Mitchell County group looks to lead on citrus
Attempt to save money at county prison seen as way to spark economic development
By Jim Hendricks
CAMILLA — Citrus may be the coming thing in Georgia, and officials in Mitchell County are working to be at the front of what they believe will be a developing trend.
On May 11, the partnership that will be known as MitCo Grow will be introduced to the public at a news conference, which will include the ceremonial planting of citrus trees in an initial grove of 100.
“Citrus is a new industry in Georgia, and we’re going to try to take advantage of that,” Paige Gilchrist, executive director of the Mitchell County Development Authority, said this week. “We’re going to start off with a county-owned and maintained citrus farm.”
Gilchrist said the grove will include lime, lemon, navel orange, satsuma and mandarin trees.
The genesis of the project was an attempt to save costs at Mitchell County Correctional Institute, but Mitchell officials are hoping it will blossom into economic development.
“The main reason for this is our county administrator, Clark Harrell, is always trying to find ways to cut back on costs,” Gilchrist said, noting the county gets blemished vegetables from a Moultrie company that provide fresh food for inmates from the still-good vegetables that the company would otherwise have discarded because of appearance.
Harrell, she said, had the idea that planting a citrus grove on county property would be a low-cost way of providing inmates with fresh fruit.
“They (the inmates) would provide the labor to maintain the farm, as well as feed the inmates,” she said. “That’s the reason the county administrator was interested in doing this venture.”
But Harrell’s idea has grown from that seed into something officials think will be an even bigger benefit to the county.
“We hope as the citrus industry grows in Georgia — and Mitchell County — that down the road we’ll be able to get a processing plant, create new jobs and create new business in the county,” she said.
The collaboration, which organizers say is the first of its kind in the state, includes the Mitchell County Board of Commissioners, the Mitchell CI, the University of Georgia, the Georgia Citrus Association, Mitchell County 4-H and FFA, along with partners 1 DOG Ventures LLC, Graco Fertilizer, Maxijet, Bell Irrigation and Labro Irrigation.
Harrell’s idea was to have groves not only provide food for the inmates, but to be used as an educational tool to teach them a trade. He also saw it as a way to provide students and the community with education and information on the commodity.
Harrell reached out to Georgia Citrus Association President Lindy Savelle for planning and assistance to make his concept a reality. The county’s 4-H and FFA students got involved under the guidance of Mitchell County Extension Agent Jennifer Grogan, with a local 4-Her coming up with the name MitCo Grow.
Mitchell CI Warden Bill Terry got the plan moving by preparing the land for the grove and its water source. Agribusinesses have made contributions. 1 DOG Ventures, a Mitchell County citrus nursery, is supplying the trees for the grove. Bell Irrigation and Labro Irrigation are providing the irrigation supplies and installation guidance. Graco Fertilizer is providing the fertilizer needs, while Maxijet is providing all the microjets for the site.
Even in south Georgia, there is cold weather that can damage or destroy citrus tree production, but Gilchrist said Savelle has worked with UGA officials to make sure the ones planted in Camilla are cold hardy enough.
“They really feel like they found what they need to do to really be successful and get them to grow here and grow healthy,” Gilchrist said.
Last November, UGA announced its release of three patented seedless, cold hardy varieties of citrus — a tangerine, lemon and grapefruit, grown under the patented names of Sweet Frost, Grand Frost and Pink Frost. Ten trees of each variety will be planted in the MitCo Grow grove.
Gilchrist said the majority of the grove has been planted. The county plans to increase the grove size in years to come.
Wayne Hanna, of the University of Georgia, is scheduled to speak May 11 at the MitCo Grow event about the development of the new seedless varieties.
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