I was able to finish the Farm Gate survey for 2018 a while back but just recently I have been able to get all of the data compiled where it can be examined. Thank you all for being open and honest with your production numbers. I was able to pull information from a variety of sources, the National Agriculture Statistic Service (NASS), Farm Service Agency (FSA) and several local producers. Overall we were $8.9 million less than in 2017. This directly correlates to Hurricane Michael and the resulting destruction. Vegetables were off by $18.4 million, Row Crops were off by $2.7 million. Crop insurance and Government payments increased by $11.3 million, I am assuming for the crop destruction in 2017 from whiteflies, disease, and Hurricane Irma. The increase in insurance and Government payments is why 2017-2018 margin isn’t larger. The numbers are strictly an estimate of what you received for the crop that was made in 2018. It does not account for what was lost. Our economist tells us that farm revenue can “turn over” in the county on average 5 times, so that means that the $8.9 million loss from 2017-2018 could extrapolate to a $45 million reduction of cash flow through Tift County. The official report should be released around November. The main reason we do Farm Gate reports every year is so that we can show the individuals in our county and our representatives at the Capitol just how important agriculture is to Tift County and the state of Georgia. Sorry, it wasn’t better news. Thanks for all you do!

2018 Farm Gate Report

Posted in: