Cogdell, GA |

For State Senator Russ Goodman, farming isn’t just a profession—it’s a legacy. As a seventh-generation farmer in Clinch County, Goodman grows blueberries, pecans, and timber on the same land his family has worked for generations. However, it hasn’t always been easy, and his path from farm fields to the Georgia State Capitol was shaped by hardship.

“From 1980 to 1990, a third of the family farms in the country were foreclosed on,” Goodman recalls. “My dad actually lost the farm to foreclosure in 1986. At an early age, that instilled in me a heart for the farmer and the family farm. Those times left an indelible print in my memory.”

Those memories would ultimately ignite a desire to fight for rural Georgia. After a trip to Washington, D.C., where he testified on behalf of fruit and vegetable growers, Goodman says he felt a calling to serve in a bigger way.

“I think that was probably the catalyst that finally made me put my name on the ballot,” he explains. “Maybe if farmers and folks in rural Georgia needed another voice—one that understood what it’s like to make a living out of the dirt—I could be that voice.”

Today, Goodman serves as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and is one of just a few legislators in the state who also farms full-time. That experience, he says, gives him a unique and vital perspective at the Capitol.

“We live in a world today where two percent of the people live on farms, and the other ninety-eight percent… their lives depend on the two percent of us that do,” Goodman says. “Having the background in ag definitely helps. A lot of what I do is simply informing my fellow legislators on the issues that farmers are facing.”

But it’s not just about policy—it’s about relationships. Goodman says trust is the currency of effective advocacy, and that’s where organizations like Georgia Farm Bureau come in.

“We’re all a team up there,” Goodman says. “Farm Bureau is a very crucial element in my ability—and in other rural legislators’ ability—to educate members of the legislature who don’t understand agriculture as well as we do.”

For Goodman, Farm Bureau isn’t just an ally. It’s a partner in preserving the values that define rural Georgia.

“When you’re a Farm Bureau member, you’re helping people like myself and Robert Dickey, Sam Watson, and Andrew Echols—folks up there fighting for farmers,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to do the job without them.”

By: John Holcomb