EDITORIAL: Georgia growers gear up for another planting season

Spring’s here, which means it’s planting season.

While we didn’t have much of a winter to speak of as far as cold temperatures, it’s getting warmer and growers in Southwest Georgia will get more active as the days pass, planting this year’s crops of peanuts, cotton, corn and other commodities.

It’s an important arc in the circle of life. American farmers feed much of the world, and a good portion of that farming goes on in our region. In peanuts alone, more than 55 percent of the nation’s production comes from Georgia fields.

While it may not be front of mind with many people who are not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of producing crops, growing livestock or producing dairy products, agriculture is an industry that directly impacts each of us, from what we eat to what we wear. It also is the economic lifeblood in many of our communities, especially in Southwest Georgia.

Looking at the latest numbers from the Georgia Farm Bureau, agriculture contributes $74.9 billion to the state’s economy each year. Chances are you know someone whose livelihood is linked the farming, since one out of seven people working in Georgia are working in agriculture, forestry or a related area.

If you have chicken for dinner, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a slice of pecan pie, a blueberry muffin or a slice of onion on a burger, chances are you’re consuming food that came from our state, which usually ranks No. 1 in the nation in production of the broilers, peanuts, pecans, blueberries and spring onions that went into those food items.

But our state also is one of the most diverse in production. The Farm Bureau notes that we rank near the top on production of cotton, watermelons, peaches, eggs, cucumbers, sweet corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupes, rye and cabbage. We also raise a good bit of cattle, goats, sheep, hogs, turkeys and alligators, as well as horses.

What does that amount to? According to the latest Census of Agriculture, Georgia’s growers — working 9.6 million acres spread out among 42,000 farms — sold more than $9.2 billion worth of agricultural products in the year 2012. Based on farm-gate value, broilers rank No. 1 in Georgia, followed, in order, by eggs, beef, cotton, peanuts, timber, greenhouse plants, dairy, pecans, horses and blueberries, with corn closing out the top dozen list.

What that means is we have a diversified, strong agricultural base in our state. We have growers who have adapted to changing times and technology, and a well-organized support system ranging from organizations like Farm Bureau to the University of Georgia’s Extension Service to the federal and state agriculture departments to forestry and conservation organizations to commodity promotions organizations, like the Georgia Peanut Commission based in Tifton.

It takes a large number of people working together to feed the nation.

Tuesday was observed as National Agriculture Day, a reminder coming at the start of the spring planting season. This, however, is an industry we should appreciate every day, especially when sitting down at the supper table.