2013 Community Pride Agriculture

2013 Community

Pride

Agriculture

Bulloch County farmers lead the way

community pride 2013

2 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 24, 2013 | statesboroherald.com

Agriculture

Hopeulikit farming: A family affair Chamber selects Ellis family for annual honor

By HOLLI DEAL BRAGG hbragg@statesboroherald.com

The Grayson Ellis family, which operates a farm in Hopeulikit that has been in the family for generations, was named the 2012 Farm Family of the Year in Bulloch County.

Surrounded by family farmland, catfish ponds, and good neighbors, the Ellis family continues a way of life that has been passed down from fathers to sons for years.

A farmer’s son of a farmer’s son of a farmer’s son, Ellis works the farm like his father before him, and does so with his sons, Benji and Matt, by his side.

The women in the family work just as hard.

Grayson Ellis’ wife Becky and their daughter Tara also embrace the farm life that has sustained their family for years, and the partnerships between the family members, along with the success of their farming endeavors, are reasons the family was given the honor by the Statesboro-Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce agribusiness committee.

“I grew up on a farm,” Grayson Ellis said. His father, John Paul Ellis, also operated a grocery store in Hopeulikit — a

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Grayson and Becky Ellis, left, sons Benji, 30, bottom right, and Marc, 26, and daughter Tara, 33, of Ellis & Sons Farms were named "Farm Family of the Year" during a Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Committee luncheon at the Bulloch County Center for Agriculture in November of 2012. bustling business in the “fork in the road” where U.S. 80 and Ga. 25 split, in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Ellis left the family farm when he entered the military after being drafted in the late 1960’s. He

fought in the Viet Nam war, and when he returned home, it was to farm.

It was a life he knew and loved, he said.

The grocery store was booming, but “Daddy needed me on the farm

full time,” he said. Back then, the Ellis family raised a great deal of hogs — both brood sows and feeder pigs. “We also had soybeans and peanuts” among other crops such as corn. “That was before cotton came back.”

Cotton has returned as king of the south’s crops, but farming has made some major changes over the years, he said.

When plowing fields was once the way to keep weeds away, now the problem is controlled by chemicals, he said.

Technology has arrived at the farm.

“Now we have all these high-tech computer systems” that control irrigation and other farming chores. “It makes it better for us, because it saves time and money too.”

Strip tilling is another thing that has changed the face of farming.

Instead of completely harrowing leftover debris from the last crop, farmers save time and energy now by using the strip till method — planting crops among stubble from previous crops, which also helps conserve moisture and adds nutrients back into the soil.

The Ellis family is no longer a major hog producer, and a brief venture in catfish farming has

also fallen to the wayside, he said.

“The hog market dropped, and the catfish farming was good for the first two or three years.”

But when the price of feed rose, “It cut the bottom line out and we couldn’t make any money at it.”

No worries — there is plenty of other work on the farm to keep the Ellises busy. “Every time I have a minute, there is always something else to do,” he said. The charm of the farm life is “You work for yourself. I’m the boss man now. It’s nice to be your own boss. It’s a hard life, but a good life too.

You have to take it all in stride, and I’ll farm as long as I can make a living at it.”

Farming Ellis style means everyone gets involved. Tara is now a school teacher, but did her share of work growing up on the family place.

Matt and Benji still work alongside of their father, making a living in the family tradition.

Becky is a vital part of the glue that keeps it all together. Being a farm wife “Takes a lot of dedication,” she said. “I cook lunch for the boys, and when I am in the field helping, I just pick some-

thing up. I do a lot of running, picking up parts, keeping books, packing cotton — wherever they need me.”

Dur ing summer months Becky Ellis “puts up” a lot of vegetables for the family to enjoy year round; corn, peas, squash, tomatoes and other things that appear in the family garden. “I can a lot. We grow a lot of garden crops.”

It’s a family affair, and “We enjoy it,” she said.

“Without the Lord’s work, we couldn’t do it. It’s such a rewarding life. When you get that feeling when you plant something and look back when it’s grown and see what all you’ve done, it’s a rewarding feeling.”

Becky and Grayson Ellis have been married 43 years, and she said she expects the farm life to continue, expecting to see the family tradition being passed down through her children to grandchildren in the future.

The family unity in working the farm is reflective of what makes a farm family successful, and is likely a major contributing factor in the Ellises being named 2012 Farm Family of the Year.

Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.

Bulloch County Historical Farms (www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com) ➤ SOL AKINS FARM

Registered 1990 Location: Old Register Road, off US 301 South, 1.2 miles from Statesboro Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, built by Solomon Akins Period of Significance: 1850-1874, 1875-1899, 1900-1924 Historic Function: Agriculture/Subsistence/ Domestic Historic Sub-function: Agricultural outbuildings, single dwelling

➤ DR. JOHN C. NEVIL HOUSE

Registered 1989 Location: U. S. 301 South, Register Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, late Victorian built by Butler Barr Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949 Historic Function: Agriculture/Subsistence, Domestic, Health Care Historic Sub-function: Medical Business/Office, Processing, single Dwelling

➤ WILLIAM W. OLLIFF FARM

Registered 1987 Location: New Hope Rd., Register Historic Significance: Person, Architecture/Engineering, Italianate built by Edward Ringwald Historic Person: Olliff,William W. “Bill” Area of Significance: Agriculture, Architecture, Transportation, Commerce Period of Significance: 1850-1874, 1875-1899 Historic Function: Agriculture/Subsistence, Domestic Historic Sub-function: Agricultural outbuildings, processing, single dwelling, storage

COMMUNITY PRIDE 2013

statesboroherald.com | Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 24, 2013 – 3

Agriculture

Farm Day 2012

Chamber, other sponsors introduce kids to farm life

Children from the Boys & Girls club wait their turn to try out a tractor during the 2012 Farm Day's event at the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds.

By JEFF HARRISON jharrison@statesboroherald.com

Farm living was the life for about 350 area youngsters in June of 2012, who spent the better part of the day immersed in an environment of tractors, livestock and produce.

For the second consecutive year, the StatesboroBulloch Chamber of Commerce’s Agribusiness Committee — with help from Ogeechee Technical College, AgSouth, Keep Bulloch Beautiful, Farmers and Merchants Bank and the Kiwanis Club — invited area children taking part in local summer camps to get a frontline, hands-on introduction to the importance of agriculture in Bulloch County and the region.

Campers with the

Photos by SCOTT BRYANT/staff Statesboro-Bulloch Parks and Recreation Department and the Boys and Girls Club of Bulloch County made their way to the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds for the committee’s second annual Farm Day. Prekindergarten through fifth-grade campers took part in the event as a way to improve their knowledge of a business and lifestyle that has long been at the heart of Bulloch County.

“Our main goal is to raise agricultural awareness within the community. Kids are the most impressionable group of people in Bulloch County, and they are the ones who know the least about agriculture,” said Katie Stringer Page, cochairwoman for the event.

“They don’t always know that eggs come from chick-

en, or that their clothes come from cotton — which are all produced right here.

So we host this event to help them gain an understanding.”

The key to garnering that knowledge, Page said, is having an opportunity to learn, not from television or chapters in a textbook, but by seeing, touching and doing.

To accomplish that goal, the committee set up 12 stations around the fairgrounds, each dedicated to showcasing a different aspect of agricultural life.

In a far corner of the grounds, children walked through an area filled with livestock — where they had a chance to look at or interact with cows, chickens, ducks, rabbits and a goat. A short walk away, two build-

ings were reserved to teach the kids about area crops and their importance to the local economy.

There, kids identified cotton, butterbean bushes, corn, soy beans and more — often playing games that rewarded them for recognizing plants the quickest.

At other locations, campers put to work their own green thumbs — first learning about seeds and how to properly plant them, then digging in and sowing their crop.

Forestry personnel were on hand to display various items produced with indigenous trees — items that range from chewing gum and toilet paper to toothpaste and lumber.

Other visitors showcased tractors and harvesters —

Left, Jeremy Park, 9, learns how to shell purple hole peas during the 2012 Farm Days event at the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fairgrounds.

Right, Caleb Morgan, 8, left,examines the roots of a pine tree seedling while learning about the forest industry from Connor Sullivan of American Forest Management.

Bottom, Angela Todd of Delray Farms in Claxton teaches youths about raising chickens during 2012 Farms Days.

in most cases, letting the kids take turns behind the wheel of the parked vehicles — and taught the importance of safety. Georgia Power Co. conducted demonstrations on electrical safety while forestry employees taught children how to prevent forest fires.

“The children learn a lot and they really enjoy it,” said Andrea Whitfield, cochairwoman of the event.

“They get real excited about seeing the animals and checking out each station. It is a great community event.

“We feel like the kids really need to be exposed to agriculture,” she said. “It is one of the biggest industries here in Bulloch County. They get exposed to it some in school, but we wanted to give them a really hands-on learning experi-

ence — get them out here with tractors, handling crops and planting seeds.”

Other activities for campers included a station for making healthy snacks — where they baked apples and shelled peas — an area to paint a mural that featured things learned throughout the day, and a station to hear about the life cycle of a chicken (from a lecture and video presented by chicken farmers from Claxton).

Organizers say the event, like last year’s, was a great success and received enthusiastic reviews from campers.

The committee hopes to host the event again next year.

Jeff Harrison may be reached at (912) 489-9454.

community pride 2013

4 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 24, 2013 | statesboroherald.com

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COMMUNITY PRIDE 2013

statesboroherald.com | Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 24, 2013 – 5

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COMMUNITY PRIDE 2013

6 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 24, 2013 | statesboroherald.com

Agriculture

Profits fuel interest in new technology At Blanchard Equipment, the future arrives in John Deere green

By Al Hackle Herald Writer

After record crop yields in the area last year, 2013 could easily be a banner year for farm equipment sales.

Dealers such as David Brown, store manager at Blanchard Equipment in Statesboro, are hearing increased interest from farmers able to invest in new technology.

“2012 was the best I’ve ever seen as far as crops,” Brown said. “Cotton, peanuts, corn and soybeans – all were good crops.”

Blanchard Equipment is the local dealer for John Deere equipment. The corporation’s trademarked green paint predominates on the big machines that whir through the region’s fields, especially on combines and cotton pickers at harvest time.

Cotton, grown on more than 50,000 acres in Bulloch County alone, continues to be the area’s leading row crop. Prices dropped in 2012 from record highs in 2011 but remained high enough for many farmers to earn strong profits on record volume.

They will need the cash

— and probably good credit as well — if they purchase high-end new equipment such as the John Deere 7760 cotton picker. This six-row picker presses and rolls the harvested cotton into round modules, wrapping them into bright yellow plastic sheeting for protection. The modules are eight feet long and seven-and-a-half feet in diameter and, according to information available at www.deere.com, they weigh about 5,000 pounds each.

Not to be confused with a bale, which is a unit of cotton after it has been deseeded and cleaned at the gin, a module is a compressed mass of harvested cotton with the seeds still in.

With the technology that has dominated cotton harvesting for more than a decade, cotton is dumped from a picker into a “boll buggy” and transported behind a tractor to a “module builder,” a compactor roughly the size and shape of a mobile home.

Controlled by an operator from a seat at one end, the builder produces a rectangular module than can yield 15 or 16 bales, which is then pulled aboard a special truck for delivery to the gin.

So the John Deere 7760 eliminates some steps by building the round modules aboard the picker while it moves down the rows. Each round module contains only the equivalent of four bales, but the same trucks can then haul four at a time, instead of a single rectangular module.

“That’s been out about three years now and that’s gained a lot of popularity,” Brown said. “It saves the farmer from having a module builder and boll buggy, and it’s a one-man operation for picking cotton.”

The onboard wrapping, he said, also reduces losses of cotton.

As of 2012, four of the John Deere round-module pickers were in use in Bulloch County. Price is definitely a

consideration. A “Build Your Own” pricing feature available at Deer.com lists a suggested base price of $791,084 for a new 7760.

“Cotton prices will dictate because it’s an expensive machine,” Brown said. “The acres to justify, a lot of people in our area don’t farm that many acres. So it lends itself to some custom picking and maybe some joint ownership of the machine.”

In other words, two or more farms could own one together and share, which certainly isn’t a new idea among farmers. Or an owner could offset the cost by picking other growers’ cotton for a fee.

Another farm equipment trend in which John Deere is claiming its share is the use of Global Positioning System

technology. This is no longer a new or experimental concept. Local farmers are using GPS to guide tractors, sprayers and other machines every workday.

John Deere calls its GPS systems AMS, for Ag Management Solutions. An AMS guidance system serves as an autopilot for tractors, so that all a driver usually needs to do is turn the rig around at the row ends. Once pointed back down the field, the system holds the rows parallel to the last pass, often exceeding the ability of human drivers.

“It keeps a straight row,” Brown said. “You don’t have to have row markers and it takes all the struggle out of driving a tractor on a daily basis.”

AMS equipment is also used for yield-mapping and targeted application of fertilizer and chemicals.

Equipment aboard a combine or picker records the yield of the field on a precise grid. With follow-up analysis of soil samples, this can then be used to apply more fertilizer in weak spots, with AMS technology also guiding variable-rate applicators.

The signals available for civilian use from GPS satel-

lites give less precise coordinates than needed for farming. Blanchard Equipment has built a network of 30 antenna towers throughout its market region that supply corrective signals. With these, the system provides “subinch” precision, Brown said.

Lyn Perkins, Blanchard Equipment’s AMS specialist, has received special training and keeps up with technological developments.

Blanchard Equipment in Statesboro is located at 201 Stockyard Road. Founded in 1990 as Bulloch Equipment, the dealership was purchased in 1997 by Phillip Blanchard of Waynesboro. Brown has been store manager since 1994 and was part over of Bulloch Equipment.

From the John Deere dealership his father, Hammond Blanchard, purchased in Waynesboro in 1957, Phillip Blanchard has expanded the business to include nine locations: Waynesboro, Statesboro, Louisville, Swainsboro and Tennille in Georgia; and Hampton, Orangeburg, St. Matthews and St. George in South Carolina. The company employs more than 150 people, including 29 at the Statesboro store.

Company to design multipurpose arena

Long-awaited project may soon come to fruition for county

By HOLLI DEAL BRAGG hbragg@statesboroherald.com

After over a dozen years, a multipurpose agricultural arena may come into reality now that Bulloch County Commissioners have hired a firm to come up with a feasible and affordable design.

Bulloch Coun t y Manager Tom Couch s a i d Pop u l o u s Inc., of Kn ox v i l l e , Tenn., will Couch begin crafting a design proposal for a 50,000-square-foot “mixed use, open sided” agricultural arena which will be multipurpose.

Plans for the arena, to be built next to the Bulloch County Center for Agriculture on Langston Chapel Road, have been in the works for about 14 years.

When the original proposal came about, commissioners then were met with some public concern about $6.1 million in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax set aside for what some called a “horse arena.”

Commissioners clarified then that the arena would not only serve the equine sector,

but would be used for trade shows, livestock events, car, truck and boat shows, industrial expositions, concerts, farmer’s markets and more.

Couch said nine firms applied for the project, and three were interviewed by a committee of c o u n t y em p l oye e s , Gibson with “input from (commissioners) Walter Gibson and Roy Thompson.” The group recommended Populous Inc. for the arena design.

Populous will “negotiate a contract for the first phase”of the arena construction if the commission is pleased with Thompson the design study, which will cost county taxpayers $52,270 plus reimbursable expenses such as travel, lodging and meals, according to information given to Couch

by Bulloch County Parks and Recreations Director Mike Rollins.

The arena is to include minimum seating, restrooms,

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concession areas, parking, exhibit space and stalls. The project may take longer to complete than the annex design because of wetlands and space limitations at the Langston Chapel Road property, Couch said.

Populous will “do a longterm master plan for the sites and develop a construction program for the initial stages,” Couch said. “If we are pleased with their work, we will in all likelihood offer them a contract for full design. Predesign should take two to three months because the firms have to consult users as well as staff and commissioners.”

Out of the original $6.1 million in 2007 SPLOST funds set aside for the arena project, only $4.1 million is left. The original sum was “in the referendum, but only about 90-92 percent of the total 2002 SPLOST came in because the local economy didn't fully recover until 2005-06,” he said.

Also, Couch said in an interview in 2012 that in 2009, he “recommended $2 million be transferred to other projects” in addition to expenses.

Expenses for the current agricultural office complex, (Bulloch County Center for Agriculture), as well as a road connecting U.S. Highway 301 South and Langston Chapel Road, were deducted from the original sum, as were expenses for previous feasibility studies conducted in prior years and fees for “Hussey, Gay, Bell and DeYoung and other consultants drawing up plans” with estimates that far exceeded budgeted funds, Couch said.

Populous has stated the arena should be able to be constructed within budget.

Spokesmen for the firm “seemed very confident that $4.1 million would go a long way. They have done 105 (agricultural) arenas of varying size around the country,” Couch said.

The proposed multipurpose arena would be used for a wide range of events, including equipment shows, trade shows, gun and knife shows, concerts, exhibitions,

fresh vegetable and produce markets, and more, he said.

Project history Voters passed a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum in 1997, specifically for funding the project.

Just under $6.4 million in revenue was collected, but after expenditures for planning and pre-design work for an indoor and outdoor arena, $6.14 million remained at that time.

Further expenses were incurred later for other studies. The project was placed on hold and revisited in 2005, when a second feasibility study was done, Couch said.

This study found a possibility of short-term negative operating deficits, “though they seemed less likely for the multi-purpose arena than the multi-purpose indoor facility.”

A design concept drafted in Nov. 2007 projected a projected capital outlay of $15 million. “At that time, the County abandoned further planning and design in order to consider redefining the scope of the project to more affordable levels,” he said.

The current Bulloch County Commission feels a suitable arena can be built within budget. The remaining $4.1 million should be adequate to design a multipurpose facility that suited the plans an original steering committee produced shortly after the project was suggested, he said.

The biggest concern in past discussions have been about the project has been whether it will be self-supporting, he said. Earlier feasibility studies predicted a short term deficit in operating costs, but commissioners have heard reports giving data proving other, similar facilities around the state and in adjacent states stay booked year round.

The earlier quotes for an arena were excessive and likely alarmed commissioners on the board at the time, Couch has said. When the original budget was only just over $6 million, inflated capital out-

lay projections that “ballooned from “$7 million for all three facilities up to $15 million just for an arena” were indeed unsettling.

During interviews last year, Couch said the jump in proposed costs was “due, in our opinion, to poor advice given by various consultants who always seemed to have reason to expand the scope or costs beyond what was desired and contemplated.

“Feeling that $4.1 million is adequate to fulfill the steering committee’s original concept for an arena, we would prefer to give that concept over to a trustworthy design professional and give them the charge to get the most out of available funds, after we know we can support any operating deficits.”

Populous, Inc. was the design company that won the bid in December.

During discussion about the arena project in previous years, Commissioner Ray Mosley said “I see a lot of other events that could take place there — 4-H, farmers markets, boat and car shows.”

Bulloch County Commission Chairman Garrett Nevil agreed.

“It can serve many purposes,” he said. He has visited many similar facilities across the state. “I envision a covered arena with low overhead, and high marketability …. that does not have to be heated or Nevil cooled.”

He said he imagines an open air arena, with fans and lights that would only be used when the facility is in use. He said he would like to see ample parking with RV hookups for exhibitors, and said he could imagine campers filling the lots (at a charge per unit) for events such as bluegrass festivals.

Gainesville has a similar arena, and Nevil said the facility can be used for circuses, rodeos, classic car shows, “a number of events.”

The Gainesville facility stays booked all year except

Christmas and Easter, he said.

“There will be no problem with us keeping it (the Bulloch facility) as busy as we need it.”

The revenue is possible “ if it is done right” and he feels there would be no operating deficit if the arena were marketed and managed correctly, based on what he sees in Gainesville, Perry and other areas with facilities like the one proposed in Bulloch.

“Other (officials in other counties) always emphasize the economic impact on their community,” he said. “They assure us there would be no problem in booking (events).”

People who lease the facilities for animal shows will need stalls, and exhibitors pay rent for those stalls, he said.

Bulloch County Commissioner Anthony Simmons agreed last year the project needs to be completed.

“It has been 14 years — I think we need to move forward,” he said in earlier Simmons inter views.

“It may not be the version first drawn up, but we need to put it on the front burner. It could be used for just about anything you can think of.”

Commissioner Walter Gibson said he supports the construction of an arena, and said since voters passed the referendum and money is in the bank, it’s time to act.

“We want to be sure it will support itself,” he said. “That’s the reason it has been put off.

If we get the right (events booked) it will be self-supporting.”

He said a rodeo sponsored by the Statesboro Kiwanis Club, now in its third year, has proven citizens will support equestrian activities as well as other events. The first year, the club sold over 7,000 tickets to the two-night event, and turned away that many or more people when the stands were full. In 2012, the three-show event was sold out as well.

Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.

COMMUNITY PRIDE 2013

statesboroherald.com | Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 24, 2013 – 7

Agriculture

Farmers Market sees big year in 2012 April kickoff was the beginning of another successful year for popular event

By LINSAY CHENEY lcheney@statesboroherald.com

Spring was in the air in April of 2012, and along with the warmer weather, it brought with it one of the Boro’s favorite annual staples: the Mainstreet Statesboro Farmers’ Market.

If you haven’t yet discovered the Market, an open-air gem held 34 Saturdays out of the year in the Sea Island Bank parking lot in downtown Statesboro, you’ve been missing out on your chance to shop for some of the best locally produced fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, plants, baked goods, crafts and much more from over 40 local vendors.

The Market celebrated its season opening in April, as well as its partnership with Georgia Southern.

Debra Chester, the Mainstreet Statesboro Farmers’ Market manager and chair of the Market’s Community Advisory Board, said Saturday’s “GSU Day” was meant to recognize and appreciate the importance of the Market’s partnership with the college. (GSU president) Dr. Brooks Keel and his wife, Dr. Tammie Schalue, served as honorary Market managers for the day.

“GSU Day at the

what the Market is about, and GSU is a large reason for our success. We have many customers, educational exhibits and enthusiasm from the university.”

The Market places great emphasis on learning about the foods we eat, and this week, the educational exhibits will be hosted by various departments of GSU. The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art present ed its completed “Farmers’ Market” eagle of the Eagle Nation on Parade project, and GSU nursing students were on hand to offer shoppers blood pressure checks.

Elsewhere, Georgia Southern chefs from Eagle Dining and students from the Department of Nutrition provided samples of and suggestions for using Market foods to whip up healthy, economical meals. Representatives from the GSU Museum were also on hand, and the Botanical Garden shared tips on selecting SCOTT BRYANT/staff native plants for your garStatesboro High sophomore Natasha Liston-Beck, 15, uses den. her leg to mix paints while creating a galaxy-themed skirt “Young adults are more during Statesboro High School Day at Mainstreet Farmers aware of the need for Market in September of 2012. healthy foods and easily appreciate the chance to Market provides another said Chester.

“Fresh food, fellowship buy local and seasonal opportunity for the community and the Eagle and showcasing our food,” said Chester. “We Nation to come together,” region’s farm impact is are attempting to share

with them easy ways to prepare foods and make the food more accessible to them.”

The focus on GSU’s involvement and importance to the Market’s success goes beyond the Sea Island Bank parking lot, however. The Market also periodically takes its products to the university, setting up right behind the Williams Center on the GSU campus. In 2012, on-campus markets were held April 3, April 17 and May 1.

During the Farmers Market season, buying online is yet another option, as Statesboro Market 2 Go (www.statesboromarket2go.locallygrown.net) offers shop-

pers the chance to buy from local vendors online and then pick up their groceries in town. Online orders are accepted between Friday and Tuesday each week, and orders may be picked up on Thursdays between 4:30–6:30 p.m. either at Sugar Magnolia Bakery or the M.C. Anderson Recreation Park at the RAC on campus.

With more than 1,200 visitors from six counties each Saturday, the Mainstreet Statesboro Farmers’ Market serves as a regional hub from farmers and shoppers alike, and April's opening celebration included live music, health screenings and snacks.

No One Knows The Country Like We Do ! ®

SCOTT BRYANT/staff

Above, while picking up some tomato plants and herbs, first time gardener Jennifer Prince, right, gets some tips from J.J. Lee of Lee Family Farms during the Downtown Farmers Market in April. Below, Statesboro High junior Nidhi Aggarwal, 16, center left, impresses Lee Grimes with her art work during Statesboro High School Day at Mainstreet Farmers Market during Septeber's Farmers Market. Aggarwal's mother is a fellow Georgia Southern University professor with Grimes.

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COMMUNITY PRIDE 2013

8 – Statesboro herald — Sunday, February 24, 2013 | statesboroherald.com

Agriculture

Bulloch County Farm Gate Values 2011 AGRITOURISM ➤ Camping - 18 acres: annual value $33,000. ➤ Equestrian trail rides – 2,500 acres: annual value – $6,500 ➤ Fishing – 420 acres: annual value - $22,500. ➤ Guide Services – 2,000 acres: annual value - $191,250. ➤ Hayrides – 20 acres: annual value - $10,000. ➤ School tours – 10 acres; annual value - $4,750. ➤ Special attractions, exhibits – one acre; annual value $210,000. ➤ Special event, shows, festivals – one acre: annual value – $175,000.

Total annual – $653,000

FORESTRY and RELATED PRODUCTS ➤ Christmas trees – 10 acres: annual value - $14,000. ➤ Pine straw – 22,000 acres; annual value - $1,760,000. ➤ Timber – one acre; annual value - $7,534,000.

Total annual value – $9,308,000.

FRUITS AND NUTS ➤ Blackberries - one acre; annual value - $5,800. ➤ Blueberries – 14 acres: annual value – $87,780. ➤ Grapes – 25 acres; annual value - $98,050.

Total annual value $13,754,821.

➤ Grapes (wine, juice) – 16 acres: annual value -$60,320.

head: annual value $1,602,594.

➤ Peaches – 20 acres; annual value - $77,000.

➤ Pork, feeder pigs – 1,100 head: annual value - $794,970.

➤ Pecans – 2,900 aces; annual value - $8,804,400.

➤ Pork, finishing – 31,000 head: annual; value - $905,138.

➤ Strawberries – three acres; annual value $74,250.

➤ Quail – 75,000 birds; annual value - $300,000.

Total annual value $9,207,680.

LIVESTOCK AND AQUACULTURE ➤ Beef cattle (finished outside county) – 300 head; annual value - $141,645. ➤ Beef cows – 12,100 head; annual value - $4,706,451. ➤ Beef stockers – 250 head; annual value - $69,525. ➤ Catfish – five pond acres: annual value - $7,276.

➤ Sheep – 150 ewes: annual value - $22,500.

Total annual value $16,772,375.

ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURE

➤ Pork, farrow to finish – 800

➤ Hay – 9,253 acres: annual value - $3,701,200.

➤ Barley – 14 acres: annual value- $3,024.

➤ Greenhouse – 230,000 square feet; annual value $3,210,800.

➤ Sunflower – 328 acres: annual value - $93,480.

Total annual value – $10,937,735.

➤ Horses raised – 650 head: annual value - $1,541,605.

ROW AND FORAGE CROPS

➤ Field Nursery – 50 acres: annual value - $499,200.

➤ Honeybees, colony rental – 700 colonies: annual value $25,031.

➤ Horses (boarding, training, breeding) – 1,750 head: annual value - $6,125,000.

Total annual value – $13,190,860.

➤ Oats – 280 acres: annual value - $58,464.

➤ Turf grass – 1,750 acres: annual value - $5,795,475.

➤ Honeybees, other – one colony: annual value – $120,000.

➤ Broiler/integrator – 3,226,000 birds: annual value $11,968, 819.

➤ Container Nursery – 36 acres: annual value $1,432,260.

➤ Goats – 2,200 nannies; annual value - $330,000.

➤ Honeybees , honey production- 700 colonies; annual value - $80,640.

POULTRY AND EGGS ➤ Broiler/grower – 3,226,000 birds: annual value$1,222,041.

➤ Peanuts – 9,284 acres: annual value - $10,784,294. ➤ Rye – 1,210 acres: annual value - $671,550. ➤ Sorghum – 60 acres; annual value - $27,000.

OTHER ➤ Crop insurance: annual value $2,000,570.

➤ Soybeans – 2,630 acres: annual value - $923,130.

➤ Government payments: $8,245,501.

➤ Straw (wheat and rye) – 3,200 acres: annual value $800,000.

➤ Deer hunting leases285,000 acres: annual value $3,300,000.

➤ Tobacco – 89 acres: annual value - $366,457.

➤ Duck hunting leases – annual value - $8,750.

➤ Wheat – 2,873 acres: annual value - $1,207,097.

➤ Turkey hunting leases – annual value – $200,000.

Total annual value – $77,425,272.

VEGETABLES ➤ Cabbage, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – three acres: annual value - $12,330. ➤ Cantaloupe, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – 40 acres: annual value - $160,000. ➤ Cantaloupe, fall harvest, plastic, drip – 200 acres: annual value - $896,000. ➤ Cantaloupe, fall harvest, plastic, other – 200 acres: annual value - $960,000. ➤ Cantaloupe, spring harvest, bareground, irrigated – 200 acres: annual value $975,800.

➤ Sweet corn, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – 300 acres: annual value – $544,500. ➤ Tomatoes, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – eight acres: annual value - $41,050. ➤ Turnip greens, fall harvest, bareground, dryland – eight acres: annual value – $4,800. ➤ Turnip greens, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – four acres: annual value - $9,000. ➤ Turnip greens, spring harvest, bareground, dry land – four acres: annual value – $4,500.

➤ Cantaloupe, spring harvest, plastic, other – 200 acres: annual value - $1,047,200.

➤ Turnip greens, spring harvest, bareground, irrigated – four acres: annual value – $9,600.

➤ Carrots, spring harvest, bareground, irrigated – 800 aces: annual value $3,744,000.

➤ Turnip roots, fall harvest, bareground, dry land – three acres: annual value - $6,000.

➤ Collards, spring harvest, bareground, dryland – 20 acres: annual value - $40,500.

➤ Watermelon, spring harvest, bareground, irrigated – 150 acres: annual value $616,500.

➤ Greenhouse vegetables produced for sale – 30,000 square feet: annual value – $240,000. ➤ Okra, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated - four acres: annual value - $11,440. ➤ Okra, spring harvest, bareground, irrigated - four acres: annual value - $33,000. ➤ Onions, spring harvest, bareground, irrigated- 850 acres: annual value – $10,635,000. ➤ Sweet corn, fall harvest, bareground, dryland – 40 acres: annual value – $46,464.

➤ Watermelon, spring harvest, plastic, other – 300 acres: annual value – $863,100. ➤ Watermelon, spring harvest, plastic, drip – 125 acres: annual value – $693,562. ➤ Yellow squash, fall harvest, bareground, irrigated – three acres: annual value - $4,770.

Total annual value – $21,589,116.

Total reported farm gate value for Bulloch County in 2011: $172,838,862

We Consider It A Privilege To Continue To Serve Your Agricultural Needs.

• Peanuts • Seed • Fertilizer • Pesticides

Ag Services, LLC

Will Clarke, General Manager Craig Deal, Operations Manager BJ Tillman, Procurement Manager

Mulberry Street Bulk Plant • 764-9657 Mathews Road • 764-7036