Georgia Cattlewomen Promote Beef
by Julie – October 10th, 2008
The fall season can be an extemely busy time for the Georgia Beef Board as various fairs and events present great opportunities to promote beef to consumers. Carla Kelsoe, president of the Georgia Cattlewomen, says that the GCWA tries to do their part to make sure the consumer is fully informed, especially focusing on women and children with recipes and fun educational materials.
In Sarasota, Florida this week John Deere officials displayed hundreds of tractors, many of them new models to become available in 2009, many of them geared toward the ‘lifestyle’ rural crowd and folks involved in things like citrus, nursery, vineyards and other agriculture operations. According to John Deere representatives on hand for the event, the new models coupled with the more traditional larger models target today’s farm equipment consumer no matter what size of the operation. Whether it be for the very large ag operations or the very small, and all in between, John Deere seems to be making a real effort to serve all market segments when it comes to farm and lawn care equipment. 
In this post herein you can listen to interviews and view documents we received from the John Deere folks this week in Sarasota, as they hosted agriculture media along with John Deere dealer representatives from throughout North America. Just click to see the rest of this post and you’ll find links to the interviews and other materials. 
And he also wants to reminds everyone about the Sunbelt Ag Expo which will take place next week in Moultrie, Georgia.
We are just 3 weeks away from the anual Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition in Moultrie, Georgia and their Executive Director, Chip Blaclock, says the show will of course have a variety of things to see including many that livestock producers would be interested in. 
The Georgia representative in the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition Farmer of the Year contest has been announced, as Tyron Spearman has the details.
Just what is this? Everett Griner tells us and just why it is so important.
The annual Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Day took place today at Spence Field in Moultrie, Ga. as farmers from across the region were on hand to see the progression of the crops being grown there. I had a chance to talk with both Sunbelt Executive Director Chip Blalock and Associate Farm Manager Michael Williams about the day and the crops. 
It is with great sadness and tremendously heavy hearts we report of the passing of Lee V. McCoy, known to many of his legions of friends and colleagues as the “RealMcCoy”. Lee lost his battle with cancer early morning Thursday May 22 in a Georgia hospital, admitted the Monday before in a bout with pneumonia. 
This week’s Annual Meeting and Legislative Breakfast 
events hosted by the Georgia Agribusiness Council in Atlanta drew a good crowd of the state’s agriculture leaders, 
numerous lawmakers and legislative staffers. One of the big news items of the day is the announcement by GA Governor Sonny Perdue that some of the watering restrictions in Georgia will be relaxed, 
for now anyway, to help support the nursery industry and efforts by the public to establish new plantings of trees and shrubs. Governor Perdue also is set to sign a new state water bill today that Georgia agriculture industry leaders have been very involved in helping to develop. In the reports posted herein, hear 
comments from 
including an update about a referendum deadline coming up for GA Vegetable producers to vote on a new marketing order; Georgia Farm Bureau President 
We enjoyed our visits among the attendees and 
exhibitors at the 38th annual Georgia Young Farmers Association (GYFA) convention in Savannah this week.
who discusses the GYFA program and history;
Development Authority, discussing the availability of money for Georgia farmers right now.
Monsanto brought it’s new Mobile Technology Unit to the Sunbelt Ag Expo this year, which is a unique showcase of science and innovation. On board visitors can learn more about the latest in seed breeding technology and new product development.
I had a chance to take the tour and afterwards talk with Monsanto’s Kathy Sehnert about the Mobile Unit and it’s overall purpose.
While the drought continues to be on many minds here in the Southeast, water is needed for our crops. And that’s where Valley Irrigation can help as new technologies can manage watering needs for most any type of field. I talked with Will Sheets about how Valley can help with your operation. 
The Georgia Propane Gas Association building is another place many people stop by to see the latest in propane innovations. I talked with Mark Dmochowski about some of those and how they could be incorporated on the farm.
Also this morning, our Southeast AgNet affiliate in Moultrie, WMTM, was here to do a live broadcast letting listeners across Southwest Georgia know about the many ways propane can help them everyday. Pictured is Jenni McKeen with the Ga Propane Gas Association, Jim Turner & Jay Ussery with Cruisin’ 94 FM.
Trimble Agriculture is at Sunbelt Ag Expo again this year with information about what they have to offer, and that includes RTK technology. I talked with Josh Pitts & Brian Kelley with Ag Technologies L.L.C. about how this can work for you. 
The farmers of the year in the Southeast Agnet listening area were Billy Gilley from Holly Pond, Alabama; Bud Adams, Jr. from Ft. Pierce, Florida and Daniel Johnson from Alma, Georgia. They are pictured here with the winner from Arkansas, Michael Simon. This was the first time Arkansas was part of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year competition.
Ag Commissioners from 4 states were at Sunbelt Ag Expo this afternoon for what has turned out to be a fun event…..milking cows. 
When it was all over, the winner as you can see by the photo was Tennessee’s Ken Givens, whose background of being raised on a dairy farm was obvious. It took two measuring tubes for Givens milking effort, while Sparks came in 2nd, Irvin 3rd, and Bronson 4th in an event to promote the dairy industry.
When it comes to the Sunbelt Ag Expo, Tyron Spearman says there are peanuts and lots more at this years event. 
For the 30th time the Sunbelt Ag Expo opened today in Moultrie, Ga with exhibits for the entire family. Gina McDonald says this includes some new things to see and learn about in the livestock section of the Expo. 
The 3oth annual Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition opens in Moultrie, Ga. and Tyron Spearman runs down some of the events planned for today. 
The Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Ga is a great setting for the Georgia Beef Board to talk with producers from across the state about how the beef checkoff is working for them. 
Ag Commissioners from 4 states will compete in a cow-milking contest at this years Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Ga. This includes Charles Bronson from Florida who says he’s looking forward to the event. 
