Source: U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

Daniel McMillan of Southern Grace Farms in Enigma, on behalf of the U.S. Peanut Federation, testifies Wednesday in Washington, D.C., at a meeting of the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit.

 RISING COSTS, SUPPLY CHAIN HURTING FARMERS

ENIGMA FARMER TELLS CONGRESSIONAL PANEL

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Rising production and labor costs, along with continuing supply-chain issues, are squeezing farmers across the country, and the new Farm Bill being crafted needs to avoid reductions in commodity programs and crop insurance, farm industry leaders told a congressional panel Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Daniel McMillan of Southern Grace Farms in Enigma, representing the U.S. Peanut Federation, was among the commodity crop leaders testifying to the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit.

Congressman Austin Scott, R-Tifton, chairs the subcommittee.

“In my home area, we saw fertilizer costs double from 2021 to 2022. Some products tripled in price,” McMillan told the panel. "Currently, fertilizer prices are changing week to week, preventing us from making informed management decisions."

McMillan said he has experienced a 14% increase in labor costs, and is "still facing cost increases and business disruptions resulting from problems with the supply chain.” Some equipment parts have tripled in price in the two years.

"We have had up to six-month delays in mechanical repairs for some tractors and trucks,” he said. “even rental tractors have become scarce; we saw costs for one of our rental tractors move from $2,000 per month in 2019 to $3,500 per month in 2023 for the same tractor.

"These are all increases that make it difficult to plan and budget.”

Chairman Scott of Tifton noted that “farm-sector debt is at record high levels, and net farm income is expected to fall 16% from 2022 to 2023. These warning signs underscore the importance of our work in the 2023 Farm Bill."

Scott said that “approximately 90% of our nation's food comes from around 12% of our producers. There is no question that food security is national security, and a strong farm safety net is a top priority in the next Farm Bill."

The 2018 Farm Bill expires at the end of September, and the new Farm Bill will be in effect for five years. The current bill was projected to cost $867 billion over 10 years, and has cost about $428 billion during the past five years.

The Congressional Budget Office projects a new Farm Bill could cost $1.5 trillion during the next 10 fiscal years.

During Wednesday’s hearing, committee members heard from producer representatives of the corn, cotton, dry pea, rice, canola, soybean, sugar cane, wheat, sorghum, and peanut industries.

GEORGIA'S RURAL AREAS IN DECLINE NOW IS TIME TO ACT, DAVID BRIDGES SAYS

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Rural Georgia continues to be in a state of decline, Dr. David Bridges told the Tifton Rotary Club on Wednesday.

Since before his retirement last year as the longest serving president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Bridges has been working with the state’s Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation. 

“Statistically, the rural parts of the state have been in a decline since the late 1920s,” he said, “and we’ve got to do something. If we don’t do something now, we probably won’t have the opportunity because of the changing demographics in the state.”

Every 10 years Georgia goes through reapportionment, and rural Georgia loses representation. “The population centers are in Atlanta and along the coast,” Bridges said. “The rest of the state is in declining population.” 

Then House Speaker David Ralston in 2017 created the House Rural Development Council by resolution of the Georgia House of Representatives. 

“It was a brilliant stroke,” Bridges said. “He took the chairs of all the committees of the House and put them on this super committee, then he stacked it with Republicans and Democrats from rural Georgia.”

Bridges was appointed as an ex officio member. The Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation, headquartered at ABAC, was created to stimulate growth in rural counties. Bridget Mobley works out of ABAC as the logistics and operations manager. Four additional employees, project managers, live in Waycross, Albany, Ellijay, and Northeast Georgia. 

“Our mission is to serve rural communities through innovation to create prosperity,” Bridges said. Rural can be defined as everything that’s not urban. “We generally serve counties that have fewer than 15,000 people.”

To have a prosperous community, he said, you need more than money: You need quality of life, health care, quality education, care for the disenfranchised and abused women and families, business opportunities, support for entrepreneurs, and more.

“There’s a lot of money in the state and federal government and private sector to support reinvestment and growth in rural communities,” he said. “One of the challenges many communities have is they simply do not have the people to call those resources to play.”

Many communities are lucky just to have a clerk to collect water bills and may not have a city or county manager or an effective economic development authority.

“One of the things we do is to do for others what they do not have the capacity to do for themselves,” Bridges said. For instance, there’s federal and state money available to help with water and sewer infrastructure. But some rural communities don’t have the manpower to complete the necessary paperwork to obtain the funds. They may need to do a condition assessment, a needs assessment, and environmental impact studies.  

“We actually have a group of engineering firms that we will hire to go in to get an assessment done. We do all the paperwork, compliance work, and help them find the federal and state money to do it,” Bridges said.

3 Beards BBQ will be available on site!

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

J&J Weight Room – 229-386-1477

Coach Billy King – 229-392-3578

www.tiftwrestling.com

TIFT JOBLESS RATE REMAINS UNCHANGED

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

For the third consecutive month, Tift County’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.1% during March, according to data released Thursday by the Ga. Department of Labor (GDOL).

Tift had also recorded a 3.1% jobless rate in January and February. The state’s unemployment rate also remained unchanged at 3.1% in March. The national rate was 3.5%.

In Tift County, March’s labor force was recorded at 20,754, which was a decline of 54 workers from the previous month, according to the GDOL.

In Tiftarea counties, the unemployment rates were mixed with some declining, some rising, and some remaining the same. 

March's jobless rates in area counties versus the previous month's rates were: Turner, 4.6% vs. 4.3%; Worth, 3.5% vs. 3.8%; Irwin, 4.2% vs. 4.7%; Cook, 3.5% vs. 3.6%; Berrien, 3.6% vs. 3.6%; and Ben Hill, 4.6% vs. 4.8%.

Statewide, jobs were up by 7,600 (0.2%) above the previous month and up by 133,400 (2.8%) from the past year to 4,885,400, an all-time high, the GDOL reported.

Job numbers were at an all-time high statewide in private education and health services, 653,400, and in the leisure and hospitality sector, 515,700.

Tyler Riddle of Tifton shows the recaptured baby gator to students at Len Lastinger Elementary School.

GATOR RAID!

BABY GATOR ESCAPES IN TIFTON NEIGHBORHOOD, RECAPTURED, VISITS SCHOOL, RETURNS TO WILD

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Facebook neighborhood groups are often great for announcing lost pets or alerting neighbors to found items, such as a baseball mitt or piece of jewelry.

In Tifton, people have asked their neighbors on Facebook about an unusual smell (garlic?) or a strange bang that seems to happen at the same time each night (what could it be?)

Dangers are shared and problems are often solved. Such was the case Wednesday morning when Dr. Andrew Nakashi, a physician at Southwell, posted in the Tift Terrace Neighborhood page a photo of a creature on his front porch – a three-foot baby alligator! 

Just as would happen if someone saw a bear cub, the comments started: “So where is mama?” asked Mallory Ward, and others echoed this question. “Jessica Pisciotta could help with that,” said Tyler Boykin, naming a registered wildlife rescue and rehabber with Steadfast Wildlife Rescue Rehab.

However, the source of the roaming baby alligator was right next door with Tyler Riddle, who had planned to take the reptile as he has done before with turtles and baby gators, to show the students at Len Lastinger Elementary School, where his daughters are in second and fourth grades.

“We have a family farm in Turner County,” Riddle told the Tifton Grapevine. “It has a large swamp area with several ponds with alligators.” Every spring, he said there are “dozens and dozens of small alligators. They’re not hard to catch when they sun themselves on the edge of the ponds or get places they are not supposed to be.”  

He said he uses gaffer’s tape to secure the jaws of the baby alligators that he takes to show students at Len Lastinger. It is less sticky than duct tape and easier on the animal.

Wednesday at about 6:15 a.m., he discovered that the alligator he had placed in a wire dog cage under his house must have escaped. “I spent a lot of time looking around with a flashlight,” he said, in the predawn time before he happened to look at Facebook and see Dr. Nakashi’s post.

Within minutes of the post, he was at his neighbors securing the alligator. When the principal called to say the students were ready, he took it to school, then drove to return it to the family farm in Turner County.

“After a brief jaunt to Len Lastinger, the neighborhood gator is safely back in the wild,” Riddle reassured the readers on the neighborhood Facebook group.

The baby reptile’s trip to a city neighborhood was complete, and if he could talk, what a tale he could tell of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”

The Road Church is hosting an Outdoor Worship Service 

at Harding Stables in Tifton, Ga. There is no cost. 

Everyone is welcome. Chairs will be provided, but you can bring your own outdoor chair if you like. 

Date: Sunday, April 30 Time: 10:00 a.m. 

Location: 901 Wiley Branch Rd., Tifton, Ga. 31794.

For more info: 229-326-2366.

Calgary Stampeders photo

Tifton native Malik Henry (No. 82) makes a reception last season for the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.

EX TIFT BLUE DEVIL MALIK HENRY

A NEW STAR IN CANADIAN FOOTBALL

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton native Malik Henry is finding success as a wide receiver with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

During his second season with the Stampeders, the former Tift County High Blue Devil was named a CFL West Division all-star and recognized as a CFL Top Performer of the Week twice.

Henry has been rewarded with a three-year contract extension through the 2025 season.

Last season he led his team with 1,023 receiver yards and with eight touchdowns. He made 62 receptions during the season. In one game alone, Henry had seven receptions for 122 yards and three scores.

During the past two seasons with Calgary, Henry has worn No. 82 and will be switching to No. 11 with the new season

.

“Number 11 is the number I wore in high school and college, and I had the opportunity to get it this year, and it’s something I wanted to go back to. It reminds me of home,” Henry was quoted as saying on the team’s website.

As a Tift County High Blue Devil, Henry earned all-state honors and was named TCHS athlete of the year, also lettering in track and field. He went on to play football at Georgia Southern and the University of West Georgia.

After college, Henry was signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco '49ers and went on to join the practice squads of the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints before moving to the Canadian Football League.

IT EXPERT, A TCHS GRAD, RECEIVES NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR HIS WORK

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Tift County High graduate Tommy Thornton, an information technology (IT) expert and entrepreneur, was recently recognized on a national stage in Nashville, Tenn., as a Top-5 finalist for the 2023 Technology Marketing Toolkit Better Your Best Competition.

Thornton is CEO and owner of Automates, headquartered in National City, Calif. Automates has become a national leader in IT managed services, Thornton said, shining a spotlight on the growing need for cybersecurity for all businesses.

He presented live on stage to the “Sharks" from ABC-TV’s "Shark Tank" in front of 1,200 of his peers, made up of leading IT CEOs from around the world.

Thornton said he and his team at Automates are addressing the growing challenge of cybersecurity, and they are "on the front-line" serving many Tifton businesses as their managed service provider.

A recent cover of “MSP Success” magazine featured Thornton, a former U.S. marine, and shared his origin story and his growing up in Tifton. His mother, Luzarka Latham, and his sister, Shannon Davidson, still reside in Tifton.

Viven Scott, left, wife of Congressman Austin Scott, R-Tifton, with People’s Choice Award art winner Madie McDaniel of Cook County High School, along with Charles White, Scott’s office field representative.

REP. SCOTT'S OFFICE NAMES

ART CONTEST WINNERS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The office of U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, this week hosted a reception in Valdosta to celebrate participants in this year's Congressional Art Competition.

The grand prize winner was Ariella Ramos from Coffee County High School. Her

painting, Baja el Mismo Sol, was selected by a professional panel from Valdosta State University as the overall winner; the painting will hang in the U.S. Capitol for one year alongside the winning artwork from every other Congressional district.

Second-place winner was Allie Jackson from Lowndes High School for her piece "Ascension."

The People’s Choice Award winner is Madie McDaniel from Cook County High School for her painting "To God be the Glory." This heartwork will also go to Washington, D.C., and hang in Scott's congressional office.

More than 3,000 votes were cast through social media for the People's Choice Award.

Amber Oliver, right, is presented the Superior Pacesetter Award by Delaney Garcia, Stallion editor, at the ABAC Pacesetter Awards on Wednesday.

ABAC NEWSPAPER RECOGNIZES CAMPUS ‘PACESETTERS'

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The staff of “The Stallion,” the student newspaper at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, has selected one Superior Pacesetter and 10 Pacesetters for the 2022-23 academic year.

Pacesetters are selected annually from nominations made by ABAC students, faculty, and staff members. These individuals are recognized for their outstanding service to ABAC and its students.

“This year we described a Pacesetter as an individual on campus that sets the pace for others without a desire for validation,” said Delaney Garcia, Stallion editor.

For the student awards, Amber Oliver was the Superior Pacesetter selection. Oliver, a senior history and government major from Spring Hill, Fla., was honored for her diligence and excellence on and off campus, raising the bar for ABAC students.

Pacesetter selections included Sara Michael Spradley, a rural community development major from Tifton; Travious “TJ” Acree, a sophomore elementary education major from Tifton; Caleb Bagley, a senior rural community development major from Douglas; and Karli Williams, a senior biology major from Hazlehurst.

For the staff awards, Pacesetter winners included Assistant Director of Enrollment Management Sunny Ross Sparrow, biology professor Dr. Jennifer Harper, and Tia Kohler, a program support specialist in the Stafford School of Business.

Also, Dr. Jason Scott, associate professor of wildlife ecology and management; Shawn Burnette, student activities coordinator; and Dr. John Cable, assistant professor of history.

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COVID-19 data released from the

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) as of April 26:

TOTAL TIFT COUNTY CASES: 6,918 ..................................... TOTAL TIFT DEATHS: 176

CONFIRMED TIFT CASES - 2 weeks: 11 ................................... DEATHS - Past week: 0

TIFT POSITIVITY RATE - 2 weeks: 6.7% ........ CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES: 31

TIFT CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 2 weeks, per 100K population: 76

_______________________________________________________________

GEORGIA TOTAL CASES: 2,360,723.....................................TOTAL GA DEATHS: 35,344

GA CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 1 week: 2,202

GA DEATHS - 1 week: 25................................... ......GA HOSPITALIZATIONS - 1 week: 154

YOUR GUIDE TO ACTIVITIES THIS WEEKEND IN THE TIFTAREA

Sunday, April 30, is National Raisin Day, celebrating the wrinkly fruit that can be found in bread, cereal, cookies, pudding, ice cream, and even candy – chocolate-covered “Rasinets” have been a movie-theater staple for decades. Raisins were produced as far back as 2,000 B.C., by the ancient Egyptians. Today, more than half of the world’s raisins come from California, where the city of Selma – just southeast of Fresno – produces more than 350,000 tons annually. You could say that you heard it in the "Grapevine."

FRIDAY, APRIL 28

• “Touch a Truck” - Ga. Cities Week, 5-7 p.m., Cato Knight Parking Lot, Downtown Tifton

SATURDAY, APRIL 29

• Little River Paddle, 8 a.m., Red Roberts Landing, Reed Bingham State Park, Adel
• Wiregrass Farmers Market spring opening, 9 a.m.-noon, Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
• Healthy Kids Day, 10 a.m.-Noon, Tiftarea YMCA, Carpenter Road, Tifton
• Tift Wrestling Raw Power Classic, 10 a.m., Eighth Street Middle School Gym, Tifton
• Family Movie Night - Ga. Cities Week, 6 p.m., "Puss in Boots, The Last Wish,” free admission, Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Downtown Tifton
• International Food Festival, 6-9 p.m., Our Divine Saviour Catholic Church, Tifton
• Glow Party-Skate Day: Ga. Cities Week, 7 p.m., Boggus Park, 711 N. Johnston St., Fitzgerald

SUNDAY, APRIL 30

• Bike the Park - 3-mile bike route, 9:30 a.m., Georgia Veterans State Park, Cordele
• The Road Church hosts Outdoor Worship Service at Harding Stables, 10 a.m., Wiley Branch Road, Tifton

ADVERTISE YOUR

YARD SALE HERE!

TO ADVERTISE YOUR

RESIDENTIAL YARD SALE,

CONTACT US at 

yardsales@tiftongrapevine.com 

or 478-227-7126

Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance

“Linx” is ready for a loving home that offers him a lot of attention. To adopt Linx and to see other pets available for adoption, visit the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, open between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For additional information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).