and then maybe just seeing a signature or a bunch of signatures and a bunch of names,” says Amelia Junod, GFB Advocacy & Policy Development Specialist.

Of course, having engaged members that advocate is vital to the future of the industry and the organization, however, one important part of that is having a unified and consistent message for those outside of the industry and organization to hear.

“We know that consistency builds credibility and as an organization that’s been around for more than a hundred years, we’ve got a lot of credibility already, but there’s still so many people that don’t know who we are and what we do as an organization. It’s our hope that we can empower these really talented, grassroots level leaders, to go out and have those conversations with prospective Farm Bureau members, and having consistency in that messaging helps to ensure that whether they’re joining in North Georgia or South Georgia or middle Georgia, that they understand that Farm Bureau is the trusted voice of agriculture; that we serve farmers and ranchers and rural communities of all types, that they understand that we support one another, that we speak with the united voice and that we give back to our communities. We do that because everyone depends on a successful American agricultural system, and it’s our job as Farm Bureau to work alongside farmers and ranchers to make sure that our food, fuel and fiber, supplies are safe, sustainable, and secure,” says Austin Large, Senior Director for Membership & Organization Development for AFBF.

By: John Holcomb

Georgia Peanut Farmers Face 2025 Challenges: Weather, Yields & Market Outlook

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Tifton, GA |

With Georgia growing six times more peanuts that any other state in the country, keeping those farmers up to date on the latest research, technology and equipment is vital for the health of the industry as a whole. Events like the Georgia Peanut Farm Show help accomplish this by gathering all those involved under one roof.

“Number one, it’s very good information. It’s a chance for farmers to get together and rub elbows with their neighbors and friends that they may not have seen from people come from all over the state and the Southeast, but you also get to see the latest and greatest in machinery, technology, chemicals, and peanut production practices. We’ve got Scott Monfort is going to lead our production session, and we’ve got a seed session. It helps to just give us an opportunity,” says Joe Boddiford, Chairman of the Georgia Peanut Commission.

Even though the number of acres dedicated to peanuts in Georgia remain high, yields did take a major hit in 2024, thanks in large part to the unpredictable climate.

“Weather for the last two years have taken some yield from us. This past year has taken more than it has in a long time. You know, we lost some top end irrigated yields in ’23 of about a thousand pounds. This year, fifteen hundred pounds or better and across the state when you look at the state average, we didn’t move that much in ’23. We were at forty-one hundred and something. This year, we dropped down to thirty-eight fifty, and that’s the lowest we’ve been in twenty years,” says Scott Monfort, Extension Peanut Agronomist.

With that in mind, growers must now walk a fine line in 2025 between cutting costs and maximizing production.

“We know you need to make change. We know you need kind of cut back if you can, but the biggest thing is we know you need to make money. That’s the highest yields possible. And what we’re here trying to get them to understand is that it’s easy to say I’m going to cut this out, this out and this out. And that’s going to save me money, but in retrospect, every time you cut something, it’s going to affect your yield or potentially affect your control of a pest that affects your yield,” says Monfort.

The silver lining created by that drop in numbers is a potential for the prices to remain steady through these uncertain times.

“We did get lucky by not producing as much in the state of Georgia. So, that kind of helped us potentially. I’m not going to say it is, but it potentially did. If we would have yielded forty-one, forty-two hundred pounds, we know where we would be this year. It would be starting way low. I’m hoping that’s not going to be the case this year and we can at least keep that price up to where we can at least pay some returns back on our investment,” says Monfort.

As for advice to growers preparing for the new year, Monfort suggests working with your local county extension and sticking with the basics.

“The main thing is don’t forget your base programs. Make sure fertility, fungicides, pest management, lyme, calcium, the things you need to do, let’s make sure we do them and we’ll be okay,” says Monfort.

By: Damon Jones

Wild Hog Supper 2025: Celebrating Agriculture & Unity Before Georgia’s Legislative Session

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Atlanta, GA |

As the sun began to set on the Capitol the night of January twelfth, the smell of barbecue filled the air just outside of the Georgia Freight Depot as this year’s hog was being smoked, which could only mean one thing:  the 62nd annual Wild Hog Supper, an event that’s traditionally held on the eve of the legislative session, was underway.

“For sixty-two years there’s been a party where they’ve all come together. Members of the General Assembly, members of the public have all come together, sort of celebrate being together. There are no bills moving yet, nobody’s mad. Everybody’s really having a good time. And so it’s just a great tradition that brings the members of the General Assembly together, along with the public,” says Danah Craft, Executive Director of Feeding Georgia.

As Craft stated, the event is meant to be a friendly one, bringing together legislators, lobbyists, and the public before the serious business of lawmaking begins. However, it also serves to celebrate the great partnership between Feeding Georgia, Georgia Grown, and the state’s farmers and farm families.

“The partnership between the Department of Agriculture and Georgia Grown is a phenomenal partnership where we bring our number one industry in partnering with those groups like Feeding Georgia and our food banks all across the state that are helping our families that are food insecure get food on their table. I think that is an important partnership, because our farm families all across Georgia that produce that food ends up on that plate. We help be the conduit in helping provide that access to those food banks for those farm families as well as for those families that need that additional assistance,” says Tyler Harper, Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture.

Beyond celebrating partnerships, the event also serves as an opportunity to highlight agriculture and its importance as Georgia’s number one industry.

“It’s the unofficial official kickoff to the General Assembly. So, it’s awesome to get our legislators and state leaders together, obviously with a focus on our number one industry. So, obviously the department and Georgia grown and being the commissioner and our friends in the agricultural industry that are that are involved in this, along with Feeding Georgia; we get that first opportunity to have those conversations with legislators as the session gets kicked off here tomorrow, and gives us that opportunity to remind them how important our number one industry is, how important it is to support our farm families, how important it is to ensure that those families that are insecure, that they’re able to have access to high quality food that Georgia farmers produce every single day,” says Harper.

“Our hosts are the House and Senate agriculture committees and Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper. All of those members of those committees are here, as well as other members of the General Assembly. So it’s an opportunity to lift up the importance of agriculture. A lot of our sponsors are from the agriculture community, and they are here as well. So, yes, it’s a celebratory event, but it’s also a networking event, right? It’s an opportunity to bring your issues here to members of the General Assembly, but also to celebrate the work that General Assembly does to help keep Georgia’s number one industry strong,” says Craft.

By: John Holcomb

Another Planting Season with Expected Challenges

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Tifton, GA |

With net farm income once again projected to fall in 2024, growers around Georgia are once again facing the task with doing more with less heading into planting season. And that is especially true for two of the state’s most important crops.

“Certainly cotton margins are going to be really tight in terms of cotton. Cost of production is still high. It has come down since 2023 but it’s still high and cotton prices are down really because global demand is down for cotton and cotton products. So, the outlook is not for much growth there just because of the overall slowdown of the global economy. For peanuts, I think they just need to be careful to watch how many total acres are planted. We had a big increase in acres planted for the US last year. So, we don’t need to see a repeat in that size percentage increase,” says Amanda Smith, Extension Economist with the University of Georgia.

Despite the fact that prices for fertilizer, fuel and pesticides have leveled off, the costs of growing and harvesting crops are once again expected to reach record levels thanks in large part to an expense many don’t associate with farming.

“They’re having to pay interest rates on that operating note. The reason that interest rates are a big issue is because they’ve changed so much really rapidly. So, 2022 interest rates were probably around five percent or so. 2023, we’re looking about 8.75, 7.5 percent. There’s not going to be a change to the downside for 2024. So, interest expenses basically, are nearly doubled from one year to the next. That’s a big change when you’re talking about margins that are usually pretty thin anyways,” says Smith.

With that in mind, there is one major expense growers around the state should pay particularly close attention to when setting their budget for the upcoming season.

“One big thing that they need to be looking at this year is how much they are paying for land rent because we can see looking at the budgets and estimated costs that we are projecting, that there’s opportunities to have a positive cash flow on owned land but it might be more difficult on rented land depending on how high that cash rent is per acre,” says Smith.

So, while the outlook might not be exactly what farmers were hoping for, there are some steps they can take to help weather the storm. And it all begins with planning ahead.

“Take a look at the tools that are available for you. There’s enterprise budgets available online, a crop comparison tool that extension puts together. Take a look at that. Plug in your costs and your yields so you can have an idea of what your cost of production is per acre. Then, see if you can forward price at prices above that. So, keep an eye on the market. Be in touch with your buyers and see when you can take opportunities to make sure that you’ve got a positive margin,” says Smith.

By: Damon Jones