Photo: Jay Stone
April 1, 2021
www.gfb.org
Vol. 3 No. 7
SEN. WARNOCK TOURS SOUTHWEST GEORGIA FARMS Sen. Raphael Warnock shared that he puts peanuts in his Coke. He marveled at the process through which raw cotton becomes clothing. He climbed on farm equipment and dined outside. Mostly he listened and got a one-day course on Georgia agriculture on March 31, hearing from numerous farm stakeholder organizations while touring six Southwest Georgia farms. The ag tour, which Warnock said was his first tour since taking office, allowed producers of a wide array of commodities and from a variety of social backgrounds to share information about their crops and voice concerns about issues they face. At a kick-off breakfast at Fort Valley State University, Georgia Farm Bureau President Tom McCall introduced Warnock to leaders from several Georgia commodity groups, including Georgia Milk Producers, Georgia Poultry Federation, Georgia Cattlemen’s Association, Georgia Forestry Association, Georgia Peanut Commission, Georgia Agribusiness Council, Georgia Pecan Commission, and Georgia Peach Growers. “Farm Bureau has a foot in the door with Sen. Warnock now after meeting with him and all the ag leaders in the state. We let him know that we are ready to work with him,” McCall said. “Since he is on the ag committee, and he is chairman of a subcommittee that deals with trade and risk management and commodities, it’s a very important thing that we need to be able to get to know him and communicate with him.” Warnock was accompanied by long-time Georgia Farm Bureau friend Rep. Sanford Bishop on the tour, which included stops at Minor Farms in Sumter County, Olam Peanut Shellers in Lee County, Lee Cotton Gin in Terrell County, Century Pecan Groves in Lee County, Davis Farm in Colquitt County and Warrior Creek Farms in Worth County Warnock said he made a point of lobbying for a seat on the Senate Committee for Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. “I wanted the first tour we did to be an ag tour,” Warnock said. “There’s no more important part of our economic viability as a state than the agricultural sector.” At Minor Farms, fruit and vegetable growers discussed international trade, access to labor, estate taxes and broadband connectivity with Warnock, who also sits on the Senate Committee for Commerce. Warnock voiced concerns over closures of rural Georgia hospitals in recent years and said the state’s expansion of Medicaid could have health and economic implications for rural -continued on next page