By Clint Thompson
This year’s annual Sunbelt Ag Expo, scheduled for Oct. 15-17 in Moultrie, Georgia, will continue as planned in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene a couple of weeks prior.
Chip Blalock, Sunbelt Ag Expo executive director, hopes that the three-day event will provide an opportunity for those in South Georgia, North Florida, the Carolinas and Tennessee to get away and take their minds off the devastation left by Helene when it moved through the Southeast on Sept. 26 and 27.
“That’s one thing we found in 2018 when (Hurricane) Michael came through the week before Expo, people just wanted to get away for a few hours and come be with friends and family, the family of agriculture at the Expo. That’s what we’re going to try to provide next week; just a respite for those that have been devastated by the storm,” Blalock said.
“We were basically spared the brunt of the storm. We had very minimal damage. Our crops survived. Cotton got a little twisted. Peanuts have been on top of the ground for 10 days, but that’s been okay. It could have been a lot worse. We’re taking this blessing and running with it. We’re providing those folks in the hard-hit areas a chance to get away for a little bit.
“We realize the crowd is probably going to be down because of all the devastation. But we also realize the show must go on. We’ve got to keep on keeping on and show that latest technology for the farmers to come in and see.”
Hurricane Milton
The Expo will also occur a couple of days after Hurricane Milton impacts the west coast of Florida, which is expected later tonight and early Thursday. The devastation from both hurricanes remains on the minds of Blalock and the staff at the Expo.
“We definitely would be remissed if we didn’t pay homage to those that were devastated by the storm from the Florida coast to the Carolinas and east Tennessee; and our friends down in Florida that are bracing for Milton. We just pray that storm lessens and spares them the destruction that it could cause,” Blalock said.
The opening ceremony for the 46th annual Expo will be held on Oct. 15 at 9:30 a.m. The Willie B. Withers Luncheon and Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year announcement will be held later that day at noon. Scheduled events will continue through Oct. 17.