By Brad Haire
University of Georgia

Gov. Sonny Perdue has proclaimed March 15-20 “Georgia
Agriculture Awareness Week” to honor an industry that touches
every life in Georgia and is the economic backbone for much of
the state.

Special events throughout the state will help Georgians learn
about agriculture’s impact. Perdue plans to kick off the week
with the signing of a proclamation with Georgia Agriculture
Commissioner Tommy Irvin.

Perdue will speak to fourth- and fifth-grade classes statewide
via Webcast. He’ll be joined by state School Superintendent
Kathy Cox, state Future Farmers of America President Cliff
Tippens and state 4-H President Nekeisha Randall.

FFA and 4-H officers will be in classrooms throughout the week
with interactive presentations. An agriculture curriculum and
video will be on hand for all fifth-grade classes during the
week.

Georgia Extension Service agents and young farmer teachers will
meet with civic clubs to champion agriculture in their area.

A Web site (www.agawareness.com) has a complete list of
activities, lesson plans, facts and resources. You can test your
agriculture knowledge there, too, and earn a certificate.

“The ag awareness week activities are designed to encourage
agricultural literacy,” says Donnie Smith, ag awareness week
chairman. “Knowledge of agriculture is important for informed
consumers, for the continued economic success of our state and
for good stewardship of our environment.”

Georgia ag awareness will coincide with National Agriculture
Day, March 20.

Economic engine

Georgia’s climate allows for many crops from the north Georgia
mountains through the piedmont region to the coastal plain.
Vegetables, tobacco, cotton, corn, trees, soybeans, livestock,
peaches, onions, aquaculture, floriculture and nursery crops are
just a few Georgia commodities.

Georgia farmers produce more broilers, eggs and peanuts than any
other U.S. state. In most years, they grow more pecans, too.

And Georgia doesn’t just grow food and fiber. It processes,
packages and transports it, too.

Agriculture adds more than $57 billion each year to the Georgia
economy. That’s 16 percent of the state’s economic output. One
in six Georgians works in a forestry- or agriculture-related
job. Almost half of the state’s manufacturing jobs are in
agribusiness.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences has scientist working throughout the
state to develop better, more economical and environmentally
safer ways to grow Georgia’s crops. They’re leaders, too, in
ensuring the quality and safety of the food supply.

The UGA Extension Service has agriculture and family and
consumer sciences agents in most Georgia counties. They link the
university and agriculture to the rest of the state.

Extension agents oversee the Georgia 4-H program, too, which
provides youth education and leadership training.