Ag News
Georgians invited to celebrate Agriculture Awareness Week
Posted on Mar 07, 2018 at 0:00 AM
In celebration of farming, Georgia Agriculture Awareness Week is scheduled to take place March 19-23 with activities statewide, including the Hands-On School Garden Day on March 19, the final round of competition in the Flavor of Georgia Food Product Contest on March 20, Ag Heroes Day on March 21, Ag Literacy Day on March 22 and Make My Plate Georgia Grown Day on March 23. For more information visit the Ag Awareness Week website.
According to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, Hands-On School Garden Day on March 20 is an opportunity to showcase the important work students, faculty and staff are doing in school gardens across the state. School garden students, teachers and volunteers are encouraged to brag about their school garden on social media, promote their school garden work to your administrators and community members, schedule a special workday, or find another way to creatively highlight school gardens.
The Flavor of Georgia contest is organized annually by the UGA Center of Agribusiness and Economic Development. Many of the products entered in this contest are sold in regional and national markets. As a result of the contest, some have increased their wholesale distribution or internet sales or experienced better traffic at local farmers markets.
On Ag Heroes Day March 21, Georgians are encouraged to celebrate agriculture heroes in their community by writing a note to farmers thanking them for the food and fiber they provide. Schools are encouraged to invite a local Ag Hero into classrooms to discuss the importance of agriculture and the impact farming has on the economy.
Georgia Farm Bureau is providing guidance fo Ag Literacy Day In Georgia on March 22. Volunteers are encouraged to read a designated agriculture literacy book to a local school classroom. Contact Donna Rocker at dhrocker@gfb.org for classroom activities and more info.
For Make my Plate Georgia Grown Day, March 23, the Georgia Department of Agriculture's Farm to School Program and the Georgia Department of Education's School Nutrition Program have partnered to create a Georgia Grown menu to feature local products in school cafeterias across the state.
National Agriculture Day and Week is observed in March to coincide with the planting of spring crops. County Farm Bureaus and agriculture organizations will hold events in their local communities as schedules allow throughout the month of March to raise awareness of agriculture. National Ag Day is March 20.
The top 10 agricultural commodities produced in Georgia are broilers, cotton, eggs, timber, peanuts, beef, greenhouse plants, dairy, pecans and blueberries according to the CAED Ag Snapshots report. In 2016, each of these commodities generated more than $283 million in farm gate value.
American farmers have tackled many challenges in feeding a growing population. In the 1960s, the average American farmer produced enough food to feed 25 people. Today, the average American farmer feeds 165 people.
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