Hartwell, GA |
In Hartwell, the annual Northeast Georgia Ag Expo once again brought together farmers, vendors, students, and community members for a day centered around agriculture and its impact on rural Georgia. Now in its fifth year, the event has steadily grown in size and purpose, with organizers focused on promoting agricultural education and appreciation throughout the region.
“It’s our fifth annual ag Expo. We’ve grown it for years and years. We’ve got people from all over—not just Hart County, but our surrounding counties,” said Steve Burton, CEO of Hart County College & Career Academy. “They’re providing equipment, they’re providing demonstrations, they’ve got tables to explain what agriculture really means and what happens in our little area in Georgia.”
What began as a county-level event has transformed into a regional gathering, drawing participation from across Northeast Georgia. According to Brian Fleming, one of the key organizers and a partner at P.T.L. Ag, that expansion is a reflection of agriculture’s unifying nature.
“We originally was going to name it the Hart County Expo, but if you look around out here, there’s stuff from Franklin County, Elbert County, Stephens County, White County. There’s stuff from all Northeast Georgia,” said Fleming. “Ag’s a community—it doesn’t matter where you’re at, farmers are going to support each other.”
The Expo draws more than 1,200 attendees annually and is intentionally designed as an educational experience. With vendors, hands-on exhibits, and plenty of opportunities for the public to engage with farmers and industry professionals, the goal is to build bridges between consumers and producers.
“The purpose is to educate first and foremost,” Fleming emphasized. “It’s completely free to attend. This isn’t about making money to us. This is about the promotion of what we do… so an event like this brings the general community and the farming community together and makes us all one.”
That educational message resonates strongly with organizers like Burton, who says it’s about more than just showcasing tractors and crops—it’s about showing the economic engine agriculture provides.
“We want to educate not only our kids but also our people about where our food comes from, the impact ag has not just on us in Hartwell, but on the entire state,” said Burton. “Georgia leads in farming in many areas… we want people to understand the importance of ag in our community.”
Fleming hopes that attendees leave the Expo with a new perspective—and a desire to share it.
“I hope they gain a little more respect for agriculture as a whole, and take some piece of knowledge home with them they might share with family or friends,” he said. “That’s our main goal—spreading what agriculture means to us and what it accomplishes for us.”
By: John Holcomb