Plants or Animals Raised on Farms in Georgia

Georgia was the first American colony to raise cotton commercially.

With mild winters and hot, humid summers, Georgia has a wealth of agricultural products. Since it was founded in 1788, the state has been the top producer of peanuts, Vidalia onions, broiler chickens and eggs in the United States. Georgia was the first American colony to raise cotton commercially, and it is famous for its peaches.

Considerations

From its beginnings as an English colony, Georgia has been dedicated to farming. This industry is a major part of the state's economy, producing about $65 billion per year, or about 12 percent of Georgia's total income. There are nearly 48,000 farms on the state's 10 million acres of farmland. Farming is also a huge employer in the state, with nearly 14 percent of the population working in this sector.

Crops

"King Cotton," or so it was called, was first planted in Georgia, near Savannah, in 1754. This was the first time cotton was planted commercially in the American colonies. It continued to be a major crop until 1915, when a boll weevil infestation made cotton impossible to be grown. The crop rebounded after methods of eradicating the pest were discovered. Today, the cotton crop is valued at more $700 million each year with nearly 3,000 farms producing the crop across Georgia.

Georgia produces nearly 50 percent of all peanuts grown in the U.S., with 1.7 billion pounds of the crop being produced in the state each year. As of 2009, the sale of peanuts topped $400 million.

Livestock

Broiler chickens and eggs are truly the top with 59.7 percent of the total agricultural sales for the state. As of 2009, about 1.3 billion broiler chicken were raised on Georgian poultry farms. The poultry industry in Georgia is No. 1 in the U.S., with more than $4.2 billion in sales. Egg production represents more than $570 million of that amount.

The raising of cattle and calves is a major industry for Georgia. The total number of cattle farms in the state in 2007 was more than 16,000, producing more than 1 million head of cattle. Cattle farming is the fifth largest farming industry in the state, earning nearly $350 million dollars each year. Every Georgia county raises beef cattle.

Forestry

There are nearly 30 million acres of commercial woodlands in Georgia. The forestry industry earns nearly $20 billion for the state. Most of the forestry industry is involved with the production of timber.

References

• Georgia Farm Bureau: Georgia Agriculture: The State's $65 Billion Industry
• USDA: Georgia Agricultural Facts
• USDA: The Census of Agriculture