2013 community pride agriculture

Bulloch County farmers lead the way

2013Community

PrideAgriculture

By HOLLI DEAL [email protected] The Grayson Ellis fam-ily, which operates a farm in Hopeulikit that has been in the family for generations, was named the 2012 Farm Family of the Year in Bulloch County. Surrounded by family farmland, catfish ponds, and good neighbors, the Ellis family continues a way of life that has been passed down from fathers to sons for years. A farmer’s son of a farmer’s son of a farmer’s son, Ellis works the farm like his father before him, and does so with his sons, Benji and Matt, by his side. The women in the fam-ily work just as hard. Grayson Ellis’ wife Becky and their daughter Tara also embrace the farm life that has sustained their family for years, and the partnerships between the family members, along with the success of their farming endeavors, are reasons the family was given the honor by the S t a t e s b o r o - B u l l o c h County Chamber of Commerce agribusiness committee. “I grew up on a farm,” Grayson Ellis said. His father, John Paul Ellis, also operated a grocery store in Hopeulikit — a

bustling business in the “fork in the road” where U.S. 80 and Ga. 25 split, in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Ellis left the family farm when he entered the military after being draft-ed in the late 1960’s. He

fought in the Viet Nam war, and when he returned home, it was to farm. It was a life he knew and loved, he said. The grocery store was booming, but “Daddy needed me on the farm

full time,” he said. Back then, the Ellis family raised a great deal of hogs — both brood sows and feeder pigs. “We also had soybeans and peanuts” among other crops such as corn. “That was before cotton came back.” Cotton has returned as king of the south’s crops, but farming has made some major changes over the years, he said. When plowing fields was once the way to keep weeds away, now the problem is controlled by chemicals, he said. Technology has arrived at the farm. “Now we have all these high-tech computer sys-tems” that control irriga-tion and other farming chores. “It makes it better for us, because it saves time and money too.” Strip tilling is another thing that has changed the face of farming. Instead of completely harrowing leftover debris from the last crop, farm-ers save time and energy now by using the strip till method — planting crops among stubble from pre-vious crops, which also helps conserve moisture and adds nutrients back into the soil. The Ellis family is no longer a major hog pro-ducer, and a brief venture in catfish farming has

also fallen to the wayside, he said. “The hog market dropped, and the catfish farming was good for the first two or three years.” But when the price of feed rose, “It cut the bot-tom line out and we couldn’t make any money at it.” No worries — there is plenty of other work on the farm to keep the Ellises busy. “Every time I have a minute, there is always something else to do,” he said. The charm of the farm life is “You work for yourself. I’m the boss man now. It’s nice to be your own boss. It’s a hard life, but a good life too. You have to take it all in stride, and I’ll farm as long as I can make a liv-ing at it.” Farming Ellis style means everyone gets involved. Tara is now a school teacher, but did her share of work grow-ing up on the family place. Matt and Benji still work alongside of their father, making a living in the family tradition. Becky is a vital part of the glue that keeps it all together. Being a farm wife “Takes a lot of dedi-cation,” she said. “I cook lunch for the boys, and when I am in the field helping, I just pick some-

thing up. I do a lot of running, picking up parts, keeping books, packing cotton — wherever they need me.” During summer months Becky Ellis “puts up” a lot of vegetables for the family to enjoy year round; corn, peas, squash, tomatoes and other things that appear in the family garden. “I can a lot. We grow a lot of garden crops.” It’s a family affair, and “We enjoy it,” she said. “Without the Lord’s work, we couldn’t do it. It’s such a rewarding life. When you get that feeling when you plant something and look back when it’s grown and see what all you’ve done, it’s a rewarding feeling.” Becky and Grayson Ellis have been married 43 years, and she said she expects the farm life to continue, expecting to see the family tradition being passed down through her children to grandchildren in the future. The family unity in working the farm is reflective of what makes a farm family successful, and is likely a major con-tributing factor in the Ellises being named 2012 Farm Family of the Year. Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.

2 – StateSboro herald — Sunday, February 24, 2013 | statesboroherald.com community pride 2013

Agriculture

Hopeulikit farming: A family affairChamber selects Ellis family for annual honor

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Grayson and Becky Ellis, left, sons Benji, 30, bottom right, and Marc, 26, and daughter Tara, 33, of Ellis & Sons Farms were named "Farm Family of the Year" during a Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Committee luncheon at the Bulloch County Center for Agriculture in November of 2012.

Bulloch County Historical Farms (www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com)

➤ SOL AKINS FARM Registered 1990 Location: Old Register Road, off US 301 South, 1.2 miles from Statesboro Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, built by Solomon Akins Period of Significance: 1850-1874, 1875-1899, 1900-1924 Historic Function: Agriculture/Subsistence/ Domestic Historic Sub-function: Agricultural outbuildings, single dwelling ➤ DR. JOHN C. NEVIL HOUSE Registered 1989 Location: U. S. 301 South, Register Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, late Victorian built by Butler Barr Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949 Historic Function: Agriculture/Subsistence, Domestic, Health Care Historic Sub-function: Medical Business/Office, Processing, single Dwelling ➤ WILLIAM W. OLLIFF FARM Registered 1987 Location: New Hope Rd., Register Historic Significance: Person, Architecture/Engineering, Italianate built by Edward Ringwald Historic Person: Olliff,William W. “Bill” Area of Significance: Agriculture, Architecture, Transportation, Commerce Period of Significance: 1850-1874, 1875-1899 Historic Function: Agriculture/Subsistence, Domestic Historic Sub-function: Agricultural outbuildings, processing, single dwelling, storage

statesboroherald.com | StateSboro herald — Sunday, February 24, 2013 – 3community pride 2013

Agriculture

Farm Day 2012Chamber, other sponsors introduce kids to farm life

By JEFF [email protected]

Farm living was the life for about 350 area young-sters in June of 2012, who spent the better part of the day immersed in an envi-ronment of tractors, live-stock and produce.

For the second consecu-tive year, the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce’s Agribusiness Committee — with help from Ogeechee Technical College, AgSouth, Keep Bulloch Beautiful, Farmers and Merchants Bank and the Kiwanis Club — invited area children taking part in local summer camps to get a frontline, hands-on intro-duction to the importance of agriculture in Bulloch County and the region.

Campers with the

Statesboro-Bulloch Parks and Recreation Department and the Boys and Girls Club of Bulloch County made their way to the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds for the committee’s second annual Farm Day.

Prekindergarten through fifth-grade campers took part in the event as a way to improve their knowledge of a business and lifestyle that has long been at the heart of Bulloch County.

“Our main goal is to raise agricultural awareness within the community. Kids are the most impression-able group of people in Bulloch County, and they are the ones who know the least about agriculture,” said Katie Stringer Page, co-chairwoman for the event. “They don’t always know that eggs come from chick-

en, or that their clothes come from cotton — which are all produced right here. So we host this event to help them gain an under-standing.”

The key to garnering that knowledge, Page said, is having an opportunity to learn, not from television or chapters in a textbook, but by seeing, touching and doing.

To accomplish that goal, the committee set up 12 stations around the fair-grounds, each dedicated to showcasing a different aspect of agricultural life.

In a far corner of the grounds, children walked through an area filled with livestock — where they had a chance to look at or inter-act with cows, chickens, ducks, rabbits and a goat. A short walk away, two build-

ings were reserved to teach the kids about area crops and their importance to the local economy.

There, kids identified cotton, butterbean bushes, corn, soy beans and more — often playing games that rewarded them for recognizing plants the quickest.

At other locations, campers put to work their own green thumbs — first learning about seeds and how to properly plant them, then digging in and sowing their crop.

Forestry personnel were on hand to display various items produced with indig-enous trees — items that range from chewing gum and toilet paper to tooth-paste and lumber.

Other visitors showcased tractors and harvesters —

in most cases, letting the kids take turns behind the wheel of the parked vehicles — and taught the impor-tance of safety. Georgia Power Co. conducted dem-onstrations on electrical safety while forestry employees taught children how to prevent forest fires.

“The children learn a lot and they really enjoy it,” said Andrea Whitfield, co-chairwoman of the event. “They get real excited about seeing the animals and checking out each station. It is a great community event.

“We feel like the kids really need to be exposed to agriculture,” she said. “It is one of the biggest indus-tries here in Bulloch County. They get exposed to it some in school, but we wanted to give them a really hands-on learning experi-

ence — get them out here with tractors, handling crops and planting seeds.”

Other activities for campers included a station for making healthy snacks — where they baked apples and shelled peas — an area to paint a mural that fea-tured things learned throughout the day, and a station to hear about the life cycle of a chicken (from a lecture and video present-ed by chicken farmers from Claxton).

Organizers say the event, like last year’s, was a great success and received enthu-siastic reviews from camp-ers.

The committee hopes to host the event again next year.

Jeff Harrison may be reached at (912) 489-9454.

Children from the Boys & Girls club wait their turn to try out a tractor during the 2012 Farm Day's event at the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds.

Photos by SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Left, Jeremy Park, 9, learns how to shell purple hole peas during the 2012 Farm Days event at the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds.

Right, Caleb Morgan, 8, left,examines the roots of a pine tree seedling while learn-ing about the forest industry from Connor Sullivan of American Forest Management.

Bottom, Angela Todd of Delray Farms in Claxton teaches youths about raising chickens during 2012 Farms Days.


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By HOLLI DEAL [email protected]

After over a dozen years, a multipurpose agricultural arena may come into reality now that Bulloch County Commissioners have hired a firm to come up with a feasi-ble and affordable design.

B u l l o c h C o u n t y M a n a g e r Tom Couch s a i d P o p u l o u s Inc., of Knoxv i l l e , Tenn., will begin craft-ing a design proposal for a 50,000-square-foot “mixed use, open sided” agricultural arena which will be multi-purpose.

Plans for the arena, to be built next to the Bulloch County Center for Agriculture on Langston Chapel Road, have been in the works for about 14 years.

When the original pro-posal came about, commis-sioners then were met with some public concern about $6.1 million in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax set aside for what some called a “horse arena.”

Commissioners clarified then that the arena would not only serve the equine sector,

but would be used for trade shows, livestock events, car, truck and boat shows, indus-trial expositions, concerts, farmer’s markets and more.

Couch said nine firms applied for the project, and three were inter-viewed by a committee of c o u n t y employees , with “input from (com-missioners) Walter Gibson and Roy Thompson.” The group recommended Populous Inc. for the arena design.

Populous will “negotiate a contract for the first phase”of the arena con-struction if the commis-sion is pleased with the design study, which will cost county taxpayers $52,270 plus reimbursable expenses such as travel, lodg-ing and meals, according to information given to Couch by Bulloch County Parks and Recreations Director Mike Rollins.

The arena is to include minimum seating, restrooms,

concession areas, parking, exhibit space and stalls. The project may take longer to complete than the annex design because of wetlands and space limitations at the Langston Chapel Road prop-erty, Couch said.

Populous will “do a long-term master plan for the sites and develop a construction program for the initial stag-es,” Couch said. “If we are pleased with their work, we will in all likelihood offer them a contract for full design. Predesign should take two to three months because the firms have to consult users as well as staff and com-missioners.”

Out of the original $6.1 million in 2007 SPLOST funds set aside for the arena project, only $4.1 million is left. The original sum was “in the referendum, but only about 90-92 percent of the total 2002 SPLOST came in because the local economy didn't fully recover until 2005-06,” he said.

Also, Couch said in an interview in 2012 that in 2009, he “recommended $2 million be transferred to other projects” in addition to expenses.

Expenses for the current agricultural office complex, (Bulloch County Center for Agriculture), as well as a road connecting U.S. Highway 301 South and Langston Chapel Road, were deducted from the original sum, as were expenses for previous feasi-bility studies conducted in prior years and fees for “Hussey, Gay, Bell and DeYoung and other consul-tants drawing up plans” with estimates that far exceeded budgeted funds, Couch said.

Populous has stated the arena should be able to be constructed within budget. Spokesmen for the firm “seemed very confident that $4.1 million would go a long way. They have done 105 (agricultural) arenas of vary-ing size around the country,” Couch said.

The proposed multipur-pose arena would be used for a wide range of events, including equipment shows, trade shows, gun and knife shows, concerts, exhibitions,

fresh vegetable and produce markets, and more, he said.

Project historyVoters passed a Special

Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum in 1997, specifically for funding the project.

Just under $6.4 million in revenue was collected, but after expenditures for plan-ning and pre-design work for an indoor and outdoor arena, $6.14 million remained at that time.

Further expenses were incurred later for other stud-ies. The project was placed on hold and revisited in 2005, when a second feasibility study was done, Couch said. This study found a possibility of short-term negative oper-ating deficits, “though they seemed less likely for the multi-purpose arena than the multi-purpose indoor facili-ty.”

A design concept drafted in Nov. 2007 projected a pro-jected capital outlay of $15 million. “At that time, the County abandoned further planning and design in order to consider redefining the scope of the project to more affordable levels,” he said.

The current Bulloch County Commission feels a suitable arena can be built within budget. The remain-ing $4.1 million should be adequate to design a multi-purpose facility that suited the plans an original steering committee produced shortly after the project was suggest-ed, he said.

The biggest concern in past discussions have been about the project has been whether it will be self-sup-porting, he said. Earlier feasi-bility studies predicted a short term deficit in operat-ing costs, but commissioners have heard reports giving data proving other, similar facilities around the state and in adjacent states stay booked year round.

The earlier quotes for an arena were excessive and like-ly alarmed commissioners on the board at the time, Couch has said. When the original budget was only just over $6 million, inflated capital out-

lay projections that “bal-looned from “$7 million for all three facilities up to $15 million just for an arena” were indeed unsettling.

During interviews last year, Couch said the jump in proposed costs was “due, in our opinion, to poor advice given by various consultants who always seemed to have reason to expand the scope or costs beyond what was desired and contemplated.

“Feeling that $4.1 million is adequate to fulfill the steer-ing committee’s original con-cept for an arena, we would prefer to give that concept over to a trustworthy design professional and give them the charge to get the most out of available funds, after we know we can support any operating deficits.”

Populous, Inc. was the design company that won the bid in December.

During discussion about the arena project in previous years, Commissioner Ray Mosley said “I see a lot of other events that could take place there — 4-H, farmers markets, boat and car shows.”

Bulloch County Commission Chairman Garrett Nevil agreed.

“It can serve many pur-poses,” he said. He has visited many similar facilities across the state. “I envision a cov-ered arena with low o v e r h e a d , and high marketability …. that does not have to be heated or cooled.”

He said he imagines an open air arena, with fans and lights that would only be used when the facility is in use. He said he would like to see ample park-ing with RV hookups for exhibitors, and said he could imagine campers filling the lots (at a charge per unit) for events such as bluegrass festi-vals.

Gainesville has a similar arena, and Nevil said the facility can be used for cir-cuses, rodeos, classic car shows, “a number of events.” The Gainesville facility stays booked all year except

Christmas and Easter, he said. “There will be no problem with us keeping it (the Bulloch facility) as busy as we need it.”

The revenue is possible “ if it is done right” and he feels there would be no operating deficit if the arena were mar-keted and managed correctly, based on what he sees in Gainesville, Perry and other areas with facilities like the one proposed in Bulloch.

“Other (officials in other counties) always emphasize the economic impact on their community,” he said. “They assure us there would be no problem in booking (events).”

People who lease the facil-ities for animal shows will need stalls, and exhibitors pay rent for those stalls, he said.

Bulloch County Commissioner Anthony Simmons agreed last year the project needs to be com-pleted.

“It has been 14 years — I think we need to move forward,” he said in earlier interviews. “It may not be the version first drawn up, but we need to put it on the front burner. It could be used for just about anything you can think of.”

Commissioner Walter Gibson said he supports the construction of an arena, and said since voters passed the referendum and money is in the bank, it’s time to act.

“We want to be sure it will support itself,” he said. “That’s the reason it has been put off. If we get the right (events booked) it will be self-sup-porting.”

He said a rodeo sponsored by the Statesboro Kiwanis Club, now in its third year, has proven citizens will sup-port equestrian activities as well as other events. The first year, the club sold over 7,000 tickets to the two-night event, and turned away that many or more people when the stands were full. In 2012, the three-show event was sold out as well.

Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.


Agriculture

By AL HAckLEHerald Writer

After record crop yields in the area last year, 2013 could easily be a banner year for farm equipment sales. Dealers such as David Brown, store manager at Blanchard Equipment in Statesboro, are hearing increased interest from farmers able to invest in new technology. “2012 was the best I’ve ever seen as far as crops,” Brown said. “Cotton, pea-nuts, corn and soybeans – all were good crops.” Blanchard Equipment is the local dealer for John Deere equipment. The cor-poration’s trademarked green paint predominates on the big machines that whir through the region’s fields, especially on combines and cotton pickers at harvest time. Cotton, grown on more than 50,000 acres in Bulloch County alone, continues to be the area’s leading row crop. Prices dropped in 2012 from record highs in 2011 but remained high enough for many farmers to earn strong profits on record vol-ume. They will need the cash

— and probably good credit as well — if they purchase high-end new equipment such as the John Deere 7760 cotton picker. This six-row picker presses and rolls the harvested cotton into round modules, wrapping them into bright yellow plastic sheeting for protection. The modules are eight feet long and seven-and-a-half feet in diameter and, according to information available at www.deere.com, they weigh about 5,000 pounds each. Not to be confused with a bale, which is a unit of cotton after it has been deseeded and cleaned at the gin, a module is a compressed mass of harvested cotton with the seeds still in. With the technology that has dominated cotton har-vesting for more than a decade, cotton is dumped from a picker into a “boll buggy” and transported behind a tractor to a “mod-ule builder,” a compactor roughly the size and shape of a mobile home. Controlled by an operator from a seat at one end, the builder produces a rectangu-lar module than can yield 15 or 16 bales, which is then pulled aboard a special truck for delivery to the gin.

So the John Deere 7760 eliminates some steps by building the round modules aboard the picker while it moves down the rows. Each round module contains only the equivalent of four bales, but the same trucks can then haul four at a time, instead of a single rectangular module. “That’s been out about three years now and that’s gained a lot of popularity,” Brown said. “It saves the farmer from having a mod-ule builder and boll buggy, and it’s a one-man operation for picking cotton.” The onboard wrapping, he said, also reduces losses of cotton. As of 2012, four of the John Deere round-module pickers were in use in Bulloch County. Price is definitely a

consideration. A “Build Your Own” pricing feature avail-able at Deer.com lists a sug-gested base price of $791,084 for a new 7760. “Cotton prices will dictate because it’s an expensive machine,” Brown said. “The acres to justify, a lot of people in our area don’t farm that many acres. So it lends itself to some custom picking and maybe some joint ownership of the machine.” In other words, two or more farms could own one togeth-er and share, which certainly isn’t a new idea among farm-ers. Or an owner could offset the cost by picking other growers’ cotton for a fee. Another farm equipment trend in which John Deere is claiming its share is the use of Global Positioning System

technology. This is no longer a new or experimental con-cept. Local farmers are using GPS to guide tractors, spray-ers and other machines every workday. John Deere calls its GPS systems AMS, for Ag Management Solutions. An AMS guidance system serves as an autopilot for tractors, so that all a driver usually needs to do is turn the rig around at the row ends. Once pointed back down the field, the system holds the rows parallel to the last pass, often exceeding the ability of human drivers. “It keeps a straight row,” Brown said. “You don’t have to have row markers and it takes all the struggle out of driving a tractor on a daily basis.” AMS equipment is also used for yield-mapping and targeted application of fertil-izer and chemicals. Equipment aboard a com-bine or picker records the yield of the field on a precise grid. With follow-up analysis of soil samples, this can then be used to apply more fertil-izer in weak spots, with AMS technology also guiding vari-able-rate applicators. The signals available for civilian use from GPS satel-

lites give less precise coordi-nates than needed for farm-ing. Blanchard Equipment has built a network of 30 antenna towers throughout its market region that supply corrective signals. With these, the system provides “sub-inch” precision, Brown said. Lyn Perkins, Blanchard Equipment’s AMS specialist, has received special training and keeps up with techno-logical developments. Blanchard Equipment in Statesboro is located at 201 Stockyard Road. Founded in 1990 as Bulloch Equipment, the dealership was purchased in 1997 by Phillip Blanchard of Waynesboro. Brown has been store manager since 1994 and was part over of Bulloch Equipment. From the John Deere dealership his father, Hammond Blanchard, pur-chased in Waynesboro in 1957, Phillip Blanchard has expanded the business to include nine locations: Waynesboro, Statesboro, Louisville, Swainsboro and Tennille in Georgia; and Hampton, Orangeburg, St. Matthews and St. George in South Carolina. The compa-ny employs more than 150 people, including 29 at the Statesboro store.

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Agriculture

Farmers Market sees big year in 2012

By LINSAY [email protected]

Spring was in the air in April of 2012, and along with the warmer weather, it brought with it one of the Boro’s favorite annual staples: the Mainstreet Statesboro Farmers’ Market. If you haven’t yet dis-covered the Market, an open-air gem held 34 Saturdays out of the year in the Sea Island Bank parking lot in downtown Statesboro, you’ve been missing out on your chance to shop for some of the best locally pro-duced fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, plants, baked goods, crafts and much more from over 40 local vendors.The Market celebrated its season opening in April, as well as its partnership with Georgia Southern. Debra Chester, the Mainstreet Statesboro Farmers’ Market manager and chair of the Market’s Community Advisory Board, said Saturday’s “GSU Day” was meant to recognize and appreciate the importance of the Market’s partnership with the college. (GSU presi-dent) Dr. Brooks Keel and his wife, Dr. Tammie Schalue, served as honor-ary Market managers for the day.

“GSU Day at the

Market provides another opportunity for the com-munity and the Eagle Nation to come together,”

said Chester. “Fresh food, fellowship

and showcasing our region’s farm impact is

what the Market is about, and GSU is a large reason for our success. We have many customers, educa-tional exhibits and enthu-siasm from the universi-ty.”

The Market places great emphasis on learn-ing about the foods we eat, and this week, the educational exhibits will be hosted by various departments of GSU.

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art pres-ent ed its completed “Farmers’ Market” eagle of the Eagle Nation on Parade project, and GSU nursing students were on hand to offer shoppers blood pressure checks.

Elsewhere, Georgia Southern chefs from Eagle Dining and students from the Department of Nutrition provided sam-ples of and suggestions for using Market foods to whip up healthy, econom-ical meals. Representatives from the GSU Museum were also on hand, and the Botanical Garden shared tips on selecting native plants for your gar-den.

“Young adults are more aware of the need for healthy foods and easily appreciate the chance to buy local and seasonal food,” said Chester. “We are attempting to share

with them easy ways to prepare foods and make the food more accessible to them.”

The focus on GSU’s involvement and impor-tance to the Market’s suc-cess goes beyond the Sea Island Bank parking lot, however. The Market also periodically takes its products to the university, setting up right behind the Williams Center on the GSU campus. In 2012, on-campus markets were held April 3, April 17 and May 1.

During the Farmers Market season, buying online is yet another option, as Statesboro Market 2 Go (www.states-boromarket2go.locally-grown.net) offers shop-

pers the chance to buy from local vendors online and then pick up their groceries in town. Online orders are accepted between Friday and Tuesday each week, and orders may be picked up on Thursdays between 4:30–6:30 p.m. either at Sugar Magnolia Bakery or the M.C. Anderson Recreation Park at the RAC on campus.

With more than 1,200 visitors from six counties each Saturday, the Mainstreet Statesboro Farmers’ Market serves as a regional hub from farm-ers and shoppers alike, and April's opening cele-bration included live music, health screenings and snacks.

April kickoff was the beginning of another successful year for popular event

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Statesboro High sophomore Natasha Liston-Beck, 15, uses her leg to mix paints while creating a galaxy-themed skirt during Statesboro High School Day at Mainstreet Farmers Market in September of 2012.

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Above, while picking up some tomato plants and herbs, first time gardener Jennifer Prince, right, gets some tips from J.J. Lee of Lee Family Farms during the Downtown Farmers Market in April. Below, Statesboro High junior Nidhi Aggarwal, 16, center left, impresses Lee Grimes with her art work during Statesboro High School Day at Mainstreet Farmers Market during Septeber's Farmers Market. Aggarwal's mother is a fellow Georgia Southern University professor with Grimes.


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Will Clarke, General ManagerCraig Deal, Operations Manager

BJ Tillman, Procurement Manager

AGRITOURISM➤ Camping - 18 acres: annu-al value $33,000.

➤ Equestrian trail rides – 2,500 acres: annual value – $6,500

➤ Fishing – 420 acres: annual value - $22,500.

➤ Guide Services – 2,000 acres: annual value - $191,250.

➤ Hayrides – 20 acres: annu-al value - $10,000.

➤ School tours – 10 acres; annual value - $4,750.

➤ Special attractions, exhibits – one acre; annual value - $210,000.

➤ Special event, shows, festi-vals – one acre: annual value – $175,000.

Total annual – $653,000

FORESTRY and RELATED PRODUCTS➤ Christmas trees – 10 acres: annual value - $14,000.

➤ Pine straw – 22,000 acres; annual value - $1,760,000.

➤ Timber – one acre; annual value - $7,534,000.

Total annual value – $9,308,000.

FRUITS AND NUTS➤ Blackberries - one acre; annual value - $5,800.

➤ Blueberries – 14 acres: annual value – $87,780.

➤ Grapes – 25 acres; annual value - $98,050.

➤ Grapes (wine, juice) – 16 acres: annual value -$60,320.

➤ Peaches – 20 acres; annu-al value - $77,000.

➤ Pecans – 2,900 aces; annual value - $8,804,400.

➤ Strawberries – three acres; annual value - $74,250.

Total annual value - $9,207,680.

LIVESTOCK AND AQUACULTURE

➤ Beef cattle (finished outside county) – 300 head; annual value - $141,645.

➤ Beef cows – 12,100 head; annual value - $4,706,451.

➤ Beef stockers – 250 head; annual value - $69,525.

➤ Catfish – five pond acres: annual value - $7,276.

➤ Goats – 2,200 nannies; annual value - $330,000.

➤ Honeybees, colony rental – 700 colonies: annual value - $25,031.

➤ Honeybees , honey produc-tion- 700 colonies; annual value - $80,640.

➤ Honeybees, other – one colony: annual value – $120,000.

➤ Horses (boarding, training, breeding) – 1,750 head: annual value - $6,125,000.

➤ Horses raised – 650 head: annual value - $1,541,605.

➤ Pork, farrow to finish – 800

head: annual value - $1,602,594.

➤ Pork, feeder pigs – 1,100 head: annual value - $794,970.

➤ Pork, finishing – 31,000 head: annual; value - $905,138.

➤ Quail – 75,000 birds; annu-al value - $300,000.

➤ Sheep – 150 ewes: annual value - $22,500.


ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURE

➤ Container Nursery – 36 acres: annual value - $1,432,260.

➤ Field Nursery – 50 acres: annual value - $499,200.

➤ Greenhouse – 230,000 square feet; annual value - $3,210,800.

➤ Turf grass – 1,750 acres: annual value - $5,795,475.


OTHER➤ Crop insurance: annual value $2,000,570.

➤ Government payments: $8,245,501.

➤ Deer hunting leases- 285,000 acres: annual value - $3,300,000.

➤ Duck hunting leases – annual value - $8,750.

➤ Turkey hunting leases – annual value – $200,000.


POULTRY AND EGGS➤ Broiler/grower – 3,226,000 birds: annual value- $1,222,041.

➤ Broiler/integrator – 3,226,000 birds: annual value - $11,968, 819.


ROW AND FORAGE CROPS

➤ Hay – 9,253 acres: annual value - $3,701,200.

➤ Oats – 280 acres: annual value - $58,464.

➤ Barley – 14 acres: annual value- $3,024.

➤ Sunflower – 328 acres: annual value - $93,480.

➤ Peanuts – 9,284 acres: annual value - $10,784,294.

➤ Rye – 1,210 acres: annual value - $671,550.

➤ Sorghum – 60 acres; annual value - $27,000.

➤ Soybeans – 2,630 acres: annual value - $923,130.

➤ Straw (wheat and rye) – 3,200 acres: annual value - $800,000.

➤ Tobacco – 89 acres: annual value - $366,457.

➤ Wheat – 2,873 acres: annu-al value - $1,207,097.


VEGETABLES➤ Cabbage, fall harvest, bare-ground, irrigated – three acres: annual value - $12,330.

➤ Cantaloupe, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – 40 acres: annual value - $160,000.

➤ Cantaloupe, fall harvest, plastic, drip – 200 acres: annual value - $896,000.

➤ Cantaloupe, fall harvest, plastic, other – 200 acres: annual value - $960,000.

➤ Cantaloupe, spring har-vest, bareground, irrigated – 200 acres: annual value - $975,800.

➤ Cantaloupe, spring har-vest, plastic, other – 200 acres: annual value - $1,047,200.

➤ Carrots, spring harvest, bareground, irrigated – 800 aces: annual value - $3,744,000.

➤ Collards, spring harvest, bareground, dryland – 20 acres: annual value - $40,500.

➤ Greenhouse vegetables pro-duced for sale – 30,000 square feet: annual value – $240,000.

➤ Okra, fall harvest, bare-ground, irrigated - four acres: annual value - $11,440.

➤ Okra, spring harvest, bare-ground, irrigated - four acres: annual value - $33,000.

➤ Onions, spring harvest, bareground, irrigated- 850 acres: annual value – $10,635,000.

➤ Sweet corn, fall harvest, bareground, dryland – 40 acres: annual value – $46,464.

➤ Sweet corn, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – 300 acres: annual value – $544,500.

➤ Tomatoes, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – eight acres: annual value - $41,050.

➤ Turnip greens, fall harvest, bareground, dryland – eight acres: annual value – $4,800.

➤ Turnip greens, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – four acres: annual value - $9,000.

➤ Turnip greens, spring har-vest, bareground, dry land – four acres: annual value – $4,500.

➤ Turnip greens, spring har-vest, bareground, irrigated – four acres: annual value – $9,600.

➤ Turnip roots, fall harvest, bareground, dry land – three acres: annual value - $6,000.

➤ Watermelon, spring har-vest, bareground, irrigated – 150 acres: annual value - $616,500.

➤ Watermelon, spring har-vest, plastic, other – 300 acres: annual value – $863,100.

➤ Watermelon, spring har-vest, plastic, drip – 125 acres: annual value – $693,562.

➤ Yellow squash, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – three acres: annual value - $4,770.


Total reported farm gate value for Bulloch County in 2011: $172,838,862

Bulloch county Farm Gate Values 2011Agriculture

2013 community pride agriculture

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