Did you know that agriculture is the number one industry in Georgia? Agriculture and related industries represent over 359,220 jobs and over $70.1 billion dollars in output to Georgia’s economy. There are over 42,439 farms in Georgia on 9.9 million acres of property. This week (March 22-26th) was selected as the Georgia Agriculture Awareness Week, with National Agriculture Awareness Day on March 23rd. In celebration of agriculture industries in Georgia, I wanted to share some industry facts with you this week.
The top agricultural industry in the state of Georgia is broiler (meat chicken) production, with an economic contribution of $22.9 billion. The poultry industry provides over 100,000 jobs to Georgia residents and each poultry farm can feed 22,000 people per day. Total poultry production for the state is around 7 billion pounds of chicken annually. In Georgia, 3 of every 4 counties are involved with poultry production.
The second industry in Georgia is our row and forage crops, representing 20% of our total commodities or an economic impact of $12.8 billion. Row crop industries provide over 88,000 jobs and $12.8 billion to the state economy. Our top crops include cotton (37.9%), peanuts (25.5%), corn (12.4%), hay (11.8%), and silage (3%).
Our third industry, and one near and dear to my heart, is the livestock and aquaculture industries. This commodity has an economic impact of over $8.4 billion and provides jobs to 34,000 people. Our livestock industry is primarily focused on beef cows (33.6%), dairy (20.9%), horses (16.8%), and beef stockers (8%). Other segments included in this are honeybees, fisheries, small ruminants (sheep and goats), and more.
Coming in fourth place is Georgia vegetable production at over $2.6 billion in economic impact. The Georgia vegetable industry produces over 33 different types of vegetable including but not limited to watermelon (15.3%), sweet corn (12.3%), onions (11.3%), bell peppers (10.8%), and cucumbers (6.4%).
There are a few other industries that are essential to Georgia agriculture. Ornamental horticulture contributes $7.9 billion to the economy each year and provides 62,000 jobs. Of this, 47.6% is greenhouse production, 18.2% are field nurseries, 17.8% are container nurseries, 12.6% is turfgrass, and 3.9% is other production types. Georgia forestry and timber industries provide over 65,000 jobs and $14.1 billion in economic impact to the state. Segments of the industry include timber (81.2%), pine straw (12%), and other (6.2%). Our fruit and nut industries are worth $2 billion to the state economy with pecans (42.4%), blueberries (35.5%), and peaches (11.6%) leading the charge. Finally, agritourism and other is a growing category with a Farm Gate Value of $966.15 million. Things that are included here are government payments (59.3%), crop insurance (17%), ag and nature-based tourism (13%), and hunting leases (10.6%).
Agriculture is an essential industry in our state and will undoubtably continue to be so for many years to come. What industry are you most interested in?
Questions or comments can be directed to uge3181@uga.edu or 706-359-3233.
