Ag News
National & Georgia Ag Weeks celebrate farmers
Posted on Mar 11, 2026 at 13:44 PM
From March through June, Georgia farmers will harvest strawberries, Vidalia onions and blueberries. First cuttings of hay for livestock will be harvested. Many farmers are beginning to plant corn, and in May and June, they will plant their peanut, cotton and soybean crops. Dairy cows are being milked multiple times a day, table eggs are being picked up daily and cattle and chickens are being raised.
Georgia’s agricultural community have two weeks to celebrate all things agriculture. National Agriculture Week is March 15-21, and Georgia Ag Awareness Week is March 23-29. National Ag Day is March 24.
“With spring beginning and the earth coming back to life, March is the perfect time for Georgia’s agricultural community to celebrate and promote agriculture to consumers and students. Farmers keep us fed, clothed and housed. Farmers protect the natural resources of soil, water and wildlife on their farms. American farmers growing our food is a matter of national security,” Georgia Farm Bureau President Tom McCall said. “As a society, we depend on farmers every day. Hopefully, the many activities our county Farm Bureaus will carry out in their communities these next two weeks will make a positive impression about the importance of agriculture that lasts a lifetime.”
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics show that Georgia farmers play a big role in feeding us. According to USDA statistics for 2024, Georgia farmers are the top peanut producers in the United States growing half the peanuts grown in our country, with most used to make peanut butter and snacks. Georgia farmers lead the nation in growing broilers, the chickens used to make our favorite chicken sandwiches, tenders and wings. In 2024, Georgia pecan growers also ranked first in the U.S. in pecan production.
Georgia ranked second nationally in production of cotton, cottonseed and watermelons in 2024. Georgia ranked third in the U.S. for production of blueberries, peaches and bell peppers in 2024, and fifth for cucumber production, according to USDA data.
We can also thank Georgia farmers for growing timber to house us. Georgia consistently ranks as the top forestry state in the nation.
Most Georgians are multiple generations removed from the farm, so Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) offers a video that highlights Georgia agriculture. If you are interested in learning more about the crops and livestock grown in Georgia visit https://gfb.ag/gaagvideo.
Visit www.gfb.ag/agweek2026 for a variety of free 2026 Ag Week resources about blueberries Georgia Farm Bureau offers for students. Visit www.gfb.org/learn/about-georgia-ag to download ag resources including coloring sheets, educational videos, no-bake recipes and more that explore other Georgia ag crops and livestock.
Georgia agriculture feeds and clothes us, but it also benefits our state economy. Agriculture and related industries contributed $100.4 billion to Georgia’s economy in 2024, according to the University of Georgia’s 2024 Georgia Farm Gate Value Report (FGV).
The Top 10 commodities Georgia farmers produced in 2024 were: broilers ($6.1 billion); beef ($1.2 billion); eggs ($1 billion); peanuts ($877.9 million); greenhouse nurseries ($863.2 million); cotton ($770.4 million); timber ($655.6 million); dairy ($469.3 million); corn ($382.8 million) and
blueberries ($382.7 million), according to the 2024 FGV report compiled by UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental economists from data collected by UGA Extension agents.
Food and fiber production and the process of getting the raw materials to consumers contributed more than 370,400 jobs for Georgians in 2024, the UGA report shows. Agricultural careers include crop and livestock research, engineering, precision ag specialists, software and IT work, agribusiness management, marketing, food product development and safety, processing, retailing, ag teachers, banking, bioenergy, livestock veterinarians and others.
Besides providing our basic needs and driving Georgia’s economy, farmers also protect the environment. Farmers prevent soil erosion and water runoff by planting cover crops and using minimum tillage methods like no-till or strip-till to plant their crops. These conservation tillage methods reduce the amount of fuel farmers use and sequester carbon in the soil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Farmers use about 50% less fertilizer to produce a bushel of corn, wheat or soybeans than they did in 1980, the USDA reports. Farmers can do this by using GPS, sensors, field mapping software and tractors equipped with precision ag technology. These practices allow farmers to apply only the fertilizer and crop protectants that they absolutely need to grow a healthy crop.
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