48th Sunbelt Farm Expo set to kick off next week in Moultrie

MOULTRIE – The farming community from near and far will make its way to Moultrie next week for the 48th annual Sunbelt Farm Expo.

The three-day farm show starts on Oct. 20 and runs through the 22nd and is expected to bring up to 50,000 guests to the region over that time.

With farmers across the country struggling, Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock said the equipment on display and in action harvesting on the more than 500 acres at the Darrell Williams Research Farm will provide a glimpse at the latest farming technology.

“Technology evolves so quickly, the autonomy of the tractors, the evolution of the devices that make it so much more efficient,” he said. “We’ll have two-square (cotton) bailers in the field. Things like that enhance efficiency. I think folks are always looking for that technology that will give them an edge.”

Some of that technology will be in the fields harvesting cotton, peanuts and hay.

The multiple years of tough conditions that farmers have faced have had an effect on their mental health, and for the third year the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine South Georgia, located in Moultrie, along with other healthcare providers will be on hand. Staff from those entities will provide medical screening and discuss issues that farmers could be facing.

“We came up with the idea three years ago to provide an area for folks to come in and get checked out,” Blalock said. “We’ll have mental health clinics, seminars with doctors throughout southwest Georgia. I tell people if our farmers and their workers are not healthy, we will be hungry and without shelter and without clothing on our backs.”

Not everything is farm-related. Among the expected 800 exhibitors the Expo features recreational vehicles, fishing and hunting equipment, family living and more.

The last show of the season for the SloJo Pullers, which hosts vintage, antique and garden tractor pulling events, will be held during the Expo. Animals, including cows, alpacas, horses and more, also are on display.

Expo hours are 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on Oct. 20 and 21 and from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 22. Tickets are $15 per day, with advance tickets priced at $12. Children 10 and younger are admitted free with a parent. For more information, visit https://sunbeltexpo.com/.

The Expo also is celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.

“Another thing they like to come for is the camaraderie,” Blalock said. “It’s like down-home week, coming to see all the friends, and that’s very reassuring to see. We look forward to welcoming 40,000 or 50,000 of our closest friends to the Sunbelt Expo.”