August 17, 2011
www.gfb.org
Vol. 29 No. 33
CHILDS HONORED DURING GFB COMMODITY CONFERENCE Long-time Georgia Farm Bureau volunteer Donald Childs was recognized with the 2011 GFB Commodity Award and American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist Bob Young gave commodity committee members an update on the progress toward the 2012 farm bill during the annual GFB Commodity Conference at the Georgia Center on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens on Aug. 11. Currently vice president of Jackson County Farm Bureau, Childs served on the GFB Board of Directors from 1979 to 2008, including a stint as North Georgia vice president from 1984 to 2008 and 1st vice president from 19942008. He has also been instrumental in securing prizes for the GFB Hay Contest. “I really didn’t do any of the things I’ve done for an award,” Childs said. “It’s a great organization. I’m proud to have been a part of it. I hope I can be a part of it for many more years.” In addition to his work with Farm Bureau, Childs has served on the Ag Advisory Committee for the Jackson County School System and various other organizations. “We’re very honored to be able to recognize somebody that’s meant so much to our organization and to Georgia agriculture,” GFB President Zippy Duvall said. Young said that funding for the USDA’s direct payments in particular are likely to be cut. Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black spoke during lunch at the conference, which kicks off GFB’s annual policy development process with meetings of all 20 of the organization’s commodity committees. UGA CAES Dean Scott Angle told conference attendees that student enrollment in the college is a bright spot for the college in these times of bad budget news. “One thing that’s gone really well for the college in the last six years is we’ve got our numbers up to 1,900, and I think enrollment will be over 2,000 for the coming year,” Angle said. “We’ve done this by recruiting students at a young age and adopting a transfer policy that helps us get students into UGA. We look to see if students have a 4-H or FFA background that indicates they really have an interest in agriculture and will stay in our college.” Angle advised parents and grandparents with students interested in attending CAES to have the students start working to meet UGA entrance requirements in junior high or at least by the first two years of high school. “It’s really hard to get into UGA and that’s not going to change because it’s campus policy.” Committee members took tours of UGA’s agricultural research facilities.