When many people picture farming, they see big tractors
lumbering over vast fields of
crops. But agriculture on a far smaller scale can still be
profitable and rewarding.

That’s the message Team Ag Georgia is trying to drive home in
the TAG Workshops for
Small and Beginning Farmers this summer.

The first workshop is set for July 27 in Tifton, Ga. Another
is planned for
Gainesville, Ga., Aug. 19. Each figures to provide a wealth of
information on small-scale
farming.

The programs are geared for farmers with limited resources,
others who find running a
small farm business appealing and community leaders interested in
rural development.

Promising Prospects

Both workshops will have sessions on growing and selling
forest products, fruit and
vegetable production, growing and selling organic products,
marketing through
cooperatives, building and managing ponds and managing finances
for any small farm.

The Tifton program will also have classes on irrigation,
fish farming, soil quality,
livestock and turf grasses. At Gainesville, the topics will
include roadside markets,
poultry farming, greenhouses, composting, and raising goats and
other small livestock.

One-day Workshops

Both workshops begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. Both are
free and include lunch and
refreshment breaks. Farm-related groups and agencies will
display exhibits at both sites.

To sign up for either workshop, contact the county Extension
Service office. Or call
the Georgia Department of Agriculture at 1-800-282-5852.

For questions about exhibiting at the workshop, call Lynda
Johnson at (770) 536-0541.
To learn more about TAG, call Levi Glover at (912)
825-6806.