GFB News Magazine

Hamilton named Georgia Expo Farmer of the Year

Posted on August 27, 2025 11:55 PM

Georgia Farmer of the Year Kent Hamilton/ Photo courtesy of Sunbelt Expo

Kent Hamilton, a Colquitt County vegetable producer and CEO of Southern Valley Fruit & Vegetable, Inc. is the 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Georgia Farmer of the Year.

Hamilton and farmers from six other states are vying to be selected this year’s Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year. He and farmers from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia will be honored during a lunch on opening day of Sunbelt Expo on Oct. 14 in Moultrie. The overall winner, to be announced at the lunch, will receive $15,000, the use of a Massey Ferguson tractor for a year and other prizes. Each state winner will receive $2,500 and other prizes.

Southern Valley, based in Norman Park, grows green beans, cabbage, trellis cucumbers, a variety of peppers and squash, sweet corn, trellis pickles and eggplant. The family-owned farm also owns 100 head of cows. The farm cultivates more than 8,500 acres in Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

“I started farming 38 years ago with my uncle and my late brother, Kirk, in a row crop operation centered on cotton, peanuts, and tobacco,” Hamilton said. “Over time, we’ve strategically changed our focus to vegetables and expanded to ensure year-round productivity and to grow crops in regions with favorable seasonal climates.”

Hamilton’s brother died in a farming accident during their first year of farming and their father, Benny, died not long after. Hamilton’s mother, Wanda, who died in June, joined forces with him and together they nurtured what would become a well-respected name in fresh produce.

Hamilton and his wife, Pam, have three adult children - Courtney, Austin and Presley – who work for the family farm along with his cousins and their children.

Hamilton is the current Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association president.

The UGA Cooperative Extension coordinates the selection of the Georgia Expo Farmer of the Year. Colquitt County Extension Coordinator Jeremy Kichler nominated Hamilton.

Returning Sunbelt Expo Farm Program sponsors for 2025 are: Harper Family Holdings, the Alabama Farmers Federation, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Florida Farm Bureau, Georgia Farm Bureau, North Carolina Farm Bureau, South Carolina Farm Bureau, Virginia Farm Bureau. New sponsors for 2025 include the Georgia Association of Conservation Districts, the Alabama Association of Conservation Districts, Ag Georgia Farm Credit, Ag South Farm Credit and SouthWest Georgia Farm Credit.