Atlanta, GA |

The 2026 Georgia legislative session is officially underway, and as lawmakers work through the final year of the biennium, agriculture remains a major focus. According to Adam Belflower, State Affairs Manager for Georgia Farm Bureau, last year brought several key wins for the state’s largest industry — and momentum is high to continue that progress.

“I would say 2025 was a very successful year for agriculture here at the Capitol in Atlanta,” said Belflower. “We had a lot of really important issues that were championed by folks here in the General Assembly that we got to celebrate crossing the finish line. We got to see Hurricane Helene relief for farmers and landowners across southeast Georgia. We saw a historic tort reform effort, led by Governor Kemp. There were some really important investments in the budget to help equip our farmers all across the state with the resources they need. There was the truck weights legislation last year. Last year was just a really good year.”

But with rising input costs, falling commodity prices, and lingering storm recovery efforts still top of mind, Belflower says 2026 will need to address one core issue: affordability.

“One of the issues that legislators are hearing a lot from their constituents back home is just the idea of affordability,” he said. “How do we decrease the cost of doing business? How do we decrease the cost of living? And just all in all, make the quality of life better for Georgians by making things a little bit more affordable. And I would say it’s no different for us.”

He points to the recent natural disasters like Hurricane Helene, coupled with economic pressure, as key drivers of the state’s strained farm economy.

“We have had some of the biggest natural disasters in our state’s history the past couple of years,” said Belflower. “Coupled with record high input prices and record low commodity prices — that equation doesn’t make for a very profitable farm economy. So we’re working with the General Assembly to find policies that are going to bring some relief to farmers, strengthen commodity markets, and overall make the farm economy more stable.”

Equally important, he says, is serving as a trusted guide for legislators navigating complex ag policy proposals.

“We want to come up here and be a trusted resource to them,” he explained. “As they’re proposing policy, we’re helping them think through what might be the consequences — both intended and unintended. Oftentimes, we will see unintended consequences of legislation that could have a pretty negative impact on our farm families and on our farmers. So we come up here really with that mindset.”

By: John Holcomb