Tag Archives: Georgia General Assembly

Georgia Farmland Conservation Program Gives Farming Families a Way to Protect Land Forever

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Hawkinsville, GA |

Since 1985, Georgia has lost at least one and a half million acres of working and wild lands to development — and that pressure isn’t slowing down. For farming families who have worked the same ground for generations, the threat of losing that land for good is very real. According to Katherine Moore, President of the Georgia Conservancy, the stakes for Georgia’s agricultural economy couldn’t be higher.

“The predominant landscape in our state is, in fact, working lands. We have over twenty-two million acres in forestry and about ten million acres in working farms — that is by far the bulk of our state’s land,” Moore said. “Our working lands are the factory floor. If we do not have these acres protected and operated by good stewards, then we’re not going to have the products and the jobs that those working lands produce.”

A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND PROGRAM FOR GEORGIA

In 2023, the Georgia General Assembly responded with the Georgia Farmland Conservation Program — a first-of-its-kind initiative in the state dedicated solely to keeping farmland in farming. At the heart of the program is a legal tool called a conservation easement, and for landowners thinking about how to protect their property long-term, Moore says it’s one of the most powerful options available.

“A conservation easement is a simple legal agreement that allows the property owner to continue to see their land in their ownership, their enjoyment and use — be it simple recreation or as a working landscape — but they are giving up some of the development rights,” Moore explained. “Those rights are given up in perpetuity. The conservation easement is attached to the deed, and the property owner has the comfort of knowing the land is always protected from certain types of development.”

PERMANENCE IS THE POINT

In perpetuity — a phrase that carries significant weight for farming families. Moore says that permanence is exactly the point. Georgia has lost too much ground to development that can never be undone, and the program gives conservation-minded landowners a way to make that commitment binding — not just for themselves, but for every generation that follows.

“A conservation easement gives a lot of property owners who are focused on the legacy of the land — on protecting it from future development pressures — that peace of mind to know that the acres they have cared for, some of them for generations before them, have a future as a working or natural land versus being under threat of development,” Moore said.

A LEGACY CHOICE WITH A FINANCIAL REWARD

The program doesn’t just ask landowners to give something up — it rewards them for it. Participating landowners can receive a one-time payment for the development rights they permanently surrender, making the decision both a legacy choice and a meaningful financial one.

“The landowner walks away at the end of a transaction like this with the comfort that they have protected their land forever, to continue in the use that they have enjoyed and prospered from as a family — and also they have been provided with financial compensation for the value of the rights they have given up,” Moore said.

For Georgia farming families looking to protect their land for future generations, the Georgia Farmland Conservation Program offers a path forward. More information is available at the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s website.

By: John Holcomb

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