Ag Stats

Overview

Fast Facts

• The 2009 total Farm Gate Value for the state was $11,256,734,510.
• Agriculture contributes more than $65 billion annually to Georgia's $786.5 billion economy.
• One in seven Georgians works in agriculture, forestry or related fields.
• In 2007 there were 47,846 farms in Georgia encompassing 10,150,539 acres of land with an average size of 212 acres per farm.

Commodity Impact

U.S. Ranking of Georgia Farm Commodities*

1. Broilers, Peanuts, Pecans, Rye and Onions (Spring)
   
2. Cotton, Cucumbers (Fresh Market) and Snap Beans
   
3. Cantaloupes and Sweet Corn (Fresh Market)

* Value based on 2008 production; USDA NASS GA Field Office

Georgia's Top 10 Farm Commodities (2009)*

1. Broilers - $4.4 billion
2. Cotton - $712.6 million
3. Eggs - $572 million
4. Timber - $401.5 million
5. Peanuts - $401 million
6. Horses - $397.8 million
7. Beef Cattle - $356 million
8. Greenhouse - $263 million
9. Dairy - $243 million
10. Container Nursery - $210 million

* Statistics provided by Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, University of Georgia

Georgia's Top 10 Vegetable Commodities (2009)*

1. Watermelon - $139 million
2. Bell Peppers - $129 million
3. Onions - $126 million
4. Sweet Corn - $83 million
5. Tomato - $63.8 million
6. Cucumbers - $52.5 million
7. Greens - $48.7 million
8. Cabbage - $37.6 million
9. Snap beans - $35.2 million
10. Cantaloupe - $29 million

* Statistics provided by Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, University of Georgia

Individual Commodities

Below is a list of some of the state's most important commodities, along with 2009 Farmgate figures and facts about each respective commodity:

Apples

2009 Farmgate: $6,758,360

Apple production in the state totaled 2 million pounds in 2007.

On average, 430 bushels of apples are produced per acre in Georgia.

In 2009, the apple growers in the state of Georgia grew approximately 670 acres of apples.

Beef

2009 Farmgate: $356,141,684

More than eight out of 10 individuals consume fresh beef regularly (an average of 1.7 times per week) in-home.

Every year consumers spend more than half of their meat budgets on beef, making beef the consumer meat of choice. Consumer spending on beef was $76 billion in 2008.

Ground beef and steak make up most of the beef servings consumed both away from and in the home.

Blueberries

2009 Farmgate: $102,465,202

North America produces 90 percent of the world's commercial blueberry crop.

The wild blueberry is one of four fruit crops native to North America.

Over 300 million pounds of blueberries are grown commercially in the US each year.

Corn

2009 Farmgate: $203,266,035

Corn makes GRITS!

Corn can also be used for ethanol and livestock feed.

The type of sweet corn Americans enjoy today was first cultivated around 1850.

Cotton

2009 Farmgate: $712,666,755

Cotton makes up 37 percent of Georgia crop income and grows in 100 counties.

A bale of cotton weighs about 480 pounds.

In 2009, Cotton was Georgia's number two commodity based on Farm Gate Value.

It takes 1.5 pounds of cotton to make one pair of jeans.

Dairy

2009 Farmgate: $243,199,690

Georgia's dairy industry became commercially successful in the 1930s.

Georgia dairies produced 1.4 billion pounds of milk in 2008.

There are less than 300 dairy operations in Georgia.

The average dairy cow in Georgia produces 18,600 pounds or 2,188 gallons of milk yearly.

Eggs

2009 Farmgate: $572,149,060

Georgia ranks seventh in the nation in total egg production.

In 2008, 4.58 billion eggs were produced by Georgia poultry farmers.

An average Georgia Hen will produce about 240 eggs per year.

Based on the number of table laying hens, north Georgia has the most production with Putnam County ranking as number one in the state.

Forages

2009 Farmgate: $355,168,743

Horses need to eat a minimum of one percent of their body weight in long-stem forage every day.

Horses typically eat around 25 pounds of forage in a day.

In 2009, Burke and Macon County were the leading producers in Georgia for Silage.

Forestry

2009 Farmgate: $498,947,853

About 89 percent (22 million acres) of Georgia's forests are privately owned.

Forest industry controls 18 percent of Georgia's forest land. Only 12 percent of Georgia's forest land is owned by the government, including federal, state, and local holdings.

Forestry in Georgia is big business with an annual economic impact of $16.9 billion. Georgia's forest economy had a total direct and indirect employment of 128,387 in 2008.

Between 1983 and 2006, Georgians have replanted nearly 8.5 million acres in trees or 618, 334 trees per day.

Goats

2009 Farmgate: $16,394,238

Goat meat is also known as Chevon or Cabrito.

There are over 210 breeds of goats in the world.

Goats were first brought to America by Columbus in 1493.

Georgia has over 78,000 meat goats on 3,959 farms.

Horses

2009 Farmgate: $397,876,700

Georgia's horse industry has a $2.5 billion impact on the Georgia economy every year.

Georgia's temperate climate allows for year round out door training and are better for horses maintained outside.

A male horse is known as a stallion. A female horse is known as a mare. A baby horse is known as a foal. Foals are fully grown by 3-4 years of age.

Muscadines

2009 Farmgate: $11,329,411 (This figure also includes a percentage of other wine and table grapes grown in Georgia.)

Georgia is the largest producer of Muscadines in the nation.

Untamed muscadines are also called scuppernongs.

Ornamental Horticulture

2009 Farmgate: $698,621,712

Green industry production and processing generated a total economic impact of $5.5 billion and created more than 65 thousand jobs.

In 2009, Grady county was the leading producer in ornamental horticulture.

Peaches

2009 Farmgate: $59,538,382

Fresh Georgia peaches are available only 16 weeks each year.

Georgia growers produce more than 40 commercial peach varieties.

In 2009, 10,212 acres of peaches were grown in Georgia.

Peanuts

2009 Farmgate: $401,198,028

It's the official state crop of Georgia.

Georgia produces about half of the U.S. peanut crop.

Approximately 80 Georgia counties grow peanuts.

It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.

Pecans

2009 Farmgate: $170,979,661

April is National Pecan Month.

Pecans are the only tree nut that is truly native to the United States.

In 2009, 144,407 acres of pecan trees were grown.

The United States produces more than 80 percent of the world's pecans.

Pork

2009 Farmgate: $63,796,553

Georgia farmers produced 230 thousand hogs and pigs in 2008.

The U.S. pork industry has $34.5 billion impact on the GNP.

A 3-ounce portion of pork tenderloin is comparable to the amount of fat and calories in one skinless chicken breast.

Poultry

2009 Farmgate: $4,421,181,714

Georgia is the number one producer of poultry in the U.S and has the highest value of poultry.

Broilers make up more than 39% of Georgia's total farm gate value.

Ninety-nine Georgia counties annually produce more than $1 million each in poultry products.

Soybeans

2009 Farmgate: $168,450,779

Soybeans were introduced to the United States when Henry Yonge planted them in Georgia.

Soy products are rich in protein, iron calcium, and soluble fiber.

Soy protein is the only plant protein that contains all 8 essential amino acids and is considered a complete protein.

Strawberries

2009 Farmgate: $4,920,533

Strawberries will continue to turn red after they are picked, but they will not turn sweeter.

May is national strawberry month.

On the average, there are 200 tiny seeds in every strawberry.

Tobacco

2009 Farmgate: $53,187,922

Georgia ranks sixth nationally in in the production of tobacco.

Coffee and Atkinson counties are two of the most productive tobacco-producing counties in Georgia.

The average annual cash receipts for Georgia tobacco totals $57.5 million.

U.S. consumers spent an estimated $90 billion in 2006 on tobacco products.

Turfgrass

2009 Farmgate: $111,477,162

Tifway and Tifgreen are two varieties of Bermuda grass that were developed by UGA researchers.

In 2009, the turfgrass sector made up 16.7% of the Ornamental Horticulture Industry.

Turfgrass provides many benefits such as erosion control, water purification and temperature cooling.

In 2007, there were approximately 100 sod operations in Georgia.

Vegetables

2009 Farmgate: $915,632,787

In many areas of the state, farmers can grow two crops of vegetables in a calendar year.

Farmers use black plastic mulch over raised beds to control weeds, keep moisture in and start the crop earlier in the year.

Georgia Ranked No. 2 for Vegetables and Melons in the largest land area east of the Mississippi in 2008.

Vidalia Onions

2009 Farmgate: $126,107,748 (This figure is the combined totals for all onions grown in Georgia.)

Vidalia onions have an international reputation as the "world's sweetest onion."

The mild flavor is due to the unique combination of soils and climate in the 20-county production area.

The official state vegetable of Georgia is the Vidalia onion.

Watermelons

2009 Farmgate: $139,001,756

Watermelons originated in Africa. Dr. David Livingstone found watermelons growing wild in central Africa in the 1850s.

Watermelon is a warm-season crop related to cantaloupe, squash, cucumber and pumpkin.

In 2009, almost 25,000 acres of watermelons were produced.

Economic Impact Multipliers (2008)

The following table has economic impact multipliers for the agricultural sectors in Georgia as of 2008. A multiplier is a number economists use to estimate the total economic impact. For example, suppose that the value of tobacco production (output) is expected to decline $10 million next year. Using the output multiplier of 1.782 yields a total economic impact of a loss of $17.82 million on the state's economy. Or suppose that a major new horticulture producer adds 100 new jobs in the state. The employment multiplier of 1.520 implies total job growth of 152 jobs statewide.

Source: Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc., IMPLAN System (2008 data and software), 1725 Tower Drive west, Suite 140, Stillwater, MN 55082, www.implan.com, 2008.

Cautions in using multipliers:

• Multipliers quantify the ripple effects for a particular sector and its supplying sectors, but they do not quantify the ripple effects of a marketing chain in processing, wholesale or retail sectors.
• The size of a multiplier is no indication that an industry is relatively more or less important than any other.
• The multipliers are specific to a region and cannot be applied to other economies.
• The ripple effects from a change to Georgia's economy take time to develop. Research indicates that 50 percent of the ripple effects will be felt in the first year, and this declines to zero percent by the sixth year.

Publications

To see a full list of publications, visit the CAES Publications site or the FACS Publications listing.

News

For the latest news about Extension, visit Georgia FACES. News you can use about Georgia family, agricultural, consumer and enviromental sciences.

• Shading helps south Georgia pepper farmers beat the heat
• Atlanta ice cream selected as 2012 Flavor of Georgia food contest overall winner
• Georgia ag forecast predicts good year for peanut, pecan growers
• Ag Forecast events set across Georgia in January
• Peanut farmers dig higher prices
• Georgia Sustainable Ag Coalition sets sights on food hubs
• Georgia tobacco gets surprise bump
• The new agrarian economy
• Farmers face dwindling supply of important farm chemical
• High fuel prices hit farmers, food supply hard

Websites

UGA-affiliated sites

• Agricultural and Applied Economics
  Describes the departments academic programs, research, and Extension support. Also lists relevant news items, events, publications and links.