Farmers in Georgia, Tell Us About the Issues You Care Most About

I am brand-new to the farming life. I've dreamed for years about empowering myself and my community by purchasing land and learning to live in harmony with it. I attended an agricultural high school in Philadelphia, PA (my home town) but focused mostly on my love of all things Equine. Just over a year ago I purchased 5 acres in West Alabama, about 40 minutes from the Mississippi line. The challenges for my family are three fold: education, connection and economics. I am a single mother of 3 children. We left behind the city life and its conveniences (like street lights) to live in a town with the same population as my sister's high school. Three yrs ago we lived in subsidized housing in SW Georgia. There, I started community gardens and associations. Now, I'm learning about how to infuse nutrients into the soil using permaculture techniques; I plan my administrative work and spoken word gigs around maintaining our nearly 1/2 acre garden space. I really didn't know at all how much cash money & time it takes to grow food, register for classes through the extension service and other resources, build community in a place where most houses are not visible from the road, etc. I also didn't know that I would be the only person my age (so-far) farming in a farm town. It would be great to have access to people, capital and certifications to help me reach my goal of creating a teaching/learning farm space for the empowerment of individuals and the thriving of community.

As someone else noted--a farmer may not believe in climate change, but his insurance company certainly does. Science is true whether you believe in it or not.

Growing up in Mitchell County, you are surrounded by farm land. If you want to change the conversation, start by caring about what people are experiencing right now. "People don't care what you know, until they know how much you care." For most of rural GA residents their experiences with "international newspapers" are reporters who call them ignorant and blind supporters of the Republican party. You just proved them right by focusing on climate change instead of what is happening to them at this moment. Right now, they are focused on surviving this year. "There is a place and time for everything." This is not the time for a climate change conversation, this is a time for support. Is an increase an hurricane intensity caused by climate change? Maybe. But what were you hoping to accomplish here? Do you change when people make you feel inferior or when someone comes beside you and helps you along?

Our family has farmed since the 40’s in the same town, in the past years and now 3rd generation our farm has grown and changed. We now grow approximately 6500 acres of produce, 500 acres of cotton and 500 peanuts. We also have a greenhouse operation we grown transplants for farmers in the southeast And pine seedlings. We were in the peak of our fall produce season, and have now lost more than I care to say out loud but it ends with 6 zeros. I have watched my daddy cry, get made and work tirelessly to try and do anything to make it better. The loss and damage is horrific which on piles on top of the labor issues, horrible NAFTA deal and the less than stellar previous seasons. We don’t get subsidies (people need to learn what actually gets these and what crops do not). I am one of few females in our industry and proud to be but we are in need of help. If you do not believe agriculture In Georgia is important has let me know when you are eating food that’s not safe and four times the cost - Jessica Kirk Director of Food Safety and Marketing Lewis Taylor Farms TIFTON GA The

Do farmers in America have a big surprise coming their way. Oh, yes that new problem is going to cause unbelievable cost and disruption. This is the reason the polititians deny its' probability: these droughts and hurricanes are getting stronger and growing exponentionally more severe. Don't think the climate is changing? I grow, successfully, citrus in Georgia, and I worry that I may not have gone far enough north. My Satsumas (mandarin oranges) need cold weather to promote sweetness. I also grow chestnuts, and they don't get enough cold weather to make the chestnuts sweet. My chestnut trees are 25 years old ,and should the change continue at its current pace, I will have to bulldoze the trees because the nuts won't be marketable. Farmers, get ready for fast-paced life changing crops that will fit the climate changes.

Want to know a thing or 2 about farming...sit down and talk with a Wisconsin dairy farmer. Milking cows at 4 AM, day after day, in below zero temperatures hoping to make a buck or two, knowing there's no future in small family farms yet your son or daughter think of nothing else but inheriting the family farm.

I read the original argument that this one follows up. I don't see very much to criticize in that article. How is it wrong to bring up climate change in the wake of a disaster that was almost certainly caused and made much worse because of climate change? One response to the mention of climate change was “That’s politics, and I don’t want to get into it.” Well maybe it is politics but it is also reality. You can choose your politics but reality is intractable.

Well, I don't pretend to be a farmer, although I do own acreage in timber and pasture in Georgia. We had 10 or 12 years without storms so we're due for a few years with storms. Is that what you're asking? My farm will fall into the farm-to-table/CSA movement, think relatively small, 20 acres. Most of the cattle farmers i know hold down full-time jobs to keep their farm. We are talking less than 100 cows.

I personally know the farmers that Mr. Rush interviewed for this story and I think that not only did he mislead them about his intentions but he also misrepresented the character of the farmers who live and work in this area. First and foremost, farmers have been 'stewards of the land' and concerned with the environment LONG before it became a popular cause. They have had to be because their livelihood depends on it. To imply that farmers are ignoring changes in climate, weather, the affects of crop choices, chemical use and other critical factors is simply absurd and shows a shallow knowledge of the profession by your reporter and many whose only connection with agriculture is seeing a vegetable appear on their plate at a restaurant. Farmers are the front line experts on the subjects of adaptability to these conditions. It may not appear this way because they don't dress in suits and ties or speak with a crisp New England accent, but living as a partner with the land for generations creates a bond and understanding that no text book can ever match. For your readers to make statements like "they should grow crops indoors" or that farmers should know when these storms are coming weeks in advance is simply asinine. Farmers know that the climate is changing. They know that their livelihood is being affected by it. What they don't need are people who know nothing of their profession trying to shame them for not abandoning their fields to join a social cause.

I come from generations of a family owned farm. However with the corporate farming model that rules the market my family farm has almost been lost. My dad has worked a full time job for 40 years alongside farming just to keep the farm. I left the farm to get my college degree, married and had 3 daughters of my own. I am hoping to pass this tradition of farming down to them as I step up to be the net generation of farmers. However, I will be the first female to own land in my name and face an industry where women have been present but not recognized. I am hoping to keep the family farm going by returning back to self- sustainable methods and organic crops and hopefully pass the farm down to my 3 young daughters one day.

My name is Sam Burnham, I’m the Curator of All the Biscuits in Georgia (allthebiscuitsingeorgia.com) and an advocate and supporter of agriculture and the people who make it happen. Rather than sitting in Manhattan waiting for responses, you need to send people down here to look and see. They need to know some farmers and the local businesses who depend on the success of an agricultural economy. Get off the paved road, get your hands dirty, be real journalists. More importantly, be a real humans. You want to understand why what you printed was so wrong? Come see for yourself. Come open minded and ready to learn. Oh, and come hungry.

Farmers care only about two issues: How to get more farm welfare entitlements, and how to hire more illegal aliens to do the work while the farmer sits on his porch awaiting his farm welfare entitlement checks. We need to give farmers a big dose of the free enterprise system and cut them off from their steady diet of socialist welfare.