gfbfieldnotes121725

December 17, 2025

www.gfb.org

Vol. 7 No. 25

GEORGIA FARM BUREAU MEMBERS MEET FOR 88TH ANNUAL CONVENTION Some 1,370 Georgia farmers and agribusiness leaders from across the state met on Jekyll Island Dec. 7-9 for the 88th Annual Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) Convention. The three-day event included a trade show, awards presentations and educational sessions that briefed farmers on policy and production issues affecting Georgia’s major commodities.

The convention’s theme, “Rise and Thrive,” emphasized how the organization and Georgia’s agricultural community has worked together to help Georgia farmers hit by Hurricane Helene, last year, recover from the storm.

GFB President Tom McCall delivered his annual address, and GFB Chief Administrative Officer Jeffrey Harvey gave an organizational update.

Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper, Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns and U.S. Navy Retired Commander Frank “Walleye” Weisser addressed convention delegates during the general session on Dec. 8.

McCall discusses GFB leadership programs & legislative efforts Tom McCall reiterated the organization’s commitment to helping Georgia farmers recover from Hurricane Helene, outlined how GFB is developing future agricultural leaders and discussed the legislative issues GFB advocated for on behalf of farmers this year.

“We are not defined by the number of times we fall, but rather by how many times we rise and how we thrive afterwards. This message hits home after what we all went through with Hurricane Helene, which devastated farms, families and entire communities,” McCall said. “Helene also revealed something powerful: the faith, endurance and unity of Georgia farmers. Our faith, determination and unity define us. That’s what Georgia Farm Bureau stands for – protecting your right to farm and protecting your family from loss.”

On Oct. 1, GFB announced the launch of a new program, Leadership GFB, which will equip rising and current GFB leaders with the tools they need to successfully advocate for agriculture, develop leadership skills, and embody the organization’s grassroots mission. Participants will attend sessions focused on leadership development, understanding the county, state and national structure of Farm Bureau and its grassroots network, policy work on agricultural issues, and the importance of agricultural literacy. GFB is expected to announce the class by Dec. 22.

GFB Field Notes page 2 of 23 McCall outlined how GFB is also laying the foundation for its next generation of leaders through chapters of Collegiate Young Farmers & Ranchers at ABAC and UGA. Officers from both chapters are being given opportunities to experience Farm Bureau from the inside out.

GFB also offers leadership programs through its Young Farmers & Ranchers Program for farmer members ages 18-35 and for female agriculturalists of all ages through its Women’s Leadership Program.

McCall stressed that GFB’s primary focus will always be to serve as the voice of farmers in the legislative arena.

In 2025 GFB supported tort-reform legislation, secured protection from unfair pesticide liability, secured practical truck-weight limits, fought for a common-sense federal definition of navigable waters, and for state deer-management improvements.

“We also pushed hard on the farm bill and disaster relief funding for Hurricane Helene victims.

Every year bad pieces of legislation surface that could hurt your farms and families. GFB’s advocacy team helps stop them all while advancing the good bills to the governor’s desk.”

Savannah Port vital to U.S. ag exports Georgia Ports Authority Chairman Kent Fountain gave an informative overview of the Savannah/Garden City port while addressing GFB convention attendees during the Dec. 8 general session of the GFB convention.

“We want to be the easiest port to do business with,” Fountain said. “We want to help you move your product throughout the world. Our mission is to be the economic engine for agriculture.”

Fountain said the Savannah port is second in the U.S. for ag exports behind the Los Angeles port. In the past year, 13% of all U.S. ag exports were shipped via the Savannah port while the Los Angeles port shipped 16% of U.S. ag exports. He said about 45% of Savannah’s exports are agricultural products. Raw cotton accounts for 15% of Savannah’s ag exports, but the port handles 37% of cotton exported from the U.S. The amount other commodities contribute to all ag exports shipped out of Savannah are: poultry 9%, pet and animal feed 7%, logs and lumber 6%, field seeds & bulbs 4%, grain & flour products 1%, meat 1%, and other ag products 3%.

Fountain said 70% of the United States’ population is served by products that move through the Georgia Ports Authority. The Savannah/Garden City port is the 43rd most connected port in the world and is the second most connected port in the U.S. “On average, we can get products from the ship onto the rail within 24 hours to be moved to their next destination. We’re very proud of this,” Fountain said.

The port is the only one in the U.S. that has a customs facility onsite, he said.

Harper discusses USDA Hurricane Helene block grants & Farmer Bridge Assistance While speaking at the convention, Georgia Agricultural Commissioner Tyler Harper said Georgia Department of Agriculture employees have spent hundreds of hours crafting a block grant plan to disperse the $531 million the USDA announced in September it has allocated to the state to help farmers who suffered loss to Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27, 2024. Georgia’s block grant program will cover losses caused by Hurricane Helene in 89 eligible counties for timber, poultry, beef cattle, dairy cattle, milk loss, dairy feed loss, pecans, blueberries, citrus, nursery, plasticulture, ag infrastructure, and bare ground practices due to Hurricane Helene.

GFB Field Notes page 3 of 23 “USDA has our final agreement and plan in their hands, and we expect to make an announcement on the details of the program and how to apply any day now,” Harper said.

Visit www.farmrecovery.com for program details, such as a list of eligible counties and the types of documents applicants will need to submit with their application. Eligible timber producers and farmers should periodically check the website in the days to come to download an application.

As the general session ended, Harper returned to the podium to say he had just been notified that USDA was announcing the rollout of a $12 billion relief package designed to help farmers nationwide manage rising production costs and ongoing market disruptions. Most of the funds up to $11 billion - will flow through the new Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, aimed at row crop producers including corn, cotton, peanuts, soybeans, wheat, oats, sorghum, canola, and other row crops.

Another $1 billion will be directed toward specialty crops and other commodities, with additional program details expected in the coming weeks.

According to USDA, payments are scheduled to begin rolling out by Feb. 28, 2026. Producers must ensure their 2025 acreage reports are filed with their local USDA Farm Service Agency by 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 19, 2025, to remain eligible.

Visit https://gfb.ag/USDAfarmbridgeassistprogram to read more about the assistance package.

Burns: Chopping away at timber issues Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns reviewed steps the state legislature took during its 2025 session to aid farmers in the recovery from Hurricane Helene that includes reforestation tax credits and harvest tax suspension for 2025 related to Helene damage. Timber owners must apply by Dec. 31, 2025, to receive the exemptions. Visit https://gfagrow.org/helene-resources/ for more information and to download the applications.

Burns also discussed avenues the state is pursuing to help Georgia’s timber sector and forestry stakeholders through long-term solutions with new-product-development at research institutions regarding sustainable aviation fuel and modern timber-based building materials.

“These opportunities represent long-term solutions. You can’t do them overnight,” Burns said.

“I can assure you that I and my colleagues in the House have been working for the last few months on solutions that … I believe will have an immediate impact and provide urgent relief to timber growers, timber owners and forestland owners in the state.

Burns noted collaborations with state house speakers in Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina and other states, congressional delegations from Georgia and other southern states, federal agencies and the Trump administration. He mentioned conversations with Small Business Administrator (SBA) Kelly Loeffler to let her know that recent timber mill closures affect businesses of all sizes.

“There’s a ripple effect,” Burns said. “It’s across all of our communities. We want to inform them that we need some help.”

As a result, Burns said, SBA is helping in the development of strategies to adjust policies and regulations to provide relief.

The engagement has included work with United States Trade Representative Jameson Greer to make small changes to trade policy to remove what Burns called arbitrary trade barriers.

GFB Field Notes page 4 of 23 One such barrier is the export to the European Union of forest products fumigated with sulfuric fluoride. Burns said the product is licensed and widely used in the U.S. and the EU. Another is tariffs relating to the transship clause, which Burns would like to see clarified to exempt wood that was grown in the U.S., shipped to other countries as manufacturing material, then returned to the U.S. as finished products.

“We’re asking for a slight clarification that will reassure importers when the products are imported back into this country that those products can be tariff-free and tariff-exempt, if they can provide documentation that the raw products that were utilized to prepare and manufacture those products originated here in this country,” Burns said.

Burns noted that the federal government is being asked to establish a 90-day notice before a changed tariff goes into effect.

“These are nothing but slight adjustments to existing language and policy that will provide the forest industry with a little breathing room,” Burns said.

Weisser: Failure is necessary for growth Keynote speaker Frank “Walleye” Weisser shared his experiences as a Navy pilot, including two stints as a member of the Blue Angels and as pilot for Tom Cruise’s aerial scenes in the movie Top Gun: Maverick.

Weisser discussed the detail and focus required to do what Navy pilots do, driving home how difficult it is. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy and originally wanted to be a Navy SEAL. But, when Weisser got to service selection – when the Navy informs cadets what form their service will take – he was assigned to be a Navy pilot.

“To say I felt like a failure would be an unbelievable understatement for me,” Weisser said. “I called all my friends, and I said, ‘Everything you watched me strive for, I failed out.’ ” Once enrolled in flight school, there is no transition to become a SEAL. “The lesson I learned at that point was that up until that time, I was being selfish. It’s not selfish to serve your country. It’s not how I serve. It’s just that I serve.”

Flight school offered no smooth sailing. He failed his first test. When he got into a plane, he never got it off the ground. Once he got off the ground, more mistakes followed.

“I kind of failed into aviation and accelerated the failures from there. But at some point, it turned around,” Weisser said. “I share this with you, especially for individuals in this room who are young and have been successful at everything you’ve done, because at some point if you push yourself, you will fail.”

Failure, he said, isn’t final.

“You have to have the willingness and the desire to keep going. For me, these failures became unquestionably the biggest blessing in my life,” he said.

After Blue Angels shows, the pilots and flight crews go through debrief that includes a dose of self-review of all the mistakes each person made.

Admitting mistakes, he said, allows teams to move forward and builds trust.

“If you sit in front of people who work for you, who are junior to you, who are less experienced, and you’re willing to say, ‘I screwed this up,’ that’s really, really powerful.”

Harvey: GFB Convention matters and greatest value is relationships

GFB Field Notes page 5 of 23 Georgia Farm Bureau Chief Administrative Officer Jeffrey Harvey welcomed attendees to the convention and said its importance lies in fostering personal connections that help the organization build on its successes.

“This convention matters and your presence here matters,” Harvey said. “We want you to leave here with more than you came with. If you look at national statistics on what draws people to organizations like ours, more than 70% say the greatest value they receive is the relationships.”

This entails being around people who understand the challenges you’re facing and having opportunities to share ideas and trade stories with people who live it and breathe it, he said.

“There’s no better place to do that than right here at your annual convention,” Harvey said.

“This is your chance to learn, to network, to strengthen those friendships that have made this organization great and will continue to make the organization great moving forward.

Harvey compared the GFB Convention on Jekyll Island to the meeting of financial leaders on the island in 1910, during which the forerunner of the Federal Reserve System was created.

“That meeting shaped the entire American financial system that we know today, and the decisions made at that meeting affect every farmer in this room,” Harvey said. Similarly, GFB’s convention generates ideas and policies that can affect farmers statewide. “That’s why this meeting matters.”

GEORGIA FARM BUREAU ELECTS 2026 BOARD OF DIRECTORS GFB President Tom McCall continues serving third term as GFB president Daniel Johnson re-elected GFB South Georgia VP & redesignated GFB 1st vice president Bernard Sims continues serving as GFB North Georgia vice president Ralph Caldwell continues serving as GFB Middle Georgia vice president Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) voting delegates elected the organization’s 2026 board of directors Dec. 9 during the 88th Annual GFB Convention held on Jekyll Island.

GFB President Tom McCall begins the second year of his third, two-year term. He was first elected in 2020. McCall and his family grow a variety of grain crops, sweet corn, hay and straw along with beef cattle, hogs and sheep on their farm in Fortsonia in Elbert County. He and his wife, Jane, have two adult living children: Al (daughter-in-law Rachel) and Katie M. Archer (son-inlaw Bristol), two grandsons and one granddaughter. Their oldest son, Bud, died in 2000. The McCalls are of the Methodist faith.

McCall has been a Farm Bureau member since 1978. His first leadership role with Farm Bureau was serving as chairman of the Elbert County Farm Bureau (ECFB) Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) Committee. He represented GFB’s 2nd District on the GFB YF&R Committee in 198182 and chaired the state committee in 1982. McCall represented GFB’s 2nd District on the GFB Board of Directors from 1984-1996. He also served as ECFB president for several years.

McCall served in the Georgia House of Representatives for 26 years from Jan. 9, 1995, when he was sworn into office, until he retired from the legislature at the end of his 2020 term. As a state representative, McCall represented Georgia’s House Dist. 33, which at the time included Elbert and Lincoln counties and portions of Madison, Wilkes and Columbia counties. McCall chaired the Georgia House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee from January 2005-2020. He

GFB Field Notes page 6 of 23 currently serves on the UGA Research Foundation Board of Directors. He earned an associate degree in agriculture from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from the UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences.

GFB members in the organization’s south region reelected Daniel Johnson of Pierce County to a fourth, three-year term representing their 53-county region as GFB South Georgia vice president.

The region runs from Alabama to the Georgia coast in the southern third of the state.

All GFB voting delegates designated Johnson to serve as GFB 1st vice president from among the organization’s three regional vice presidents, a position he has held since 2021. The GFB first vice president would step in to lead the organization should the president be unable to serve.

Johnson, who grows tobacco, corn, cotton and peanuts, previously represented the organization’s 10th District on the GFB Board of Directors from 2006-2016. He is vice president of Pierce County Farm Bureau and previously served as PCFB president for 25 years. Johnson chairs the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Tobacco. He and his wife, Patricia, have four children and five grandchildren.

Ralph Caldwell of Heard County begins the second year of his second, three-year term as GFB Middle Georgia vice president, which members in the organization’s Middle Georgia Region first elected him to in 2021 and re-elected him in 2024. The GFB Middle Georgia Region includes 56 county Farm Bureaus in the middle third of Georgia stretching from the Alabama line to the South Carolina line.

Caldwell and his wife, Kim, raise poultry and cattle while growing corn and soybeans. The couple’s son, Colton, who is married to Delayna, helps on the farm when he isn’t at his law practice. The Caldwells have one granddaughter, Callie, and one grandson, Callum. Caldwell, a preacher for more than 30 years, is currently serving as interim pastor at New Canaan Baptist Church in Tallapoosa.

Caldwell began serving as a Heard County Farm Bureau director in 1990 and has served as the HCFB president since 2002. He served on the GFB Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee from 1992-1994.

Bernard Sims of Catoosa County begins the third year of his sixth, three-year term as the GFB North Georgia vice president. Sims was first elected to the position in 2008. The GFB North Georgia Region includes 49 county Farm Bureaus in the upper third of Georgia running from the Alabama to the South Carolina state lines.

Sims serves as the Catoosa County Farm Bureau president, a position he has held since 1979.

Sims and his wife, Janet, grow turf grass, small grains and hay and raise cattle. The Sims have two surviving adult children and eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. They are members of Burning Bush Baptist Church.

GFB members in the organization’s 8th District reelected Scotty Raines of Turner County to a two-year term on the GFB Board of Directors to represent their 17 counties that includes Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Houston, Lee, Macon, Marion, Pulaski, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell, Turner, Webster and Wilcox counties. Raines was first elected in 2012.

Raines and his wife, Melanie, grow cotton, peanuts, grains and watermelon, and raise beef cattle.

The Raines have received numerous awards for their farming operation including the 2022 Sunbelt

GFB Field Notes page 7 of 23 Expo Georgia Farmer of the Year, 2002 Georgia Farm Bureau Young Farmer Achievement Award, the Turner County Chamber of Commerce Farmer of the Year and the Georgia Young Farmers Farm Family of the Year.

In addition to farming, Scotty is a partial owner of the Hat Creek Peanut Company in Sycamore and serves as secretary of the company’s board of directors. He is also a shareholder in Tifton Quality Peanuts, a farmer-owned peanut shelling plant.

The Raines are active members of the Turner County Farm Bureau (TCFB) for which Scotty serves as a director.

The Raines have two daughters, Celie and Christian (Justin Pate), and a grandson, Jordan Dent Pate. Scotty and Melanie and are active members of First Baptist Church in Tifton.

The following were reelected without opposition to serve two-year terms on the Georgia Farm Bureau Board of Directors: Bill Bryan of Chattooga County, 1st District; Gilbert Barrett of Habersham County, 2nd District; Brad Marks of Newton County, 3rd District; Russ Wilburn of Barrow County, 4th District; Leighton Cooley of Crawford County, 5th District; James Malone of Laurens County, 6th District; Gary Bell of Evans County, 7th District; Paul Shirah of Mitchell County, 9th District and David Lee of Bacon County, 10th District.

GFB directors beginning the second year of the two-year terms they were elected to in 2024 are: Wesley Hall of Forsyth County, 1st District; Russ Moon of Madison County, 2nd District; Chad Carlton of Polk County, 3rd District; Skeetter McCorkle of McDuffie County, 4th District; Matt Bottoms of Pike County, 5th District; James Emory Tate of Jeff Davis County, 6th District; Ben Boyd of Screven County, 7th District; Don Wood of Wilcox County, 8th District; Lucius Adkins of Baker County, 9th District; and Lamar Vickers of Berrien County, 10th District.

Garrett Hurley of Chattooga County was named chairman of the GFB Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee. Romy Strickland of Spalding County was selected to chair the GFB Women’s Leadership Committee. Each will serve a one-year term as committee chairmen and will sit on the GFB Board of Directors.

Appointed officers of the GFB Board of Directors include General Counsel Duke Groover, Chief Financial Officer & Corporate Treasurer Rachel Mosely, Chief Administrative Officer Jeffrey Harvey, and Corporate Secretary & Senior Counsel Jeanna Fennell.

Delegates also voted on policy that will direct the organization’s stance on legislative issues pertaining to agriculture in the coming year.

GEORGIA FARM BUREAU PRESENTS STATE AWARDS In ceremonies during the 88th Annual Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) Convention, the organization announced the recipients of its Rewarding Excellence in Ag Program (REAP), as well as honoring 10 Volunteers of the Year and presenting the Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award.

GFB’s REAP award honors county Farm Bureaus for the organization/membership, advocacy, leadership development, education & outreach activities they did between Sept. 1, 2024, and Aug. 31, 2025. The REAP Awards are divided into three tiers – Harvester (1st), Planter (2nd) and

GFB Field Notes page 8 of 23 Cultivator (3rd) with tier winners in each of GFB’s three membership categories – small, medium and large. County presidents and office managers listed are for the majority of 2025.

The county winners in the top tier, HARVESTER, are: Small Farm Bureau counties – Ben Hill (President Glenn Stokes, Office Manager Denise Coleman), Crawford (President Edward Harris, Office Manager Lindsey Campbell), Dooly (President Teel Warbington, Office Manager Angela Burton), Jasper (President Scotty Dumas, Office Manager Loretha Gage), Long (President Manuel Sneed, Office Manager Margaret Bess), Meriwether (President Kenneth Murphy, Office Manager Denise Todd), Treutlen (President Kim Thompson, Office Manager Rena Carter), Turner (President Ross Kendrick, Office Manager Karen McCurdy) and Worth (President Hank Youngblood, Office Manager Connie Melton) Medium Farm Bureau counties – Banks (President William Reems, Office Manager Julie Jackson), Clarke (President Dale Wood, Office Manager Katy Seagraves), Dawson (President Wayne Bennett, Office Manager Tammy Wood), Evans (President Gregg Hendrix, Office Manager Nicole Cox), Greene (President Jeff Eley, Office Manager Shirley Duvall), Haralson (President Stanley Williams, Office Manager Kim Hindmon), Harris (President Gilbert Andrews, Office Manager Linda Luttrell), Jeff Davis (President James Emory Tate, Office Manager Regina Barton), Monroe (President Bill Waldrep, Office Manager Sandi Williams), Oconee (President Albert Hale, Office Manager Martha Jo Dalton), Oglethorpe (President Kaitlyn Marchant, Office Manager Maisie Carter), Polk (President James Casey, Office Manager Sue Cuzzort), Screven (President Joe Boddiford, Office Manager Beth Reddick), Tattnall (President Cliff Riner, Office Manager Erin Todd), Washington (President Eddy Turner, Office Manager Sharon Studdard) and Wilcox (President Bob McLeod, Office Manager Michelle Lamb); Large Farm Bureau counties – Barrow (President Russ Wilburn, Office Manager Ashley Lowery), Carroll (President Doug Smith, Office Manager Jennifer Dixson), Cherokee (President William Grizzle, Office Manager Rhonda Stargel), Coffee (President Cray Grantham, Office Manager Carla Palmer), Effingham (President Stuart Exley, Office Manager Theresa Peavey), Elbert (President Mandy Williams, Office Manager Haley Oakley), Franklin (President Michael Thomason, Office Manager Rebecca Whitfield), Habersham (President Chip Brooks, Office Manager Madison Bennett), Hart (President Brian Fleming, Office Manager Tina Simmons), Henry (President Daniel Welliver, Office Manager Jean Dykes), Jackson (President Swayne Cochran, Office Manager Jada Williams), Madison (President Cindy Jones, Office Manager Lauren Lord), McDuffie (President Mark Rodgers, OM Ashley Walker), Newton (President Chuck Berry, Office Manager Mary Corley), Paulding (President Sam Raybon, Office Manager Krista Wilkes), Walker (President Brian Hart, Office Manager Kyla Compton), Walton (President Ken Boss, Office Manager Mandy Braswell) and White (President Stanley London, Office Manager Denise Loggins); Each Harvester County received a plaque & $1,500. Each county president received an embroidered jacket, and each county office manager received a $750 gift card.

The county winners in the second tier, PLANTER, are:

GFB Field Notes page 9 of 23 Small Farm Bureau counties – Bacon (President David Lee, Office Manager Janie Tyre), Lanier (President Paul Folsom, Office Manager Angie Watson), Putnam (President Lois Schell, Office Manager Marjorie Hanson), Upson (President Marcus South, Office Manager Judy Warren Warren (President Tammy Cheely, Office Manager Katelyn Washington), and Wilkes (President Danny Gunter, Office Manager Deborah Hunnicutt); Medium Farm Bureau Counties – Berrien (President Jake Ford), Chattooga (President Bill Bryan, Office Manager Sandy Wheat), Decatur (President Judson Hornsby, Office Manager Lisa Green), Dougherty (President Laney Wooten, Office Manager Cindy Drew), Pike (President Ray Brumbeloe, Office Manager Rebecca Rolling), Spalding (President Brian Ogletree, Office Manager Cindy Vandiver) and Troup (President Joel Keith, Office Manager Anna Rogers); Large Farm Bureau counties – Douglas (President Joey Rainwater, Office Manager Kim Hines); Each Planter County will receive a plaque. Each county president will receive an embroidered vest, and each county office manager will receive a $500 gift card.

The winners in the third tier, CULTIVATOR, are: Small Farm Bureau Counties – Burke (President Lee Webster, Office Manager Gail Webster), Crisp (President Kenny Sheffield, Office Manager Macey Dennard), Heard (President Ralph Caldwell, Office Manager Stacy Buttrill), Johnson (President William Tanner, Office Manager Torie Gilbert) and Taliaferro (President Tucker West, Office Manager Melanie Finney); Medium Farm Bureau counties – Brooks (President Kurt Childers, Office Manager Robbie Hiers), Camden (President Bob Merck, Office Manager Ashley Eady), Columbia (President Jim Steed, Office Manager Chris Rickerson), Fayette (President Rick Minter, Office Manager Erin Guy), Floyd (President Cleve Jackson, Office Manager Kelli Shaw), Morgan (President Rachel Kinsaul, Office Manager Alison Jenkins) and Toombs (President Chris Hopkins, Office Manager Shelby Galbreath); Large Farm Bureau counties – Coweta (President Sam Bowers, Office Manager Leah Egerdahl), Gilmer (President Darrell Jones, Office Manager Candra Frady), Houston (President Edmond Strickland, Office Manager Lisa Hall), Laurens (President James Malone, Office Manager Mary Morris), Rabun (President Mike Dixon, Office Manager Cindy Turpin) and Rockdale/DeKalb (President David Shipp, Office Manager Anna Attard).

Each Cultivator County received a plaque. Each county president received an embroidered shirt, and each county office manager received a $300 gift card.

Casey receives GFB Legacy Award Polk County Farm Bureau (PCFB) President James Casey received the inaugural GFB Legacy Award in recognition of his service to and impact on Farm Bureau during the 60 years he has led his county Farm Bureau.

“James Casey has given six decades of dedicated service, advocacy and mentorship to the farmers of his community,” said GFB President Tom McCall when presenting the award. “Mr. Casey’s quiet strength and steady leadership have advanced the work of Farm Bureau, and he has inspired generations who will carry that work forward.”

GFB Field Notes page 10 of 23 During his presidency, PCFB has developed local political forums to engage candidates on agricultural topics and farm days for school children. In the late 1980s the American Farm Bureau Federation decided to upgrade communications between its national headquarters and the state and county Farm Bureaus by installing a series of satellite communications facilities. Casey lobbied to get one of the satellite dishes in Polk County and then-GFB President Mort Ewing agreed. Polk County was the first county Farm Bureau in the state to have one of the dishes, and Casey made the first phone call using it, connecting with then-Sen. Wyche Fowler in Washington.

“He's a quintessential Farm Bureau president. He believes in the mission of the Farm Bureau,” said GFB 3rd District Director Chad Carlton, who also serves on the PCFB Board of Directors.

“Everything we do and everything he does through the Polk County Farm Bureau is viewed through the lens of ‘How are we going to promote and support agriculture?’ So just having that person leading our county has been an inspiration to me.”

After graduating from the University of Georgia, Casey returned home to Polk County.

“I was born on a farm. I never had the intention to do anything but farm. My Daddy didn’t think I’d come back after I got a degree, but my father was a farmer and his father was a farmer, and both of them farmed right there in the same valley where I farmed, so, I went back to the family farm.”

Casey dairy farmed for years before retiring. He was 29 when he took office as PCFB president in December 1965. Since then, he has presided over the growth and changes of PCFB. During an interview with GFB media in 2015 to celebrate his 50 years in office, Casey said while at times he would have been happy if someone else had assumed Farm Bureau leadership in the county, his attitude has always been that someone had to be an advocate for agriculture. Might as well be him.

To explain why, he referenced the well-known quote: “All that’s required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”

Casey and his wife, Jean, have been married 66 years. They have three daughters – Joan Mitchell, Judith Mulcay and Janice Shelly. They have four grandchildren and seven greatgrandchildren.

Westhafer named GFB Teacher of Year Jackson County teacher Dr. Stephanie Westhafer was recognized as Georgia Farm Bureau’s 2025 Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) Teacher of the Year. Westhafer is a first-grade teacher at West Jackson Elementary School in Braselton, where she has taught since 2021. She previously taught Pre-K for 10 years.

Westhafer teaches science, English/language arts, math and social studies to her first graders.

She received the GFB AITC Teacher of the Year award for incorporating agriculture topics into her class curriculum. She invites Jackson County Farm Bureau volunteers to read accurate ag books and do other activities with her classes throughout the year.

“In my classroom, agriculture isn’t a subject we occasionally visit – it’s the heartbeat of our learning community. At our STEAM-certified school, students engage in project-based learning with a year-long focus in the learning garden,” Westhafer said. “Our essential question is ‘How can we maintain a seasonal garden to provide food for our school and community?’ That question drives inquiry, builds responsibility and creates meaningful connections to science, literacy, math

GFB Field Notes page 11 of 23 and social studies. The larger goal is to help my students understand how agriculture sustains us and how the choices we make about food impact our health and community. My students no longer see agriculture as something that happens ‘out there,’ but as a vital part of their lives and community.”

As part of their year-long dive into agriculture, Westhafer’s students planted a pizza garden, learned how to enrich garden soil by vermicomposting and composting, and tracked seasonal changes and the effects weather has on plant growth. They also learned how to make butter and adopted a calf through a program that provided monthly updates on its growth, care and life on a dairy farm. Her students were visited by a local chef who taught them how to make spring rolls using leafy greens and herbs they grew in a vertical farm tower. The students also worked with their families to create recipes using the leafy greens and herbs they grew and created a Farm Tower to Table recipe book.

As the award winner, Westhafer receives $500 and a trip to the 2026 National Ag in the Classroom Conference in Rhode Island next June. The prizes are sponsored by Georgia EMC, GFB & the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture.

“Dr. Westhafer is one of those teachers that you come across once in a great while. Her enthusiasm, love and passion for teaching and her students are impressive to all,” said JCFB Office Manager Jada Williams. “Her students worked all year on a seasonal garden to help provide food for their school and community.”

Westhafer earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, a master’s in teaching elementary education, and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. She also received an Agricultural Literacy Educator Certification from the National Center for Agricultural Literacy.

She received the 2025 Robert E. Yager Exemplary Teaching Award from the National Science Teachers Association and was the 2023-2024 Jackson County School System Teacher of the Year.

GFB honors district Volunteers of the Year GFB also recognized 10 district Volunteers of the Year for extraordinary efforts to promote agriculture in their local communities. The Volunteers of the Year are: 1st Dist. – Andrea Sims, Catoosa Co.; 2nd Dist. – Terry Chandler, Madison Co; 3rd Dist. – Dr. Deetra Poindexter, Clayton Co.; 4th Dist. – Della Fowler, Greene Co.; 5th Dist. – Terry Cooley, Crawford Co.; 6th Dist. – Alan Thiese, Bibb Co.; 7th Dist. – Melanie Hendrix, Evans Co.; 8th Dist. – Bristol Peterson, Wilcox Co.; 9th Dist. – Sandra McDonald, Brooks Co.; and 10th Dist. – Mary Folsom, Lanier Co. Franklin County farmer wins GFB Hay Contest Franklin County Farm Bureau member Garren Hall won the 2025 GFB Quality Bermudagrass Hay Contest. Hall won the contest with hay that had a Relative Forage Quality (RFQ) test score of 177. As the first-place winner, Hall receives the free use of a Vermeer wheel rake for one year, courtesy of Vermeer. He will have the option to buy the equipment at a reduced price at the end of the year.

GFB also congratulates the runner-up winners: 2nd place – Guerry Hall of Franklin Co.; 3rd place Jamie Gay of Telfair Co.; 4th place – Darrell McCoy of Meriwether Co. and 5th place – Joel Davis of Jackson Co.

GFB Field Notes page 12 of 23 Guerry Hall won second place and a GFB cooler for his hay that had an RFQ of 176. Gay won third place and hay wrap donated by Vermeer with hay that had an RFQ of 160 and a dry matter intake value of 3.06%. McCoy won fourth place and hay wrap donated by B.J. Marks with hay that had an RFQ of 160 and a dry matter intake value of 3.05%. Davis won fifth place and hay twine donated by Jamie Tate with hay that had an RFQ of 151. The average RFQ score of the contest’s 30 entries was 130.96.

YFR AWARD WINNERS PREP FOR NATIONAL COMPETITION Coffee County’s Walt Pridgen, Bibb County’s Haley Scruggs and Kylie Sizemore of Franklin County, winners of the Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) 2025 competitive events, are preparing for national competitions to be held at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Annual Convention in Anaheim, California, in January. They were first announced as winners at the GFB YF&R Summer Leadership Conference in July and will be recognized at the upcoming GFB Convention on Dec. 7.

The YF&R program helps young Farm Bureau members shape their future and American agriculture through leadership development and personal growth opportunities. These competitions enable members to showcase their leadership experience, communication skills and successful business plans as they compete against the best of the best from each state Farm Bureau.

As part of the YF&R competitions, the top four competitors in the AFBF Achievement Award, Discussion Meet and Excellence in Ag areas will receive: Winner* (First Place) receives: • $35,000 credit toward a new Ford vehicle (value of $35,000) **Ford, located in Dearborn, Michigan, is the sponsor of the awards.

• Paid registration to the Farm Bureau® YF&R Leadership Conference in Portland, Oregon, March 13-16, 2026.

Runner-up** (Second Place) receives: • $25,000 credit toward a new Case IH piece of equipment (value of $25,000) **Case IH, located in Racine, Wisconsin, is the sponsor of the runner-up awards.

Finalist** (Third Place) receives: • A $2,500 Investing in Your Future cash prize, courtesy of AmericanAg® **AmericanAg™, located in Schaumburg, Illinois, is the sponsor of these finalist awards.

• A Case IH branded safe (approximate MSRP of $1,800) **Case IH, located in Racine, Wisconsin, is the sponsor of these finalist awards.

• $2,500 worth of DeWalt merchandise, courtesy of Stanley Black & Decker (PROTO, DeWalt, Stanley, Lenox & Irwin) **Stanley Black & Decker, located in New Britain, Connecticut, is the sponsor of these finalist awards Finalist** (Fourth Place) receives: • A Case IH branded picnic set(approximate MSRP of $1,370) **Case IH, located in Racine, Wisconsin, is the sponsor of these finalist awards.

GFB Field Notes page 13 of 23 Pridgen won the YF&R Achievement Award, given to recognize farmers and ranchers aged 1835 who earn most of their income by farming.

Pridgen, who served as chairman of the GFB YF&R Committee in 2022, is a fifth-generation farmer who owns and operates Seven Creeks Farm and partners with his father, Jeffrey, to operate Claw Hill Farms. He raises broilers (chicken grown for meat) and cattle and grows hay and corn for feed. Pridgen has a bachelor’s degree in diversified agriculture from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. He and his wife, Mary Elizabeth, live in Broxton with their son.

Scruggs won the Excellence in Agriculture Award, which honors agriculturalists aged 18-35 who are active Farm Bureau members, promote agriculture in their community, and earn most of their income off the farm.

Scruggs, who is president of Bibb County Farm Bureau, has served on the BCFB Board of Directors since 2018 and served as vice president the past three years. She and her husband, Seth, have served on the GFB YF&R Committee the past two years.

In addition to being a nurse practitioner who specializes in vascular surgery, Scruggs helps run her family’s farm, producing pecans, hay and Christmas trees on about 80 acres. She regularly welcomes the public to the farm to educate consumers about agriculture.

Kylie Sizemore, from Franklin County, won the YF&R Discussion Meet, a four-round series of committee-style dialogues focusing on ag issues. Sizemore emerged from a field of 24 competitors to win the competition.

Sizemore works for Cobb-Vantress as a Hatchery Operations Associate. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in poultry science from the University of Georgia and is pursuing a PhD from Auburn University in poultry science. She and her husband, Willie, live in Carnesville.

USDA TO OFFER MARKET DISRUPTION BRIDGE PAYMENTS TO FARMERS On Dec. 8, the USDA announced it will make $12 billion available in one-time “bridge” payments to American farmers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs. According to a USDA release, these bridge payments are intended in part to aid farmers until payments from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), including reference prices which are set to increase between 10-21% for major covered commodities such as soybeans, corn, and wheat and will reach eligible farmers on Oct. 1, 2026.

A variety of agricultural groups praised the move.

“We greatly appreciate the Trump administration recognizing the ongoing and increasingly complicated financial struggles Georgia’s farmers are enduring, and we welcome the federal government’s help,” said Georgia Farm Bureau President Tom McCall. “These bridge payments offer much-needed relief for farmers as they navigate through intense market pressure, high input prices and other factors that have caused farm income to decline drastically in recent years.”

American Farm Bureau noted that U.S. farmers are projected to lose $34 billion in 2025.

“America’s farmers have been hit from every direction during this economic storm,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said. “They face the same high prices as all of America’s families, as more of their income is going to household bills and higher operating costs, including loans, equipment and supplies. At the same time, farmers are receiving historically low prices for most major crops.”

GFB Field Notes page 14 of 23 Of the $12 billion provided, up to $11 billion will be used for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program, which provides broad relief to United States row crop farmers who produce barley, chickpeas, corn, cotton, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, canola, crambe, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame, and sunflower. FBA will help address market disruptions, elevated input costs, persistent inflation, and market losses from foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impede exports. The FBA program applies simple, proportional support to producers using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses during the 2025 crop year. This national loss average is based on Farm Service Agency (FSA) reported planted acres, Economic Research Service (ERS) cost of production estimates, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) yields and prices, and economic modeling.

Farmers who qualify for the FBA Program can expect payments to be released by Feb. 28, 2026.

Eligible farmers should ensure their 2025 acreage reporting is factual and accurate by 5 p.m.

ET on Dec. 19. Commodity-specific payment rates will be released by the end of the month. Crop insurance linkage will not be required for the FBA Program, though USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of the new OBBBA risk management tools to best protect against price risk and volatility in the future.

The remaining $1 billion of the $12 billion in bridge payments will be reserved for commodities not covered in the FBA Program such as specialty crops and sugar, for example. Details including timelines for those payments are still under development and require additional understanding of market impacts and economic needs.

The $12 billion in farmer bridge payments, including those provided through the FBA Program, are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and will be administered by the FSA. To submit questions, justification for USDA farmer bridge aid, or to request a meeting on farmer bridge aid, producers can reach out to farmerbridge@usda.gov. To read all of USDA’s announcement on this program visit https://gfb.ag/25usdabridgeprogram.

GDA OFFERS TIPS TO PREPARE FOR H. HELENE BLOCK GRANT APPLICATIONS While the USDA evaluates its block grant agreement with Georgia regarding the Hurricane Helene Block Grant Program (HBG) will open, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) is encouraging farmers who suffered losses as a result to the hurricane to gather documentation needed for their applications.

On Dec. 11, the GDA released guidance on the application process.

Georgia farmers, ranchers and foresters in eligible counties that have suffered losses in timber, infrastructure, poultry, beef cattle, dairy cattle, milk loss, dairy feed loss, pecans, blueberries, citrus, nursery, plasticulture and bare ground practices due to Hurricane Helene may apply for assistance to the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

In general, timber payments are based on pre-hurricane values of damaged timber stands; infrastructure losses cover on-farm physical structures needed for agricultural production; poultry losses are based on lost production cycles; beef and dairy cattle losses cover drops in conception rates; milk losses are for lower milk production; pecan, blueberry and citrus losses are for future

GFB Field Notes page 15 of 23 production losses due to destroyed bushes and trees; nursery losses cover future production losses due to destruction of nursery crops; and compensation is provided to reestablish plasticulture and bare-ground practices damaged by the Hurricane. Minimum loss requirements will apply.

The GDA guidance provides the questions the application will ask: 1. Are you applying as an: Individual, General Partnership, Joint Venture, Sole Proprietorship, Corporation, Limited Partnership, Limited Liability Company, Revocable/Living Trust Irrevocable Trust, Estate, Charitable/Tax Exempt Organization? Note: Entities are required to list the member names and shares 2. What is your name or the name of your operation?

3. What is your Tax Identification Number?

4. What is your GATE Card Number?

5. What is the physical location of the farm(s)?

6. What is your USDA Farm Number?

7. Are you an owner or do you lease the property?

8. How do I prove my interest in the farm?

Following is a list of records that may support the farmer’s loss claims: Deeds; 2024 tax assessments; lease contracts; documentation verifying timber losses; acreage reports; crop insurance records; veterinarian records; poultry lost production cycles; tree, bush and/or nursery damage; damages to buildings; receipts for medications, records of milk production; animal numbers pre- and post Hurricane Helene; expense invoices; sales receipts ; trucking receipts; repair bills; demolition bills; reconstruction invoices; photograph, aerial photography; replacement invoices; other documentation necessary to substantiate losses. The GDA emphasized that this is not an all-inclusive list; applicants may submit additional documentation they believe will support their claim.

Applications that are approved will receive payments after signup ends.

Locations in the following counties are eligible for loss repayment from the Hurricane Helene Block Grant Program: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Chattahoochee, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Glynn, Grady, Hancock, Houston, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lanier, Laurens, Lee, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, Marion, McDuffie, McIntosh, Miller, Mitchell, Montgomery, Oglethorpe, Pierce, Pulaski, Quitman, Rabun, Randolph, Richmond, Screven, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson, and Worth.

Visit https://www.agr.georgia.gov/hurricane-helene-block-grant for the latest information on the block grant program. Questions may be asked via phone at 404-656-3630 or by email at hbg@agr.georgia.gov.

GFB Field Notes page 16 of 23 DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR HURRICANE HELENE TAX INCENTIVES The deadline for the reforestation tax credit and the harvest tax suspension is Dec. 31. To be eligible to receive these exemptions, you must apply before the deadline.

Reforestation Tax Credit The reforestation tax credit is a state income tax credit for taxpayers who suffered timber losses during Hurricane Helene. Eligible recipients may claim a Georgia income tax credit for up to 100% of losses sustained in certified disaster areas, up to $550 per acre. To receive the credit, go to the Georgia Tax Center's website and fill out the pre-approval application.

Eligible counties for the reforestation tax credit: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Glynn, Hancock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, Madison, McDuffie, McIntosh, Montgomery, Newton, Pierce, Putnam, Rabun, Richmond, Screven, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wheeler, Wilkes, Wilkinson, and Worth.

Harvest Tax Suspension Reimbursement The Hurricane Relief package also allowed local governments to suspend harvest tax collections in the county for the final quarter of 2024 and all quarters of 2025. To qualify, you must be in a FEMA disaster declaration county, your county must have passed a resolution allowing the reimbursement, and you must submit this certification form from the State Forestry Commission and turn it over to the local governing authority.

Eligible counties for the harvest tax suspension: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baldwin, Banks, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Crisp, Dawson, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Franklin, Gilmer, Glascock, Glynn, Grady, Greene, Habersham, Hancock, Hart, Irwin, Jackson, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lamar, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Madison, McDuffie, McIntosh, Mitchell, Monroe, Montgomery, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pierce, Pike, Pulaski, Putnam, Rabun, Richmond, Screven, Stephens, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wheeler, White, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson, Worth.

For more information and access to more resources, visit the Georgia Forestry Association's Helene Resources Page.

GFB Field Notes page 17 of 23 JOIN CAES FOR 2026 GEORGIA AG FORECAST SEMINAR Nick T. Place, Dean and Director, UGA CAES As we look into a new year, I’d like to invite you to the 2026 Georgia Ag Forecast, an opportunity for Georgia’s growers, agribusiness leaders, policymakers and community partners to come together, learn from one another, and prepare for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

This event will be held on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton. Registration begins at 8 a.m. with the program kicking off at 9 a.m. Lunch will be served at noon.

Georgia agriculture is the backbone of our state’s economy, shaping the lives of millions of Georgians and contributing billions of dollars to our state and its economy. It’s our largest industry, and its complexity continues to grow as market forces, evolving policy issues, and global economic trends intersect with our day-to-day decisions on the farm and in agribusiness. At UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), we believe that informed decision-making starts with trusted insights and timely data, which is exactly what we aim to deliver at Ag Forecast each year.

Our team of agricultural economists and subject matter experts will present the latest market projections, commodity forecasts, and economic outlooks that matter most to those of us deeply invested in Georgia agriculture. Attendees at past seminars have walked away with a clearer view of what the coming year may hold for major commodities, cost pressures such as input prices and labor, and other critical factors that influence production, marketing, and long-term planning.

A highlight of this year’s program will be a legislative panel discussion featuring leaders engaged in agriculture and policy. Last year’s panel brought together voices from both industry and government to explore emerging challenges and opportunities and these candid conversations help bridge the gap between the realities of production agriculture and the policy frameworks that shape our operating environment. Georgia Farm Bureau members bring invaluable perspectives to these discussions because of your connections across the state and your roles as advocates and innovators in rural communities.

We will also announce the 2026 Georgia Farmer of the Year, an award coordinated by UGA Extension. County Extension Agents nominate farmers with outstanding operations, who use sustainable practices on their farm and provide leadership in their community and to Georgia agriculture. The award recipient will represent Georgia in the 2026 Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year program.

The Georgia Ag Forecast is part of our CAES Signature Events series, which are special occasions that spotlight the impactful research, education, and extension work happening at UGA. These gatherings foster collaboration and strengthen ties between academia, industry, and community stakeholders. They also serve as a forum for networking with peers, connecting with UGA faculty and extension professionals, and discovering new resources like the Georgia Ag Impact Report, an innovative, interactive platform that brings agricultural data to life for strategic planning.

Whether you are a producer planning your next crop, an agribusiness professional navigating market uncertainty, or a community leader invested in rural prosperity, the insights shared at the

GFB Field Notes page 18 of 23 Georgia Ag Forecast will help you make sound decisions for the year ahead. We’ve designed the program to be practical, forward-thinking, and relevant to the full diversity of Georgia’s agricultural landscape.

I look forward to welcoming you in Tifton. Together, we can build stronger, more resilient agricultural enterprises and communities – one guided by data, grounded in experience, and united by our shared commitment to the future of Georgia agriculture.

We have both an in-person and virtual option for attending the Georgia Ag Forecast. Registration for in-person attendance is $25, includes lunch and closes on Jan. 20. Registration to view the livestream of the program is $10. Details about participating in the livestream will be provided to participants after they register. Visit https://agforecast.caes.uga.edu/ to register.

Dean Nick Place has served as dean of the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences since Jan. 1, 2021. As dean and director, Place oversees the faculty, staff and programming for CAES with a total of nearly 3,000 employees across the state of Georgia.

CAES is a national leader in all things agriculture and environment, seeking creative solutions to complex problems facing the industry today through innovative teaching, research and outreach efforts in Georgia and across the Southeast.

WALMART OPENS SECOND MILK PROCESSING UNIT IN VALDOSTA On Dec. 2, Walmart celebrated the grand opening of its owned and operated milk processing facility in Valdosta — a major milestone the company said will create more than 400 new jobs, strengthen Walmart’s end-to-end supply chain for affordable, high-quality milk, and advance the company’s long-standing commitment to U.S. manufacturing and local sourcing. The 300,000+ square-foot state-of-the-art facility represents a $350 million investment.

Sourcing milk directly from local dairy farmers, the Valdosta facility will process and bottle a variety of milk options — including gallon, half-gallon, whole, 2%, 1%, skim, and 1% chocolate milk — for Walmart’s Great Value and Sam’s Club Member’s Mark brands. The new operation will supply more than 650 Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs across the Southeast, helping ensure customers and members have consistent access to high-quality, affordable milk.

“This new facility has innovation at its core,” said Walmart Vice President for Manufacturing Bruce Heckman. “It will bolster our capacity to meet the demand for high-quality milk, make our supply chain more resilient, and build even greater transparency around sourcing. We’re excited about what this means for Walmart customers, regional farmers, and the Valdosta community.”

Walmart says this move reinforces its commitment to building a more transparent and efficient supply chain for dairy products, helping Walmart meet the customer demand for high quality, affordable milk to customers across the Southeast.

Walmart also has a milk processing facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as well as two case-ready beef facilities in Thomasville, Georgia, and Olathe, Kansas. Walmart says these efforts support its commitment to U.S. manufacturing and pledge to invest $350 billion in U.S.-made products by 2031. Over two thirds of Walmart’s annual spend is on products made, grown, or assembled in the U.S.

GFB Field Notes page 19 of 23 2026 GACD SCHOLARSHIPS Dec. 31 application deadline To encourage study and careers in soil and water conservation related fields, GACD administers one $1,000 scholarship each year. The scholarship is given to high school students or undergraduate/graduate students majoring in, or intending to major in, a soil and water conservation related area. The scholarship recipient will be honored at GACD's Annual Meeting in 2026. For more information or to apply, visit https://www.gacd.us/scholarships.

AMERICAN SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION/BASF SCHOLARSHIP Dec. 31 application deadline Do you know an outstanding high school senior who is interested in pursuing a career in agriculture? Strong agriculture leaders are vital to the sustainability and growth of the soybean industry, and the American Soybean Association, in partnership with BASF, wants to provide a student interested in agriculture with a college scholarship to begin their degree. The Soy Scholarship is a $7,000, one-time award presented to a high school senior who plans to pursue agriculture as an area of study at any accredited college or university in the 2026-27 academic year. The scholarship is managed by ASA and made possible through a grant by BASF Corporation. High school seniors may apply online Oct. 7 – Dec. 31, 2025. Click here to learn more information about the program. The scholarship is awarded in $3,500 increments (one per semester) for the 2026-27 school year. The student must be a child or grandchild of a current state soybean association/ASA member, maintain successful academic progress and remain in good standing with the college or university to receive the full amount of the scholarship. A committee of soybean grower leaders will select the ASA BASF scholarship recipient. The award winner will be announced this winter. For more information, please visit www.soygrowers.com. ASA and BASF have recognized and rewarded students for their hard work and interest in agriculture through the Soy Scholarship since 2008.

SOUTHEAST REGIONAL FRUIT & VEGETABLE CONFERENCE Jan. 8-10 Savannah Convention Center Savannah The Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference is the largest educational conference and trade show in the southeastern United States that unites growers, vendors and suppliers! Activities include the always-popular trade show, a comprehensive lineup of educational sessions, the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association Annual Meeting and more. Key workshop topics include pre-harvest ripening and quality management, the Endangered Species Act and food safety. For more information or to register, visit https://seregionalconference.org/registration-3/.

GFB Field Notes page 20 of 23 49TH ANNUAL GEORGIA PEANUT FARM SHOW Jan. 15, 2026 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Tifton Make plans to attend the 49th annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference set for Jan. 15, 2026. The show is free and open to all farmers and industry representatives to attend. The show is sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Commission and includes the UGA Peanut Production Seminar, the Farm Show Luncheon & Awards and a blood drive. Attendees will have the opportunity to visit with more than 100 agribusinesses and organizations in the peanut and agricultural industry.

Farmers will be able to earn private and commercial pesticide applicator certification, as well as learn about cutting-edge research and developments during the University of Georgia Peanut Production Seminar and industry-wide sponsored Peanut Seed Seminar. For more information, visit https://gapeanuts.com/farm-show/.

2026 GEORGIA DAIRY CONFERENCE Jan. 19-21 Marriott Savannah Rivervront Savannah Hosted by Georgia Milk Producers Inc., the Georgia Dairy Conference is an opportunity for Georgia dairy producers to gather and discuss recent trends in the dairy industry. Registration is free for GMP members. Event seminar topics include analyzing market trends, a Southeast dairy outlook, milk quality, a focus on milk yield, preventing embryonic loss and much more. For more information or to register, visit www.gadairyconference.com.

2026 GEORGIA AG FORECAST Jan. 23, 2026 UGA Tifton Conference Center 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Tifton This annual seminar, hosted by the UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, includes the announcement of the 2026 Georgia Sunbelt Farmer of the Year and shares the latest research and information from UGA faculty to help farmers and agribusinesses in Georgia's No. 1 industry. The 2026 Georgia Ag Forecast report will give a detailed overview of more than a dozen agricultural sectors, published by UGA economists and collaborators. Registration is $25 per person and includes lunch. Registration to watch the livestream is $10.

Visit https://agforecast.caes.uga.edu/ to register.

FIELD DAY FOR SOIL HEALTH ON GRAZED CROPLAND Jan. 27, 2026 Bleckley County Extension Office, 165 East Peacock St. Cochran Come out to the Bleckley County Extension Office and Lucas Farm for a field day all about soil health and grazing cropland. Covered topics include soil health practices, irrigation management, drone seeding, cover crops, and grazing techniques. Registration is $10 and includes lunch. For more information or to register click here.

GFB Field Notes page 21 of 23 SDRP SECOND STAGE, MILK AND ON-FARM STORAGE PAYMENTS Jan. 23, 2026 deadline to apply for milk & on-farm stored commodity losses April 30, 2026 deadline to apply for SDRP Stage One and Stage Two assistance Stage Two of SDRP covers eligible crop, tree, bush and vine losses that were not covered under Stage One program provisions, including non-indemnified (shallow loss), uncovered and quality losses. For Stage Two program details, including fact sheets, please visit https://fsa.usda.gov/sdrp.

The first stage, announced in July, remains available to producers who received an indemnity under crop insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for eligible crop losses due to qualifying 2023 and 2024 natural disaster events. FSA county offices will begin accepting SDRP Stage Two applications on Nov. 24. Producers have until April 30, 2026, to apply for both Stage One and Stage Two assistance. The Milk Loss Program provides up to $1.65 million in payments to eligible dairy operations for milk that was dumped or removed without compensation from the commercial milk market because of a qualifying natural disaster event in 2023 and/or 2024. Producers who suffered losses of eligible harvested commodities while stored in on-farm structures in 2023 and/or 2024 due to a qualifying natural disaster event may be eligible for assistance through the On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program, which provides for up to $5 million to impacted producers. The enrollment period to apply for milk and on-farm stored commodity losses is Nov. 24, 2025, through Jan. 23, 2026. Information and fact sheets for both programs are available online at https://fsa.usda.gov/mlp for milk loss and https://fsa.usda.gov/ofsclp for on-farm stored commodity losses.

GEORGIA COTTON COMMISSION ANNUAL MEETING Jan. 28, 2026 UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center 8 a.m. into afternoon Tifton This one-day annual meeting of the Georgia Cotton Commission is held in conjunction with the UGA Cotton Production Workshop conducted by the UGA Research & Extension Cotton Team.

The UGA Cotton Production Workshop will feature breakout sessions where attendees will learn the latest technical production strategies from the researchers whose projects are funded by the Commission’s research program. The Georgia Cotton Commission Annual Meeting will follow the breakout sessions and feature speakers from several industry organizations. The program speakers are University of Georgia Extension Entomologist Dr. Phillip Roberts; USDA Farm Service Agency Chief of Staff Mary Catherine Cromley; and National Cotton Council of America Vice President of Operations Marjory Walker. Following the morning speakers, the Commission will host lunch where individuals will hear from Rachel Kinsaul, Georgia’s 2025 Teacher of the Year; sponsors will be recognized; door prizes will be given away; and awards will be presented.

The meeting, production workshops, and lunch are open to not only cotton growers, but anyone interested in the cotton industry. The UGA Cotton Production Workshop breakout sessions will be repeated after lunch. There is no charge to attend. Pre-registration is requested to help with meal plans. Register online here or call (229) 386-3416.

GFB Field Notes page 22 of 23 33rd ANNUAL UGA FOCUS ON GENOMIC ENHANCED EPDS BULL SALE Feb. 12, 2026 UGA Livestock Instructional Arena Noon Athens This sale will include 35 Angus Bulls, three registered Angus open heifers, and 30 Angus-Cross commercial open heifers. For more information, contact Carroll T. Cannon at 229/881-0721 or 229/881-2705 or email CannonMarketingCompany@gmail.com.

GEORGIA FORAGE & GRASSLAND COUNCIL GRAZING SUMMIT Feb. 27-28 City Station Conference Center Carrollton Join the Georgia Forage & Grassland Council Grazing Summit to learn practical tips for better forage and grazing. Listen to experienced graziers and experts and take part in panel talks. Whether you want to improve grazing, boost soil health, or raise more productive livestock, the Grazing Summit 2026 offers valuable resources. For more information click here. [https://rollinghillsrcd.net/georgia-forage-and-grassland-council-grazingschool] GEORGIA FOUNDATION FOR AGRICULTURE SCHOLARSHIPS March 1, 2026 deadline to apply The Georgia Foundation for Agriculture (GFA) is offering $66,000 worth of scholarships in 2026 in support of students planning to or already engaged in studies to prepare them for careers in agriculture and ag-related fields. There are five scholarship classifications: The Scholarship for Agriculture for graduating high school seniors who plan to enter college for Fall 2026 semester and pursue a career focusing on agriculture; the Rising Junior/Senior Scholarship for agriculture for current college students who are at least two semesters away from completing their undergraduate degree; the Back to Farm Scholarship for students who have shown a clear commitment to returning to the farm to build a career in production agriculture; the Technical College Scholarship for Agriculture for students enrolled at a school in the Technical College System of Georgia and majoring in an ag or ag-related field of study; and the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine Scholarship is for current veterinary medicine students specializing in large animal/food animal practice. The deadline to apply for all of these scholarships is March 1, 2026.

For more information or to apply, visit www.gafoundationag.org/scholarships.

GFB HAY DIRECTORY GFB is accepting listings for its online hay directory. Farm Bureau members with hay for sale or who offer custom harvesting or custom sprigging services are invited to list their hay and/or services in the GFB Quality Hay Directory published on the GFB website. Hay for sale or services can be listed or removed from the directory throughout the year. To be included in GFB’s online hay directory, complete a submission form by visiting your county Farm Bureau office or online at www.gfb.ag/hay. Please include a $10 check made payable to Georgia Farm Bureau for each listing of hay, custom harvesting or custom sprigging. Multiple listings are allowed. Listings can be updated in the directory throughout the year as hay inventories change. Hay producers who entered the 2024 GFB Quality Hay Contest receive a free listing in the online GFB Hay Directory.

GFB Field Notes page 23 of 23 UGA WARNELL SCHOOL OF FORESTRY BOBWHITE QUAIL SURVEY The Martin GAME Lab at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at UGA is looking for private landowners in Georgia to take part in a brief survey about their opinions on bobwhite quail management for a study titled “Bobwhite Restoration, Incentives, and Research.”

The purpose of the study is to better understand landowners’ opinions on bobwhite quail management and cost-share programs landowners would enroll in to manage their properties for bobwhite quail. Visit https://ugeorgia.ca1.qualtrics.com/.../SV_3aRgLcUioS8uy0u to take the study. Thank you in advance for helping with in this study.

CONSERVATION DISTRICTS OFFER FERAL HOG CONTROL SERVICES For a list of feral hog control services available in each GACD Conservation District, visit https://gfb.ag/feralhoggacdresources.

UGA CITRUS ORCHARD NUTRITIONAL SURVEY For the past three growing seasons, the UGA Agricultural and Environmental Services Labs (AESL) has been conducting a foliar nutrient survey of Georgia's citrus industry with funding from the USDA and Georgia Department of Agriculture's Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. One of the conditions of the project’s grant funding is that researchers seek stakeholder feedback on the effectiveness of the program, and how this work may influence future grower decisions. The project researchers ask that you please complete this short (7 questions, 3-5 minutes) Citrus Nutrition Questionnaire here. These results will help UGA researchers demonstrate the importance of this work to their sponsors, which increases the likelihood of future funding in this area. If you would like to learn more about this project and the results of the study, visit the project website.

988 SUICIDE & CRISIS LIFELINE OFFERS SUPPORT The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached by calling or texting 988 or chatting on 988lifeline.org. 988 serves as a universal entry point so that no matter where you live in the U.S., you can easily access 24/7 emotional support. You don’t have to be suicidal to reach out. 988 trained crisis counselors can help you through whatever mental health challenges you are experiencing.