Regional Ag Expo places outdoor, technical trades on center stage

Hart County farmers and technical workers gathered Saturday to participate in the Northeast Georgia Ag Expo.
Experts in agriculture from across the region whose experience ranged from poultry, cattle, dairy, and row cropping, were stationed throughout the Hart County Agriscience Center to demonstrate to visitors what their jobs consist of on a day-to-day basis.
“We said from the get-go that we were going to go full in on it,” said local farmer Jeff Brown. “Our goal was not necessarily hitting a specific number. It was, you know, if we reach and get in front of one person and help them understand ag culture then it was worth our time. I think that we definitely exceeded that.”
More than 200 visitors came to participate in the live demonstrations, where they were taught skills and knowledge like delivering calves through the calving simulator, the importance of the different animals on farms, the functions of different tractors and equipment needed for row cropping, and much more.
To Brown, the United States is a “generation or two removed from farm life,” and the expo was meant to help combat agricultural misconceptions.
“There are so many issues. It’s hard to nail just one down, but poultry — there’s a lot of negative perception about it,” Brown said. “A lot of people think that poultry is bad for the water supply, which we’ve done numerous studies that suggest the complete opposite.
“Actually, the golf course and other businesses are using more water than poultry operations are. The inhumane practices with our animals; that’s a big one; just trying to combat that, and right now we’re on the defense, but we’re trying to switch this over to the offense. It would be an oxymoron to be inhumane to animals because our whole livelihoods are hinging on their success and quality of life.”
Another farmer, Scott Fleming took part in a Q&A session. His expertise lies in cattle farming. He too used the event to confront issues in the industry.
“We tried to get all the different aspects [of farming] to have a representation to make the public, our community of Hart County, aware of what all is involved in agriculture in our area,” Fleming said. “We need to do a better job at educating those as to what farmers do each and every day on what is all around them.”
National prices in many markets have increased, including food. One of the issues that the expo addressed was the increase in the price of food and how it has impacted the producer and consumer.
“A lot of our farms do receive government subsidies for different crops — assistance to help the farmers with price support when prices fall below a certain level,” Fleming said. “It’s not a huge amount but it does keep our total food prices lower than they would be otherwise.
“The only way the American farmer has been able to feed so many people is through the increase of production. Whether that be through a new variety of grains, or growing heavier beef cattle, or to raise poultry in a shorter amount of time.”
Organizers plan to make the Northeast Georgia Ag Expo an annual event that grows in size, exhibits and other offerings each year.