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Gov. Kemp & Farmers Catch Up
Posted on November 13, 2019 12:00 AM
Kemp & farmers catch up
By Jennifer Whittaker
Gov. Brian Kemp visited with farmers from Decatur and nearby counties Oct. 23 at the Cloud Livestock Facility in Bainbridge. Pictured from left, Gov. Kemp visits with Georgia Farm Bureau 9th Dist. Field Rep. Jeff Nunnery, Decatur County Farm Bureau Director Steve Brock and Decatur County Farm Bureau President Justin Long. DCFB hosted the meet & greet for Gov. Kemp and area farmers.
Kemp told the group he continues to talk with President Trump about the status of disaster aid farmers are waiting to receive to help alleviate losses from Hurricane Michael.
“We haven’t forgotten y’all down here,” Kemp said.
He reiterated his commitment to helping rural Georgia prosper while sharing his vision for bringing manufacturers and jobs to rural areas statewide. Kemp said the purpose of his Georgia Made Tour that kicked off this fall is to raise awareness around the state and the world that rural Georgia has great resources for business.
“We’re going to every region in the state to bring awareness to what’s already going on in communities across Georgia in terms of manufacturing and business,” Kemp said.
Kemp told the group he is working on a plan to develop mega sites for new manufacturing plants in rural areas across Georgia that don’t have the resources to develop the sites to attract businesses themselves.
On Nov. 8, the USDA announced $800 million in state block grants for ag losses in Georgia, Alabama and Florida from hurricanes Michael and Florence in ’18. At press time the USDA had not formally announced specific amounts per state.
The USDA and the Georgia Department of Agriculture are working out final details for the grants. Once the recovery funds are released to the states, the GDA will still need time to implement the signup plan for farmers.
The GDA plans to publicize the signup period two to three weeks before it begins taking applications. The enrollment period is expected to last 21 calendar days.