Ag News
Georgia agriculture shines at Sunbelt Expo
Posted on Oct 22, 2025 at 14:23 PM
Every Sunbelt Ag Expo (SAE) is special, but the sun seemed to shine a little brighter at this year’s show held Oct. 14-16 in Moultrie. Maybe that’s because Georgia had the honor of being the 2025 Expo Spotlight State, where the exhibit showed “All Roads Lead to Georgia Grown” ag products. It could also be attributed to Colquitt County vegetable farmer Kent Hamilton being named the Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year.
Georgia honored as Expo Spotlight State
Sunbelt Ag Expo attendees had the chance to take a virtual road trip to explore Georgia agriculture in the "All Roads Lead to Georgia Grown" exhibit as Georgia was the 2025 Spotlight State at the annual farm show. / Photo by Jennifer Whittaker
This is the fourth time Georgia has been featured as the show’s spotlight state since 1981, SAE Executive Director Chip Blalock said.
“We’re happy to be the spotlight state this year. All roads lead to Georgia agriculture. All roads lead to Georgia Grown,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said. “Agriculture impacts every Georgian and every American. As Expo visitors walk through our building, we hope they get a sense of how vast Georgia agriculture is and how much our farmers contribute to their plates.”
A coalition of Georgia ag organizations, including Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB), supported the Georgia Department of Agriculture's (GDA) leadership in creating the spotlight state exhibit. After visitors entered the building from the east, west or south on ramps (doors), they found themselves on the Georgia Grown highway with farmstands sitting along the road they could visit to learn more about Georgia agriculture.
Staff representing the UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences and UGA Extension, the Georgia Corn Growers Association, Fort Valley State University College of Agriculture, Family Sciences & Technology, Georgia Farm Bureau, the GDA and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) manned their respective organization’s roadside stands.
Colorful banners highlighting the many crops Georgia farmers grow including apples, beef, carrots, cotton, dairy, peanuts, pecans, poultry, timber, vegetables, Vidalia onions and watermelons hung from the ceiling throughout the building.
“Georgia grows everything from apples to zucchini. There’s not a letter in the alphabet that you can’t use to name a commodity grown in Georgia,” GFB President Tom McCall said at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the spotlight state exhibit. “I was stumped for a minute when I got to Q but then I remembered we’ve got bee producers who grow queen bees. Georgia is fortunate enough to have two land-grant universities, UGA and Fort Valley State. They’re both exhibiting in this building and have separate buildings so be sure to visit them to see what they’re doing to help farmers. We’re also got ABAC, which is a landmark of Georgia agriculture.”
Outside the spotlight building, Expo travelers could rest at umbrella-shaded picnic tables or relax in cushioned swings hanging from white pergolas set against scenic backdrops of a Georgia citrus grove or apple orchard. Photo murals of pecan and peach orchards and an antique farm truck offered other photo opportunities.
Hamilton named Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year
Pictured from left, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp & Sunbelt Ag Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock congratulate Kent & Pam Hamilton on being named the 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year, as Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper offers congratulations. /Photo by Jennifer Whittaker
Georgia’s Kent Hamilton, CEO of Southern Valley Fruit & Vegetable, Inc., a family farm based in Norman Park, Ga., accepted the title of 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern farmer of the Year during the annual Willie B. Withers Luncheon on Oct. 14. During a moving, heartfelt speech, Hamilton dedicated the honor to his late brother, Kirk, who died from a farming accident when the two were just beginning to farm 38 years ago. Hamilton also thanked his wife, Pam, his children and extended family members and farm employees.
Southern Valley grows green beans, cabbage, trellis cucumbers, a variety of peppers and squash, sweet corn, trellis pickles and eggplant. The Hamiltons also run a herd of 100 beef cattle. The farm cultivates more than 8,500 acres in Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Kent is a former president of the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association.
“This is an honor I wasn’t expecting because every farmer standing on this stage has an outstanding operation and is deserving of this award. I started farming with my uncle and my late brother, Kirk, in a row crop operation centered on cotton, peanuts and tobacco,” Hamilton said. “After my brother and father’s deaths, I partnered with my late mother, and we strategically changed our focus to vegetables and expanded to ensure year-round production. This is truly a family business, and I want to acknowledge the role that everyone in the family and our many dedicated employees play in making our farm a success.”
Kent and Pam have four adult children – Courtney, Kaylee, Austin and Presley. Courtney, Austin and Presley work for the farm along with Kent’s cousins and their children. Kaylee is a nurse.
Hamilton was chosen from farmers from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. As the overall winner, Hamilton received $15,000, the use of a Massey Ferguson tractor for a year or 250 hours, a Hays Smoker Grill, a Henry Repeating Arms special edition rifle and a diesel package from Howos. Each state winner received $2,500 and an expense-paid trip to the Expo.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp participated in many of Expo’s first day festivities, including the awards lunch. During remarks at the opening ceremony and the awards lunch, Gov. Kemp acknowledged that many Georgia farmers are still recovering from damage caused by Hurricane Helene last year and are contending with hard economic circumstances.
“I’m honored to be here with you all today to spotlight agriculture. Georgia farmers and timber growers have had an incredibly tough year. Rest assured your state partners see you and are working to help you,” Kemp said during the opening ceremony. “The ongoing efforts of recovery make this event so important as it showcases the solutions to many of the problems that farmers and timber owners are facing.”
During the awards lunch, Kemp thanked members of the Georgia General Assembly for passing legislation this year that provides tax credits to help timber producers replant trees and exempts materials farmers need to rebuild poultry houses and other livestock structures damaged by Helene.
Another highlight of opening day was a ribbon cutting to dedicate the permanent building for the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). Staff from PCOM South Georgia, located in Moultrie, and other health organizations, like the Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance, were on hand throughout Expo to provide basic health screenings like blood pressure tests and basic counseling.
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