October 17, 2012
www.gfb.org
Vol. 30 No. 42
HIGHWAY SAFETY, INNOVATIONS HIGHLIGHT SUNBELT EXPO The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition celebrated its 35th anniversary, and the Oct. 16 opening day of the annual event in Colquitt County featured numerous celebrations as well as a push for highway safety. Pulaski County farmer Barry Martin represented Georgia as the state’s Swisher Sweets Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition Farmer of the Year, one of 10 state winners on hand to be honored with the traditional green jacket and a crystal ice bucket. Dale McLellan, a hay, corn and oats producer from Thonotosassa, Fla., was named the Southeastern Farmer of the Year during the Willie B. Withers Sunbelt Ag Expo Luncheon. The luncheon featured remarks from Gov. Nathan Deal and Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama, the 2012 Sunbelt Expo spotlight state. “Agriculture is still the No. 1 industry in Georgia, accounting for about 10 percent of our overall economic activity. It employs thousands of people in various aspects of both direct agriculture and agribusiness and related activities,” Deal said. “The Expo is one of those opportunities to showcase exactly what is happening in this very important industry for the Sunbelt states of our nation.” At the Georgia Agriculture Building, GFB collected signatures from visitors in the Stop the Flood of Regulation campaign, aimed at limiting EPA regulations harmful to agriculture. GFB and the Georgia Department of Agriculture also conducted a number of combined cooking demonstrations and a Coke and peanut social hosted by Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black and GFB President Zippy Duvall. Deal, Black, Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Director Harris Blackwood and Duvall held a press conference urging Georgians to be aware of farm vehicles on the road during the harvest season, marking the second year of the “Improving Georgia’s Yield Behind the Wheel” campaign. Deal cautioned Georgia drivers to reduce their highway speeds, while Duvall urged farmers to make sure their warning triangles are prominently displayed and maintained to maximize visibility and asked them to refrain from driving farm vehicles on the road before sunrise or after sunset. “As farmers, we have a responsibility not only to provide food and fiber for this state, this country and this world, but we have a responsibility to our communities, our neighbors, our friends and our families to make sure we do our part to ensure safety on the roads,” Duvall said. Blackwood noted that in 2011 there were 401 crashes involving farm vehicles on the state’s highways, resulting in 138 injuries and five fatalities. One of those was Colquitt County teenager Jacob Sutton, whose parents, James and Ellen Sutton, shared their experience to promote awareness of highway safety in hopes other families will be spared the loss they’ve experienced.