Did you know that agriculture is the #1 industry in both Georgia and South Carolina? Every year, Georgia produces the “Ag Snapshot” – a mini publication that details the value of agriculture and associated industries in the state. In total, agriculture, agribusiness, and their combined products contribute approximately $73.2 billion dollars and 340,827 jobs and $51.8 billion and 259,215 jobs to Georgia and South Carolina’s economies respectively. Today, let’s dig in to some of the commodities we rely on to continue driving our local and state economy.
Georgia’s top ten commodities are broiler chickens, cotton, peanuts, timber, beef, greenhouse, eggs, corn, pecans, and blueberries. From a commodity group standpoint, poultry and eggs is our largest contributor at 33.6% of our total economic impact, followed by row and forage crops (19.8%), livestock and aquaculture (9.6%), vegetables (9%), ornamental horticulture (8.4%), fruits and nuts (6.2%), forestry (5.8%), and other (6.7%). Georgia is the #1 producer in the U.S. of broilers, peanuts, and pecans, #2 in production of cotton lint, cotton seed, and watermelons, and #3 in production of blueberries, cantaloupe, and peaches. Of the 42,439 farms in the state, more than 60% are between 10 and 179 acres in size, and almost half (43.8%) produce less than $2,500 in sales. While our direct production is important, agricultural industries also support jobs in transportation, real estate, wholesale operations, employment services, enterprise management, grocery and more.
I’m not aware of an “Ag Snapshot” for South Carolina, but the SC Department of Agriculture states that your top commodities are broiler chickens, turkeys, corn, beef cattle, soybeans, cotton, eggs, peanuts, floriculture, and tobacco. South Carolina has roughly 25,000 farms across 4.8 million acres of farmland. Believe it or not, South Carolina actually produces more peaches than Georgia does, trailing only California. And if you’re wondering why California tends to be high production on all fruits, its related to their geography (different microclimates for growing) and their dryness—our humidity makes disease much more rampant in our region.
In our region of Georgia, our primary industries are forestry and beef cattle production, though I’ll admit I’m not quite as familiar with the Wilkes and McCormick data. Beyond that, we have a diverse spattering of other products, from hay production to u-pick gardens, agritourism, some poultry production, and more. If you’re interested in learning more about your specific county, check out the UGA Farmgate data available at https://georgiadata.org/topics/agriculture/farm-gate-value .
Agriculture is a critical industry across the country. It is how we put food on tables and sustain our population, and how we will continue to do so for years to come. Whether you’re directly involved in an agriculture industry or not, I hope you realize the impact that this industry has on us. If you have questions about our commodities, please contact us at uge3181@uga.edu or 706-359-3233.
