Farmers, state officials discuss current ag concerns

ASHBURN — Organized by their respective chapters, Young Farmers members from six counties came together recently with several local and state elected officials at Turner County Elementary School to discuss current and future agricultural concerns for the state.

Participating were officials from Turner, Wilcox, Crisp, Tift, Ben Hill and Dooly counties. In addition to 100 Young Farmer members, state Reps. Clay Pirkle, Leesa Hagan and Bill Yearta; Sen. Carden Summers, and Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper were present.

According to Harper, these kinds of meetings are vital because they help the community, and especially farmers, get to know their government officials. With only a few members of the general assembly in the farming industry, it falls on farmers and producers to make sure legislators understand the needs of farming-dependent communities.

Each official discussed how they were fighting for farmers and some of the potential bills or issues that they wanted farmers to be aware of.

Pirkle, who opened up his introduction by joking about having the shortest commute to the meeting, discussed the potential bill coming up this legislative session on protecting American farmland from being purchased by adversarial countries (i.e. China).

“They do not have our best interest at heart,” Pirkle said. “They should not have access to the national and natural resources of our land.”

“At the end of the day, agriculture is a national security issue,” Harper, who recently wrote an op-ed piece for James Magazine that dives deeper into why Georgia needs to join dozens of states and adopt a bill of this magnitude, said.

Another topic discussed related to the overabundant deer population the state is facing. If there are any local farmers who are experiencing damage to crops from deer or any other deer-related issues, Hagan asked that they report it as soon as possible to the Georgia Farm Bureau’s Agricultural Programs Manager Raynor Churchwell at [email protected] or call 1-800-342-1196, extension 5288.

The meeting also covered topics, such as the invasive yellow-legged hornet, which attacks crop pollinators (honeybees), spotted recently for the first time in the U.S. in the Savannah area. Harper also discussed the newly reinstated law enforcement division of the Georgia Department of Agriculture that protects the agricultural industry in the state from anything from human trafficking, drug trafficking, and even animal cruelty.

Turner County Young Farmer Chapter Advisor Dennis Kendrick said he considered the night a resounding success.

“Young Farmer chapters representing six counties worked together to make this joint agriculture legislative meeting happen,” Kendrick said. “It makes it easier on our legislators to join us when we host events together in one location. I appreciate Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Harper and all the other legislators for making the time to join us in conversation over current and future ag issues.

“The agriculture community has to realize we must be proactive with expressing our needs and concerns with legislators. We must form relationships with our representatives, and meetings like this allow these things to be done. I feel tonight’s meeting had a lot of positive impact.”

Turner County Young Farmer Chapter President Ken Paulk agreed.

“Tonight was a great opportunity for local producers to come meet and discuss agricultural issues with Georgia legislators,” Paulk said. “I’m glad we were able to host this event and have a good turnout. It is important that the agriculture communities voice their concerns in order to be fully considered as new legislation arises in our capital.”

The event was sponsored by AgGeorgia Farm Credit and South GA Banking Company.