Seminars planned in Tifton and Bainbridge for area farmers

TIFTON, Ga. — South Georgia producers will be advised about the 2015 farming season during the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Georgia Ag Forecast series in January.

The annual seminar series that informs Georgia producers and industry leaders about the market outlooks for different commodities will stop in Bainbridge on Jan. 16 and Tifton on Jan. 22. Economists from the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development (CAED) and UGA Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics will share their views about future markets for such commodities as cotton, peanuts, corn and livestock, all significantly produced in south Georgia.

Curt Lacy, Extension livestock economist with the UGA Tifton Campus, is expected to present south Georgia cattlemen with more encouraging news when he speaks at both south Georgia stops.

“I think, in 2015, cattlemen will be looking at pretty similar prices to what they had this past year, depending on when they sold. Last year we started off the year somewhere around $1.80 per pound for a 500-pound calf. That market today is almost $2.75. You’ve seen almost a $1 increase in a year,” Lacy said.

Farmers who sold their stock in January or February of 2014 are going to receive a much better price this year, he said.

Lacy expects prices to remain high, which is good news for cattlemen in Colquitt and Early counties. Those two south Georgia counties finished in the top 10 in farm gate values for beef cow production in 2013,according to the UGA CAED.

“I think, in general, this is about where we’re going to be for the next year or two,” Lacy said.

While cattlemen can expect good news at this year’s Ag Forecast events, row crop farmers will get disappointing news. Cotton prices are hovering at 60 cents per pound, peanuts are $400 per ton and corn prices are around $4.10 per bushel. Those are discouraging figures for Georgia farmers who are planning next year’s crops.

“It’s not as rosy a forecast for row crops as we’ve had in years past,” said Nathan Smith, the UGA Extension economist who will speak in Bainbridge and Tifton as well.

For peanut growers, the news is especially grim as prices could fall even more as acreage is expected to increase in 2015, Smith said. “This year is more of a getting-by year, in terms of cash flow. The outlook isn’t as bright for row crops,” he said.

UGA CAES hosts the seminar series, which will be held from Jan. 14-23 across the state. The forecast includes stops in Gainesville on Jan. 14, Cartersville on Jan. 15, Lyons on Jan. 21 and Macon on Jan. 23. Nearly 1,000 business people, producers and community leaders attended the seminars in 2014.

“The main objective of the Ag Forecast seminar series is to provide Georgia producers and agribusiness leaders with information on where we think the industry is headed in the upcoming year,” said Kent Wolfe, director of the UGA CAED. “It helps farmers plan what they’re going to plant in the next year, but it’s also good for bankers and others who do business with farmers or who will be impacted by the farm economy.”

The Georgia Ag Forecast seminar series is organized by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. This series is made possible through the Georgia Farm Bureau Land Grant University Lecture Series Endowment and is supported by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Agribusiness Council.

For more information or to register for the 2015 Ag Forecast series, see www.georgiaagforecast.com, follow @UGA_CollegeofAg on Twitter or search for #agforecast on social media.

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