GFB News Magazine
Leadership GFB members enjoy farm tours & sharpen media skills
by Heather King
GFB Women’s Leadership Coordinator
Posted on September 29, 2026 8:14 AM
The 2026 Leadership GFB Class held its third session in Middle Georgia with a full day of farm tours on June 10 and immersive media training at the Georgia Farm Bureau headquarters in Macon the next day.
The farm tours began at Patten Seed Company and Super-Sod, where attendees learned about the company’s turf production and watched a demonstration of self-driving equipment provided by Ag Technologies. Super-Sod has incorporated autonomous tractors into repetitive field operations such as mowing and tilling to help address labor shortages and keep equipment operating efficiently. Rather than purchasing entirely new machines, Ag Technologies retrofits existing tractors with autonomous driving technology, allowing farmers to modernize their current equipment while reducing labor demands.
The second stop on the farm tour was Fort Valley State University’s College of Agriculture, where the group toured the college’s cold storage and meat processing facilities. FVSU's Meat Technology Center is USDA inspected. It is open to the public and provides processing services for smaller producers who may not have access to small scale processing options. The center processes goats, sheep, cattle and swine, offering services such as slaughter, carcass processing, and value-added product development.
The farm tour ended at Barrington LLC outside Montezuma, where Pete Gelber gave an in-depth tour of his dairy farm and discussed the daily operations of the more than 10,000-acre farm that is home to about 13,500 dairy cows that produce about 1.3 million pounds of milk a day. Gelber and his son, Richard, grow corn, wheat and millet to produce silage fed to the cattle.
Pete is the 2026 Georgia Sunbelt Expo Farmer of the Year and is one of seven farmers from the Southeast in the running for the regional Sunbelt Expo award to be announced Oct. 20.
In addition to receiving media training, Leadership GFB participants learned about the many programs the organization offers and its daily operations.
We’d like to extend thanks to all three tour stops for welcoming us and GFB staff who offered presentations and training!
GFB Women’s Leadership Coordinator Heather King and GFB Young Farmers & Ranchers Coordinator Levi Davis are coordinating Leadership GFB. They may be reached at hcking@gfb.org and ledavis@gfb.org.
Fort Valley State University Agriculture Program Assistant Ryan Golphin gives Leadership GFB participants a tour of the university’s cold storage and meat processing facilities. /Photo by GFB staff
2026 Georgia Sunbelt Expo Farmer of the Year Pete Gelber, center, welcomed members of the Leadership GFB class to Barrington LLC in June. Pictured from left are GFB YF&R Coordinator Levi Davis, Toni Gaines, Owen Paulk, Gregg Hendrix, Sara Beth Studstill, Gelber, Mattie Boyles, Garrett Hart, Luke Andrews, Liz Danforth, Angie Roberts and GFB WLC Coordinator Heather King. /Photo by GFB staff