Today, I would like to report the importance of agriculture to our local economy.
According to the 2015 Georgia Farm Income Survey, Coffee County ranks 10th in Georgia in 2015 Farm Income. Our 2015 total gross value was $260, 726,988, which was a decrease of about $11 million from the 2014 report. This was mostly due to low commodity prices and weather related harvest losses. Our 2015 farm income by commodity and gross farm values are as follows:
Commodity Gross Farm Value
Agritourism $ 12,500
Beef Cows $10,571,544
Blackberries $ 108,000
Blueberries (Highbush and Rabbiteye) $ 4,930,119
Broiler-Integrator $94,984,711
Broiler-Grower $14,613,033
Corn $ 3,432,996
Cotton $18,818,796
Crop Insurance $ 1,803,138
Forestry (Timber Sales) $12,745,456
Forestry Related $ 98,000
Greens(Turnips, Mustard & Collards) $ 121,468
Goats $ 635,000
Government Payments (FSA & NRCS) $11,874,392
Hay $ 5,250,000
Honey Bees $ 704,900
Horses-Boarding, Training and Breeding $ 700,000
Horses-Raised $ 2,371,000
HuntingLeases (Deer and Turkey) $ 2,040,000
Misc. Poultry-Breeder Pullet $ 2,800,350
Misc. Poultry-Layers forHatching Eggs $ 7,110,000
Oats $ 342,248
Ornamental Horticulture $21,619,281
Peaches $ 62,500
Peanuts $24,309,514
Peanut Hay $ 1,288,080
Pecans $ 430,000
Pine Straw $ 1,875,000
Pork $ 4,087,687
Quail $ 212,500
Rye $ 289,355
Sheep $ 22,625
Sorghum $ 56,602
Soybeans $ 1,107,214
Squash (Yellow and Zucchini) $ 264,960
Strawberries $ 30,000
Sweet Corn $ 66,150
Tobacco $ 6,792,500
Vegetables $ 119,030
Watermelons $ 928,800
Wheat $ 5,341
Other Misc. Income (Poultry Litter, Etc.) $ 1,101,652
Total: $260,726,988
In 2015, Coffee County ranked in the state is as follows:
1st in Tobacco, 2nd in Horses Raised, 4th in Greenhouses, 5th in Blueberries and in Meat Goats, 8th in Pine Straw, 9th in Honey Bees, 10th in Pork, 11th in Beef Cattle and Peanuts, 13th in Timber, and 14th in Cotton and Hay Production.
We are fortunate to have such a diversity of agriculture in our county. Agriculture and agribusinesses are very important to our local economy and to all consumers. The local University of Georgia Extension, Farm Service Agency ( FSA), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Coffee County Farm Bureau, Georgia Forestry Commission, Seven Rivers RC&D and others all work together as a team to provide farmers, landowners, homeowners and citizens with educational information and technical assistance and program benefits.
For more information, please contact the Extension office at 384-1402.
– Submitted by Mark von Waldner, Coffee County Extension Agriculture Agent